Architectural Balance

By Joffre Essley

Balance, in design, refers to the distribution of those things that attract the eye. With
architectural balance this primarily means mass, but there are other characteristics that
come into play that can affect balance.
Man is designed to operate in a state of balance. We adjust our weight and position
constantly to achieve this. It is what seems right to us. When we see things that are out-ofbalance it sets us on our guard. It is hard to be at ease in such a situation.
In painting the artist will generally try to achieve balance, but it is a two dimensional world
he is operating in. If he is painting realistically the implied mass of the objects is important.
That is we can understand that a fat man off to the side will seem out of balance if the only
other figure is a skinny man near the center. If the painting is abstract mass might be
irrelevant, but he still has color, texture and shading that he can manipulate to achieve the
same effect.
Architectural balance can be achieved through symmetry. We can have a mirror image about
a central axis. In architecture this is common. It was the norm for classical architecture.
That symmetry can also be radial. While this is uncommon for a house looking at an
elevation view, you can have radial symmetry from above, from the plan view. I live in a
foursquare. Its basic shape is a square so it is radially symmetrical. However, other than for
a few people flying over in balloons this is unlikely to be noticed.
You can also have a near or approximate symmetry. Here there is no mirror image, but the
masses placed on one side of the axis are roughly copied on the other side. There may be

side extension that is different than its cousin on the other side, but they are of similar
shape and size.
Finally, you can achieve an asymmetrical architectural balance. This is more difficult to
achieve. It can be a more interesting view, but a failure to achieve this can lead to a
situation where the individual elements look right, but the combination seems awkward.
Consider the half-timbered house below. It has a gable on the right projecting out to the
side, and it has the entrance porch projecting forward, also on the right. To balance this
house the architect extended the house out to the left. There is additional mass on the left
for the main part of the house, to balance out the additional mass of the projections that
have been applied on the right. Furthermore, the main windows on both floors are offcenter. They are off to the left. Of course a window doesnt really add physical weight to the
left side, but it does add visual weight. The net effect is an asymmetrically balanced house.

The same effect can be seen with texture on a house. Most houses have a fairly uniform
texture so it is not a big challenge. However, if you have decorative shingles providing
interest you need to make sure that you dont overload one side of the house with texture
and leave the other side bare.
The same thing can be said of windows. Based on the interior room arrangement you may
not need windows in a certain section of the house, but you dont want to have a dozen
windows on the left and one on the right. Or, having this situation, you then need to provide
some counterbalancing weight. If it isnt going to be windows you need a substitute. The
problem is that you need something that will approximate the windows in color and size.
Sometimes it is just better to add a window that doesnt need to be there from a functional
standpoint.

Unless yours is a townhouse, you will need to consider the view of the house from several
vantage points, and it is likely that you will not achieve architectural balance in all of them.
We dont always look at a house while centered on the door. Sometimes we see it from afar
while coming down the road.
Years ago I lived in a neighborhood that had some houses with very nice fronts, but on the
sides and back they just put up the windows all higgledy-piggledy. The windows were
conveniently arranged for the interior, but offended the eye for a host of reasons on the
outside. One of those reasons was balance.

ASYMMETRICAL BALANCE
Asymmetry means without
symmetry. That by itself has
nothing to do with balance. It just
means that there are no mirror
images in a composition. The
term, however, is usually used to
describe a kind of balance that
does not rely on symmetry:
asymmetrical balance. There is
no simple formula for achieving
balance in asymmetrical balance
(hence the term informal
balance) so the designer must
sense whether or not the
composition is balanced. This is
where your sense of balance
really comes into play.
The composition either looks like
it is balance or it does not. Where
does your attention goes when
you look at an image? If it seems
to wander around more or less
evenly, there is probably balance.
If you seem to always come back
to the same area, and that is not
the center of the composition,
then the balance is suspect.
One way to achieve balance that
is almost a formula is to have
more or less equally interesting
things randomly distributed
throughout the format. The effect

is like confetti dropped on the

area. There is balance because
interest is evenly distributed, and
there is unity. The problem is that
everything is likely to seem too
equal and hence too uniform.
There is not enough variety and
the design soon becomes boring.
It is possible to push the envelope of
balance with asymmetry. A small
visually interesting object can
balance a much
large less interesting
object.
You can sometimes
use nothing to
balance something.
Negative space has
visual interest if
used properly. Exact amounts and
correct placement are required.
There are no rules or limits with
asymmetrical balance. That does not
mean that anything goes. Careful
adjustments in size, shape, color and
placement of the elements in the
format are required before balance
is achieved.
The attraction of asymmetrical
balance to artists is its lack of a
formula. This allow greater freedom
which lends itself to more creative
compositions. The difficulty lies in
its lack of organization. This must
be overcome by careful placement
of objects and the use of other
organizational devices (like
figure/ground and, as you will soon
learn, Gestalt principles).

PROJECT

Student example
#1
Student example
#2
Student example
#3

ASYMMETRICAL
COMPOSITION
Use the same format, kind of shapes
and colors from the last project to
make a new composition that does
not use symmetry in any way. The
image should be well balanced and
displayed as a set with the
symmetry project. No recognizable
subject matter is allowed.
NO SYMMETRY
There are two reasons for not using
symmetry in this project: to learn
how to balance asymmetrically and
to better understand what
constitutes symmetry.
Symmetry is a very attractive design
concept and some people have
difficulty avoiding it. To help you
understand more about symmetry
and whether you can do without it,
you need to know more about it's
subtleties.
Types of symmetrical relationships
to be aware of and avoid for this
project include:
Centers -- do not put anything in
the center of the format or any other
object. That means along a center
axis going in any direction. Be
equally cautious about patting one
object in the centers of another
object.
Corners - do not put
any object exactly in
the corner of the
format or any other
object. There is an axis that runs

through the center of a corner. Also

be careful about using an object that
looks like it is half on or over the
edge of another object
or the format.

Alignment - center
axes continue out
from a shape. Do not line up two or
more objects on their center axes
(this does not apply to two circles
since they have axes in all
directions -- the possibility of using
two circles together would be
eliminated). More than two circles
in a line, however, still uses of
symmetry.
For this project
avoid using the
center of anything as
a reference for
placement.

Try to make the

largest shape at
least50 times
largerthan the
smallest.

Do not glue
anything down
until you are
completely
satisfied with the
image

SUGGESTIONS
Start with a few L A R G E shapes
that break up the background. Keep
them different proportions for more
interest. Add smaller and smaller
shapes as you go, being careful to
keep the overall image both
balanced and interesting. Shape size
is one of the few ways you have to
create variety in an image where the
shapes and colors are so limited.
Try creating a flow or rhythm in the
composition. The shapes should
look like they are placed in
relationship with each other and not

just randomly distributed.

Use thumbnails to get the general
idea then proceed to a collage rough
to refine the composition.
Test the balance by turning the
composition around, looking at it
from several different directions. If
it is well balanced, it will look
balanced from any angle. There
will, however, be one direction from
which it looks best. That is because
the top to bottom balance is not
quite the same as left to right
balance. A well-balanced
composition will be slightly heavier
on the bottom.

PRESENTATION
Mount the finished project on the
page facing the last project so they
can be seen at the same time when
your book is opened flat, like you
did with the two figure/ground
projects.
Label this project ASYMMETRY.
It is worth 10 points.
From now on most of the projects
will be more complex and take two
classes to complete.