Federal TVET Teachers Training Institute

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Basics of Architectural Design

Basic theories of shape & form

Basic Design
2
Basic theories of shape & form

Contents
 Basic Shapes & basic forms
 Visual properties of form
 Transformation of forms
 3 Shape & Form
 All objects are either shapes or forms, whether they are
rocks, puddles, flowers, shirts, houses, whatever.
 The words shapes and forms are used interchangeably in
everyday language, but in art, they mean very different
things.

square

Circle

Triangle
 Shape
4
All shapes can be classified as:

 A shape is a two  Geometric or

dimensional area  Free form shapes.
that is defined in
some way. In other
words, it may have
an outline or a
boundary around it.
 If you draw the
outline of a square
on a sheet of paper,
you have created a
shape.
Geometric Shapes
 Shape
5

 Organic - shapes are irregular and uneven shapes. Their

outlines may be curved, angular, or a combination of both.
 These shapes are variations or combinations of Geometric
shapes
 Shape
6

 There are 2 types of organic shapes:

 a.) Amorphic – free form and are nameless

 b.) Biomorphic – represent a recognizable object and

can be named. They are often represented in
silhouettes; (heart, house, bird etc)
 Shape
7

 Our perception of shape

depends on the degree of visual
contrast that exists along the
contour separating a figure from
its ground or between a form
and its field.
 In architecture, we are concerned
with the shapes of:- floor, wall,
and ceiling planes that enclose
space- door and window
openings within a spatial
enclosure- silhouettes and
contours of building forms
 Primary Shapes
8

 From geometry we know

the regular shapes to be
the circle, and the infinite
series of regular polygons
that can be inscribed
within it.
 Of these, the most
significant are the primary
shapes:
 the circle,
 the triangle, and
 the square.
 Primary Shapes
9

 Circle A plane curve every point of which is equidistant

from a fixed point within the curve.
 Triangle A plane figure bounded by three sides and having
three angle.
 Square A plane figure having four sides and four right angle.
 Primary Shapes
10

 The Circle is a centralized,

introverted figure that is
normally stable and self-
centering in its environment.
 Placing a circle in the center
of a field reinforces its
inherent centrality.
 Associating it with straight or
angular forms or placing an
element along its
circumference, however, can
induce in the circle an
apparent rotary motion.
 Primary Shapes
11
Triangle

 The triangle signifies stability.

 When resting on one of its
sides, the triangle is an
extremely stable figure.
 When tipped to stand on one
of its vertices, however, it can
either be balanced in a
precarious state of
equilibrium or be unstable
and tend to fall over onto
one of its sides.
 Primary Shapes
12
Square

 The square represents the pure

and the rational.
 It is a static and neutral figure Compositions resulting from
having no preferred direction. the rotation and modification
of the square.
 All other rectangles can be
considered variations of the
square—deviations from the norm
by the addition of height or
width.
 Like the triangle, the square is
stable when resting on one of its
sides, and dynamic when standing
on one its corners.
 Shape & Form
13

 Architects use a variety of

shapes in designing
buildings, combining various
shapes, modifying a single
shape, repeating a single
shape, and repeating
combinations of shapes.
 Analyze the buildings to
determine shapes have been
used to design the building.
How the are used and
related to each other.
 Form
14

 Form “Architectural form”

is the point of contact
between mass and space.
 The shape and structure of
something as
distinguished from its
substance or material.
 Form is an element of art
that is three- dimensional
and encloses volume. it
includes height, width and
depth (as in a cube, a
sphere, a pyramid, or a
cylinder).
15 Shape & Form
 Form may also be free flowing. It is the illusion of a 3-D
effect that can be implied with the use of light and
shading techniques. Form can be viewed from many
angles.
 Architectural forms, textures, materials, modulation of light
and shade, color, all combine to inject a quality or spirit
that articulates space.
 The quality of the architecture will be determined by the
skill of the designer in using and relating these elements,
both in the interior spaces and in the spaces around
buildings”.
Form

 While form often includes a

sense of three-dimensional
mass or volume,
 shape refers more
specifically to the essential
aspect of form that governs
its appearance
 the configuration or relative
disposition of the lines or
contours that delimit a
figure or form.
 Form

Geometric Shapes & Forms

Composite Forms
19 Composite Forms
 Form  The simplest and most common
20 polyhedrons used are prisms, pyramids
and the truncation, or frustum, of a
pyramid.
 A prism is a solid whose base and top are
congruent (i.e., equal) polygons and whose
side faces are rectangles.
 A pyramid is a solid whose base is a
polygon and which tapers to a point
called its apex. The side faces of a
pyramid are triangles.
 A frustum is a solid whose base and top
faces are similar (i.e., same shape,
different sizes) polygons. This is
essentially a pyramid, whose apex has
been cut off.
 21 Regular & Irregular Form
 Regular forms refer to those
whose parts are related to one
another in a consistent and
orderly manner:
 They are generally stable in
nature and symmetrical about
one or more axes.
 sphere, cylinder, cone, cube,
and pyramid are prime
examples of regular forms.
 Forms can retain their regularity
even when transformed
dimensionally or by the addition
or subtraction of elements.
22 Regular & Irregular Form
 Irregular forms are those
whose parts are dissimilar in
nature and related to one
another in an inconsistent
manner.
 They are generally
asymmetrical and more
dynamic than regular forms.
They can be regular forms
from which irregular
elements have been
subtracted or results from
an irregular composition of
regular forms
 Discussion
23
Make a discussion about the projects of architect Frank Gehry, using the concept
design of the irregular forms .
24
Transformation of Form
 All other forms can
be understood to be
transformations of
the primary solids,
variations which are
generated by the
manipulation of one
or more dimensions
or by the addition or
subtraction of
elements.
25
Transformation of Form

Dimensional Transformation

 A form can be transformed by altering one or more of its

dimensions and still retain as a member of a family of a form.
 A cube, for example, can be transformed into similar prismatic
forms through discrete changes in height, width, or length.
 It can be compressed into a planner form or be stretched out
into a linear one.
26
Transformation of Form
Additive Transformation

 A form can be transformed by addition of elements to its

volume.
 The nature of the additive process and the number and
relative sizes of the elements being attached determine
whether the identity of the initial form is altered or
retained.
 Transformation of Form
27
Subtractive Transformation

 A form can be transformed by subtracting a portion of its

volume.
 Depending on the extend of the subtractive process, the
form can retain its initial identify or be transformed into a
form of another family.
 For example, a cube can retain its identify as a cube even
though a portion of it is removed, or be transformed into a
series of regular polyhedrons that begin to approximate a
sphere.
28 Visual Forms Characteristics
Basic Design
29 Form

 In addition to shape, forms have visual properties of:

 Shape The characteristic outline or surface

configuration of particular form. Shape is the principal
aspect by which we identify and ategories forms.

 Size The physical dimensions of length, width, and

depth of form, while these dimensions determine the
properties of a form, its scale is determined by its size
relative to other forms in its contexts.
30 Form

 Color A phenomenon of light and visual perception

that may be described in terms of an individual’s
perception of hue, saturation, and tonal value.
 Color is the attribute that most clearly distinguishes a
form from its environment.
 It also affects the visual weight of a form.

 Texture The visual and especially tactile quality given

to a surface by the size, shape, arrangement, and
proportions of the parts.
 Texture also determines the degree to which the
surface of a form reflect or absorb incident light.
Basic Design
Properties of Form
Forms also have relational properties which govern
the pattern and composition of elements:

 Position The location of a form relative to its

environment or the visual filed within which it is seen.
 Orientation The direction of a form relative to the
ground plane, the compass points, other forms, or to
the person viewing the form.
 Visual Inertia The degree of concentration and
stability of a form. The visual inertia of a form
depends on its geometry as well as its orientation
relative to the ground plane, the pull of gravity, and
our line of sight.
 Forms In Architecture

 Interesting forms can be created to cater the functions

and needs of space by combining forms by means of
union, intersections and subtractions.
33
Forms In Architecture
34
Forms In Architecture
35
Forms In Architecture

 Interesting forms can be created to cater the functions

and needs of space by combining forms by means of
union, intersections and subtractions.
36
Forms In Architecture

Form follows function is a principle

associated with modernist architecture
and industrial design in the 20th century.
The principle is that the shape of a
building or object should be primarily
based upon its intended function or
purpose.
37
Forms In Architecture
38
Forms In Architecture
39
Space
 Actual space is three-dimensional volume that can be empty
or filled with objects. It has width, height, and depth.
 Space that appears three-dimensional in a two-dimensional
painting is an illusion that creates a perception of depth.
 Architectural form occurs at the juncture between mass and
space. In executing and reading design drawings, we should
concerned with both the form of the mass containing a
volume of space as well as the form of the spatial volume
itself
 Space
 Space can be either full or empty A void is an empty volume,
while a mass is a filled volume. Voids and masses can be
 Referred to as:
 Negative space / Positive space Negative form / Positive
form Volume / Solid or Space / Void
41
Space
42
Space
43
Space
44
Space
 By incorporating the use of space, In our design, we enlarge
or reduce the visual space that communicate with us differently
Types
 Open, uncluttered spaces
 Cramped, busy spaces
 Unused vs. good use of space
45 Texture
 Texture - is about surface quality either tactile or visual.
Texture can be real or implied by different uses of media.
 It is the degree of roughness or smoothness in objects
46 Texture
 Tactile texture is the tactile quality of a
surface, such as rough, smooth, sticky, fuzzy,
soft or slick. A real texture is one you can
actually feel with your hand, such as a piece
of sandpaper, a wet glass, or animal fur.
47 Texture
 Visual texture is a visual quality of a surface. It is the
result from painting or drawing as the real texture. Visual
texture is an illusion of texture created by an artist.
 Paint can be manipulated to give the impression of
texture, while the paper surface remains smooth and flat.
48 Texture
 Textures are formed by repeating the entity or
elements of design in different scales, density, colour or
pattern.
 When the entities or elements are repeated throughout
the surface in an uniform scale or pattern then the
texture is called a Homogeneous Texture. Similarly when
the scale, colour, density or pattern differs distinctly
through out the surface then it is called Heterogeneous
Texture.
 Interesting designs can be formed by blending
Homogeneous Textures & Heterogeneous Textures.
 49
Texture
Homogeneity in texture

Heterogeneity in texture
 Architecture & Texture
50

 The work of ceramicist Anne Goldman is inspired by the

surfaces of rocks in the desert canyons of California.
 Architecture & Texture
51

 The work of ceramicist Anne Goldman is inspired by the

surfaces of rocks in the desert canyons of California.
 Architecture & Texture
52

 The work of ceramicist Anne Goldman is inspired by the

surfaces of rocks in the desert canyons of California.
 Value
53

 Value (Brightness) - is the degree of light and dark in

colour. It is the contrast between black and white and all the
tones in between. Value
 It can be used with color as well as black and white. Contrast
is the extreme changes between values.
 Value
54
 Black and White are not colours WHY ????
 In physics, a color is visible light with a specific wavelength. Black
and white are not colors because they do not have specific
wavelengths. Instead, white light contains all wavelengths of visible
light. Black, on the other hand, is the absence of visible light.
 in the visible spectrum, white reflects light and is a presence of all
colors, but black absorbs light and is an absence of color. Black can
be defined as the visual impression experienced when no visible light
reaches the eye.
 Value
55

 Colour Value – values of colour change by adding white or black

to the pure colour. When white is added to pure colour for getting
 different value, it is called Tint of that Solour and similarly when
black is added it is called Shade of that Colour.
 Value
56

 Values can be exercised in all colors. Values create wide range of

colours. This wide range is called ‘colour space’
 Value
57

 Visual perception of matter is greatly depends on Values.

 Values help us perceive objects or matter distance,
 size, nature, colour, stability etc visually.
 Value SHADES, TINT &TONE
58

 In color theory, a tint is the mixture of a color with white,

which increases lightness, and a shade is the mixture of a color
with black, which reduces lightness. A tone is produced either by
the mixture of a color with gray, or by both tinting and shading.
 Value TONE
59

 A Tone is created by
adding both White and
Black which is grey.
 Any color that is
“greyed down” is
considered a Tone.
 Tones are
 somehow more
pleasing to the eye.
They are more complex,
subtle and
sophisticated.