THEORY OF ARCHITECTURE 1 | MODULE 1: INTRODUCTION TO THEORY OF ARCHITECTURE

ARCHITECTURE • From the breast to the crown is ¼ the ▪ Zones Of Personal Space:
▪ The ART and science of designing and height of a man 1. INTIMATE ZONE
constructing Buildings. • The length of the foot is 1/6 the height (0-18 inches) i.e., for hugging or
of a man whispering.
ANTHROPOMETRICS The Body 2. PERSONAL ZONE
▪ Measurements of the size and proportions of • From the wrist to the tip of the fingers (18 inches to 4 feet) i.e., Interactions
the human body. is 1/10 the height of a man for family and good friends.
▪ From the Greek word, “Anthropos” meaning • The length of the forearm is ¼ the 3. SOCIAL ZONE
“human” and “metron” meaning “measure.” height of a man (48 to 144 feet) i.e., interactions
▪ “Renaissance Architects saw this as a • The breadth of the breast is ¼ the between acquaintances.
reaffirmation of mathematical ratios height of a man 4. PUBLIC ZONE
reflecting the harmony of the universe” • From fingertip to fingertip equals the (144 to 300 feet) i.e., public
▪ “The dimensions and proportions of the height of a man speaking.
human body affect the proportion of things
we handle, the height and distance of things ERGONOMICS
we try to reach, and the dimensions of the
▪ The applied science that coordinates the
furnishings we use for sitting, working,
design of devices, systems, and
eating, and sleeping.”
environments with our physiological and
▪ “10 Books on Architecture”
psychological capacities and requirements.
by Marcus Vitruvius Polio
PROXEMICS
The Face
• From the chin to just under the nostril is ▪ The study of how people unconsciously
1/3 of the face structure the space around them. This
• From just under the nostril to the structuring varies with every culture.
eyebrows is 1/3 of the face ▪ The study of how space is used in human
• From the eyebrows to the hairline is 1/3 interactions.
of the face ▪ Why proxemics is important to Architecture?
The Body an awareness of proxemics is important to
• The face, chin to hairline is 1/10 the understand how people will use a space. As
height of a man architects, we can harness this knowledge to
• The head, chin to crown is 1/8 the our advantage — with these insights, the
height of a man way people interact can be fostered and
• From the breast to the hairline is 1/6 encouraged through careful forethought in
the height of a man design

PREPARED BY: AR. JOANNA PATRICIA GRANDE, CUAP 1

THEORY OF ARCHITECTURE 1 | MODULE 1: INTRODUCTION TO THEORY OF ARCHITECTURE

PRIMARY ELEMENTS OF FORM

▪ Each element is first considered as a
conceptual element, then as a visual
element in the vocabulary of architectural
design.
▪ When made visible to the eye or paper or in
three-dimensional space, these elements
become form with characteristics of
substance, shape, size, color, and texture.
✓ Vertical lines depict equilibrium,
1. Point uplifting, power, might
✓ Oblique lines translate to activity,
dynamicity, unbalanced state.
✓ The diagram showing the evolution
✓ Indicates a position in space of line to plane
✓ Is it dimensional? Is it measurable? ✓ Two Points - Two points describe a line that
✓ It has no length, width or depth connects them. Two points further suggest
✓ Static an axis perpendicular to the line they
✓ Centralized describe and about which they are
✓ Directionless symmetrical.

2. Line

✓ Extend a point to create a line

✓ 1 dimensional object with
the properties of:
▪ Length
▪ Direction
✓ A point can serve to mark: ▪ Position
▪ Two-ends of a line ✓ Expresses movement, direction or growth
▪ Intersection of a line ✓ A horizontal line represents stability, rest,
▪ Meeting of lines at the corner calmness, tranquility.
▪ Center of a field

PREPARED BY: AR. JOANNA PATRICIA GRANDE, CUAP 2

THEORY OF ARCHITECTURE 1 | MODULE 1: INTRODUCTION TO THEORY OF ARCHITECTURE

✓ “The column is a certain strengthened

part of a wall, carried up perpendicular
from the foundation to the top… a row
of columns is indeed nothing but a wall, ✓ “As a design element,
open and discontinued in several the plane of an exterior wall
places” – Leon Battista Alberti can be articulated as the front
or primary facade of a
building. In urban situations,
these facades serve as walls
that define courtyards,
streets, and such public
gathering places as squares
and marketplaces.”

✓ “The ground plane itself can be ✓ “As a design element, a wall plane can
✓ Extend a line to create a plane manipulated as well to establish a merge with the floor or ceiling plane, or
✓ 2-dimensional object with the podium for a building form. It can be be articulated as an element isolated
properties of: elevated to honor a sacred or significant from adjacent planes. It can be treated
▪ Length & width place; bermed to define outdoor spaces as a passive or receding backdrop for
▪ Shape or buffer against undesirable other elements in the space, or it can
▪ Surface conditions; carved or terraced to assert itself as a visually active element
▪ Orientation provide a suitable platform on which to within a room by virtue of its form,
▪ Position build; or stepped to allow changes in color, texture, or material.”
✓ Shape is the primary identifying elevation to be easily traversed.” ✓ “The overall form of a building can be
characteristic of a plane. It is ✓ “Exterior wall planes isolate a portion of endowed with a distinctly planar quality
determined by the contour of the line space to create a controlled interior by carefully introducing openings that
forming the edges of a plane. Because environment. As exterior walls mold expose the edges of vertical and
our perception of shape can be interior space, they simultaneously horizontal planes. These planes can be
distorted by perspective shape exterior space and describe the further differentiated and accentuated
foreshortening, we see the true shape form, massing, and image of a building by changes in color, texture, or
of a plane only when we view it in space.” material”
frontally.

PREPARED BY: AR. JOANNA PATRICIA GRANDE, CUAP 3

THEORY OF ARCHITECTURE 1 | MODULE 1: INTRODUCTION TO THEORY OF ARCHITECTURE

✓ A plane extended in a direction other

than its intrinsic direction becomes a
volume. Conceptually, a volume has
three dimensions: length, width, and
depth.
✓ Form – primary identifying
characteristic of a volume.
✓ Established by the shapes and
interrelationships of the planes that
describe the boundaries of the volume.
✓ It could be either:
1. Solid - space displaced by mass or
2. Void - space contained

PREPARED BY: AR. JOANNA PATRICIA GRANDE, CUAP 4