Spatial Transformations in Architecture

[Music] what are the first Concepts an architecture student should learn what are the first principles of architectural design all Architects should know this is a complete course in architectural spatial design in one video spatial transformations in architecture by Roberts architecture Spa design is the foundation of architecture architecture is the only practice that designs inhabitable space this is what makes architecture unique in art painting drawing and sculpture all create the illusion of space but they don't physically build it you can't inhabit the space of a painting but you can inhabit the space of architecture abstract spatial

play is the starting point of architecture this starts with creating abstract geometries then manipulating and transforming them these geometries are used to create building form both exterior massing of the building and the interior spaces inside today in architecture school students are encouraged to jump on the computer without any understanding of the basic geometric concepts of architecture they experiment with 3D programs never understanding basic princip principles of form students get out of school thinking architecture is a combination of abstract form making and computer aided design this assumption is false and handicaps their career and architecture in

the olden days students learned how to draw first and in drawing they learned all the basic principles of form making without drawing painting and model making students can't understand basic spatial design to address this problem this video gives an overview of spatial design as it should be taught in architecture school let's get started spatial Transformations spatial Transformations can be understood as the transformation of primary solids through manipulation of planes of the volume geometric Transformations the Mind naturally envisions primary solid like cubes spheres and pyramids these can be modified to give the appearance of transformation in

Roman and Renaissance architectural Theory geometry represented the building blocks of the cosmos with the platonic solids being linked to music numbers and forms of the universe geometric Transformations were accomplished using musical harmonic scales number ratios and divine proportions sacred geometry and architecture represented the microcosm while the universe of God represented the macrocosm when thinking about manipulating the form of three-dimensional space we can use all the methods of 2D geometry the most basic is called translation this means to move the position of the form although this seems basic it is the most used transformation and design

rotate another basic way to modify an existing geometry is to rotate it this is the diagram for Price Tower by Frank Lloyd Wright he rotates a triangle to develop the floor plan the third is to reflect the geometry here there is a center axis around which the form is reflected an array is a repetition of a form in a certain way arrays can can be linear in a circle in a grid or three-dimensional dimensional transformation modifies a three-dimensional solid while keeping its identity from a family of forms a cube can be dimensionally changed into a

rectangular box for example a cube can be modified by transforming its height width or depth a pyramid can be transformed by altering any of its faces or sides a sphere can be transformed by elongating it along its axis turning it into an ellipsoid subtractive Transformations a form can be transformed by subtracting a portion of its volume words like carve or cut can be used to describe these Transformations subtractive Transformations suggests the physical act or gesture of cutting and removing the human mind tries to always Envision a whole geometric object like the primary solids when the

form is subtracted from the Mind still reads it as a primary form but with a missing piece additive Transformations a form can be transformed by the addition of elements to its volume additive form is produced by attaching one or more forms to its volume additions may not touch this is a relationship of two or more spaces that may relate to each other visually or conceptually but do not physically touch I call these spaces emergent space as they emerge from the relationship between elements edgo Edge contact in this relationship the forms share a common Edge and

can move or pivot around this edge face Toof face cont contact in this spatial relationship forms share a common face and can move or transform around it interlocking volumes in this spatial relationship spaces interlock or overlap each other this is by far the most used additive transformation simultaneous space Architects primary compositional tool is to create a relationship between spaces our Architects play with these relationships sometimes overlapping spaces sometimes designing adjacencies and sometimes linking or separating spaces I call the act of creating relationships between spaces simultaneous space interlocking spatial relationships result when two spaces overlap creating

an emergence of a shared space each space retains its visual identity and definition as a space nesting a space can envelop and contain smaller spaces within its volume a visual and spatial relationship between the two spaces can be created nesting was most dramatically used in Roman and Renaissance architecture especially in church design in mid-century modernism the open floor plan allowed for small spaces to Nest inside larger ones adjacent spaces adjacency is the most common type of spatial relationship in architecture here two or more spaces are clearly defined and a new space emerges from the proximity

to each other linked spaces a form of adjacent space is the link space where two or more separated spaces can be linked or related to each other through an intermediate space spatial composition architecture tal space is always organized into a composition a centralized space is the most basic spatial composition here space has a center and a periphery often there is a number of smaller spaces grouped around a larger dominant Central space this is the most common form of City design especially if the city grew naturally from its Center linear space is another compositional tool here

spaces arrange sequentially in a row a person moves through space after space in a path often these consist of repetitive spaces of the same size and form radial space starts with a center and extends out to the periphery it combines the elements of both linear and centralized organizations this results in a dynamic composition that suggests a rotational movement around around a central space clustered organization are spaces that are grouped together by proximity or a common identity it often consists of repetitive spaces that have similar function or share common visual forms in modernity the term adjacency

was used to describe a clustered organization pattern an adjacency diagrams used functional proximity to compose spaces cluster organization can be combined with other ordering principles to create even more design possibilities such as around an Axis or along a path they can be organized around a central form they can be a space within a space and they can be symmetrical or asymmetrical a three-dimensional grid can be used to organize space forms spaces and positions in space can be regulated by a two or three-dimensional grp grid grids can be used to organize spaces but they can also

be used to modify and transform space grids don't have to be regular or even Square they can be triangular octagonal or even circular Peter eisan often played around with three-dimensional grids jux deposing them with spatial or structural elements of the building for Eisenman the grid instead of organizing space disrupts it and axis is a central line that bcts a space into two symmetrical spaces symmetry reflects a group of spaces around a center axis proportion is a relationship of the parts to the hole or the parts to other parts hierarchy is a system of spaces ranked

by order of importance Rhythm is a pattern of spaces with repetition or alternating patterns ofe elements repetition is the act of repeating a space in the design spatial forces formalism abstract form making shouldn't control the final shape of a building rather the form should arise naturally from the forces that shape it form arises as a response to contextual forces it should not arise from Pure form making to discover the context an architect must ask where is it what size is it in other words what is its scale why is it that shape how is it

that shape in other words how is space structured architectural modes of representation that don't address scale are at best incomplete and at worst bad architecture how the human body is deployed in space should be a primary concern of architectural design space is a lived experience and the design of space needs to address this experience unlike computer models real world architecture is shaped by gravity there is always an up and a down to space a space can conform to this force and be a simple one-story structure or it can defy gravity and appear to float in

the air either way a space must have a response to gravity one of the most important relations a building form can have is with the ground plane sitting on the ground is the simplest relationship with the ground plane here the building sits on a slab on grade the next relationship a space can have to the ground is to dig into it causing a depression space can also hover above the ground plane as though gravity had no effect on it space appears to flow weightless above the ground light defines and creates space from the exterior massings

of space to the Interior Space light is used to shape and reveal space as such Architects use natural light from the sun to shape space this is Ever Changing based on the movement of the sun through the sky rising in the East setting in the west and in the northern hemisphere traveling around the building from the South space must always interact with the forces of sunlight across the sky interior space is transformed based on a person's view to the outside often this is thought of in terms of Windows and framing the view but what an

architect is actually doing is setting up the relationship or experience between the inside space and the outside space for the inhabitants views can be controlled or open often based on the window or enclosure size many of the mid-century modern spaces explore the continuation between inside and outside space through the creation of an open view Philip Johnson's glass house is perhaps the most famous example but Richard neitra and Rudolph Schindler's Works Define California modern architecture circulation is also a force defining space the architect can set up patterns of circulation through spaces also important in circulation is

remembering where you were and thinking of where you are going a person must be able to visualize spaces and remember them well enough to move through them without getting lost wind is a force that is often forgotten in modern architecture before buildings had HVAC systems and were totally closed off from the outside wind played a sign ific function in designing space especially in hot climates Courtyards used in the Roman house or in Spanish architecture were used to pull in cold air and keep the house cool in summer many traditional building types were designed around wind

either blocking it in cold climates or pulling it in in hot climates function can also shape a building modern architecture is based on form follow function is often used to shape space how people inhabit a space is a primary shaper of space we often call this functional design but on a more Elemental level it is about life and how people actually use a space how space is enclosed helps shape space Architects use ground planes ceiling planes and wall planes to shape space in modernism the wall planes were played with and removed to create flowing spaces

in this video I've tried to show how space is a verb not a noun Architects transform space and communicate this to the inhabitants space is not static but should be used to communicate Express and reveal Picasso said art is a lie that tells a greater truth the design of space and architecture is an art that perhaps Lies by pretending that built space transforms creating action and dynamic relationships but this reveals a greater truth of how people experience the built environment this is what art is about to express how we live and experience the world hopefully

this video showed the first principles of architecture the design of space it's a gentle reminder to Architects that architecture is first and foremost the design of space I'm Jamie Roberts if you like this video please like comment and subscribe