Architecture design is a scientific and artistic concept of building structures and understanding various building materials and forms. Generally the architect works in coordination with the internal and external environment of the structure, but when designs go against human tastes and cultural preferences the result is disastrous. An example of this are the drab and indistinguishable cities lined with uniform box structures - such as identical houses, office complexes and high rises. Design in architectural language means the sum total of plan of building, the elevation, section, figure, proportion, ground, scale, ratio to external unit measure and grids. Even though we regard architecture as an art form, an indispensable principal in architectural design is a keen mathematical and analytical understanding of forms. Without mathematical hypothesis to guide us, we would have skewed designs and patterns. Beginning with Romanesque architecture, design was defined in strong, simple, massive forms graduating into the ribs and piers of the 11th century and on to the perfect form of 13th-century Gothic architecture. With each century the concepts and designs changed, ranging from Baroque (17th century), Georgian (18th century), Classical and Gothic revival (19th century) to expressions of technology and modernistic art (20th century), giving credence to Victor Hugo's prophecy of doom that the word will kill stone. The reason for these strong words was that before the popularity of visual media it was art and architecture that gave expression to our creative sensibilities. The history of a city or country could be gleamed from the structures and buildings. With World War II the ground rules were being regulated by omnipresent media, mobility and economic wealth, making us witness architecture designs ranging from burlesque to grandiose to just plain simple. The environmental degradation of natural resources turned our focus to environmentally-sensitive or sustainable designs even as architects turned towards eco-friendly material. Architecture designs became case-sensitive - appealing to nature as a metaphor for cities, buildings or residential complexes. |
