The Elements and Principles of Design
Line is the characteristic shapes or contours of something. The line is a single or multiple stroke/s that leads your eye around the image or building.
The “Line of Work” (above) is a pathway located in Vancover, Canada near the Vancover Convention Center.
In this picture you can obiviously see the line of the light as it brings your eye to the end of the foot path. the artist who disigned this, Jill Anholt was inspied by the ripple effect. There are 17 eliments in total leading the viwer up the path.
http://www.arsitekturmedia.com/2010/03/line-of-work-installation-by-jill-anholt/
Space is the room that the building allows around the objects to give air to breath in. space to move in is a important as most people like lots of it to live in. People feel more comphtable in large spaces. Space is also nice to look at and can be used to to emphasise things and make them stand out.
The room above has lots of space in it. This is a architectural feature.
This building is the architecture of John Lautner
http://www.egodesign.ca/en/article.php?article_id=431
Shape is the shape is the outline of something’s form.
The building above was designed by German Architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser. It is full of interesting shapes which give it an individual look. They make the statement that the architecture can complement its environment. There are bold shapes and random soft lines which give it an eclectic look. The central brown pole looks like a gum tree and adds a natural tone to the mix with the surrounding colour, it looks very earthy. The building symbolises this architects view of mankind cohabitating with nature.
http://www.chinaculture.org/gb/en_madeinchina/2006-01/19/content_78259.htm
Tone is “the characteristic style that something has, particularly in relation to elegance or standing.” Tone is also “the overall blend of colour and light and shade in a painting or photograph” or building. Encarta dictionary (UK)
Texture is how the building “feels”(under fingers in the tactile sense). Each different material has a different texture. It is the coarseness, smoothness and roughness.
The garden wall above is a Stucco wall. It has a rough texture like rough conceit. it is made of sand, cement, water and lime. This creates a sustainable, attractive, low maintenance way of covering a area of wall. It is also very weather resistant.
http://www.blockwallexperts.info/
Colour is the colour that the building is. The colours can control the atmosphere and mood of the people in the building. Colour can change people’s perception of the “space” e.g. a white room will look bigger than a dark blue one.
This building’s main feature is its colour panels. This makes the building both nice to look at and memorable. it makes the building nice too look at.
The prime colours are Yellow, Blue and Red. All colours are created from these colours.
The secondary colours are Purple, Green and Orange.
http://melbourneinphotos.com/buildingsg3.html
Emphasis where one part or feature of the building is accentuated the be the over powering focus of the building. When you see it your eyes are immediately drawn to it. This can be created by colour, lighting, tone, space,
In the picture above we see the emphasis that the lighting and the symmetry draws to the center of the house. This height of the hall way is accentuated. The fact that you can see right thought the living area down to the bedrooms and the depth of the house is used as a feature.
Harmony is where the different elements fit together nicely or have Feng shui. e.g. there are similar shapes, colors or they fit together in a way that is pleasing to look at or in agreement
The pool in the image above works beautifully to blend the building with its surroundings and create harmony. The colors work to not make the building stand out have a relation ship with the environment around it.
This building was designed by Glenn Murcutt.
http://www.hht.net.au/whats_on/past_exhibitions/mos/glenn_murcutt_architecture_for_place
Repetition is where one or more aspects of the deigns is repeated or copied over and over again. This is used to create shape, lines and order.
Repetition is probably one of the most used aspects. In the example above we can see one form, the arch has been repeated to give an enclosed path way. Looking through the history books we see this type of thing often. The light creates beautiful shadows and the light also shades the sides of the arches to make different tones in the stone.
http://www.explainers.com/Articles/Handling-Repetition-in-Work-Instructions.htm
Patternis “a regular or repetitive form, order, or arrangement” Encarta dictionary (UK) . It is very similar to repetition. Patterns are used as a decorative feature that enhances the look as the other aspects of the building.
This, above it the John Lewis. The pattern was taken from the art nouveau designs and at night is backlit. This the feature of the building and is what makes it so individual.
http://architecturerevived.blogspot.com/2008/07/john-lewis-department-store-in.html
Rhythm is similar to pattern and repetition. It is about half way in-between. It is “the characteristic pattern of an activity” Encarta dictionary (UK). Regular repetition is the reuse of the same or similar elements to create a visual rhythm.
The building in the picture above is full of rhythm. The arches have wonderful lines that make the room look nearly never ending. the poles that hold the roof up add tThe biulding is the Great Mosque at Cordoba in Spain.
http://faculty.evansville.edu/rl29/art105/sp04/art105-3.html
Dominance is dominating. Can I say that? Dominance is a bit like emphasis. It is the power that a structure holds and is completely relative to what stands around it. A lot of things influence dominance like its size, colour placing in the environment around it, texture and contrast.
The Sydney Opera house is the dominates the harbor from every direction by its pure size combined with its sharp white lines, its contrasting colours and its position in the harbor.
Photo by Robert Wallace, of Tourism Australia.
http://www.theodora.com/wfb/photos/australia/australia_photos_18.html
Unity is where all the different components of a structure work together to create a beautiful whole. Weather this be where the different aspects of a particulate building combine to form something that is aesthetically pleasing.
architectual untiy is a imporatand eliment of design.
http://www.bikeholidays.eu/bike-tours-central-europe/towns-and-cities-of-central-and-eastern-europe/
Proportion is directly related to scale. Proportion is a comparison of one part of a structure to another with a value. Fire places are expected to be a certain size and when they are to big or to small the they are considered to be out of proportion.
The fire place above, in its time, was apropriate beacuse when the fire died down the people would go into the fire pace and sit around the fire. these days it would be out of preportion with the rest of the building.
Whether a building or a object in a building is in or out of proportion is directly related to a judgment that someone places on it.
http://lovelylivelylife.wordpress.com/page/2/
Scale is a is a measurement comparing height, width and depth of all or and part of a structure. Scale is “a ratio representing the size of an illustration or reproduction, especially a map or a model, in relation to the object it represents” Encarta dictionary (UK)
This floor plan is to scale. With out scale architects would not be able to communicate what they want built. There needs to be measurements in order for things to be in proportion.
http://mathforum.org/~sanders/mathart/MACch2sym.html
Hierarchy is the order of importance that a has. The most domanant peices of the biulding is the most highest in the hierarchy. Then comes the thigs that have been emphisised. then the things that have
in the building above the heirarch goes (in my oppinion)
1) big squere box
2) brick bit
3) arch
4) wooden lines
5) glass
http://www.igreenspot.com/the-eco-house-by-university-of-cambridge-architects/
Balance is “a state in which two opposing forces or factors are of equal strength or importance so that they effectively cancel each other out and stability is maintained” Encarta dictionary (UK)
In every Childs picture of a house the is balance. There is nearly perfect symmetry. This is because balance in an important part of a home. If a house is too unbalanced it sometimes looks funky.
As you can see the vila at the below is unbalanced. this is a feature and doesn’t deteact at all form the attractiveness of the design.
Architect Daniel Libeskind.
top… http://greengirlsglobal.com/blog/tag/shopping
bottom…http://www.iransdesign.com/modern-villa-by-daniel-libeskind/
Contrast is “an effect created by placing or arranging very different things such as colours, shades, or textures next to each other” Encarta dictionary (UK)
Contrast creates boldness. if you want the eye to be taken to it and to give a building the “wow” factor contrast makes the building more stimulating to the eye.
The home above uses contrast to create an impact. The white and black are contrasting colours and accentuate the crispness of the lines. This makes the building look very sharp and angular.
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