Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Hi. Im Doug Patt and this is So you want to be an architect, Part 4. What does an architect
use? Aside from the wide variety of items an architect uses to physically create the
drawings, specifications, models, and paperwork necessary to make buildings the architect
uses elements of style to create buildings. Narrowed from a gamut of items I believe you
could say the elements of style, when it comes to buildings are scale, form, complexity,
and material. Lets look at examples of each. Much has been made throughout the history
of art and architecture over proportion from DaVincis canon of proportions to Le Corbusiers
modular man. How buildings reflect & accommodate human scale is a key component of architects
work. From the beginning architects like Palladio used ratio and proportion found in nature
to create harmonious buildings. From Frank Lloyd Wrights cozy interiors to the grand
palace of Versailles. to the Hancock skyscraper of Boston whos scale overwhelms the famous
trinity church but was designed to reflect its beauty nonetheless building can be scaled
to the human figure or scaled in a more ambiguous manner. Ambiguity is key for Jean Nouvels
Arab world institute where the elements of the elevation make scale extraordinarily vague.
So scale is one way architects relate a building to the user. In the last few decades architecture
has increasingly been able to take advantage of advanced technologies that have allowed
them to build with incredible freedom of form. From Norman Fosters Hearst tower in New York
city or his Gherkin skyscraper in London to the Millau viaduct in France, from Rem Koolhaas
seattle central library to his CCTV building in china. From Santiago Calatravas Milwaukee
art museum to his Hemispheric in Spain. With Herzog and de Meurons birds nest arena in
China or Renzo Pianos Nemo museum in Amsterdam, architects today work within a realm of form
perhaps never imagined before. A buildings aesthetic complexity is also an element that
portrays a certain idea or ethos. From the classicism of Bernard Maybecks palace of fine
arts, or Louis Sullivans intricate ornamental stone detailing, the work reflects the spirit
of an era. Theres detail that might emphasizes verticality as in Raymon hoods Chicago tribune
building or Cesar Pellis Patronis towers in Malaysia, or horizontality as in Frank Lloyd
wrights prarie style homes. A building can also be ornamental in a unique way like Antonio
Gaudis buildings or simplified to only steel and glass as in Mies Van Der Rohs aesthetic.
They can also be free of detial like Le Corbusiers La tourette or Louis Kahns Salk institute.
Lastly, every building ever made is made from something. The material an architect chooses
to build with is affected by both cost and intent. From IM Peis Louve pyramid and Hong
Kong towers of steel and glass to the concrete work of Zaha Hadid, from the cold steel exteriors
of Sir Richard Rogers in the Lloyds of London to the cool white porcelain tiles of Richard
Meier or the stone facades of Herzog and de Meuron. Architects continue to work with great
freedom in the realm of material, which only promises to become even more advanced and
unlimited. Its up to the architect to take the meaning and intent of their commission
and have the architecture reflect that in some way. Using scale, form, complexity and
material the architect creates a framework for style. And that concludes the fourth part
of the video series so you want to be an architect. Im Doug Patt. See you next time.