WELCOME TO Fourth Semester: Course Instructor: Ar. Huda Riaz

WELCOME TO Fourth Semester

Course Instructor: Ar. Huda Riaz

-
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1-Introduction: Definition of Architecture
and the Architect:
 1. Definition of Architecture
 Architecture could be basically defined as ‘the art and science of
designing and constructing buildings’.
 As a word, ‘architecture’ can carry several other meanings, such
as:
Several Other Meanings

 Art is expression or application of human creative skill and

imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture,
 Science is the pursuit and application of knowledge and
understanding of the natural and social world following a systematic
methodology based on evidence
 Design: process of envisioning and planning the creation of objects.
 Construction: the action of building something, typically a large
structure.
 Building: a structure with a roof and walls, such as a house or factory.
The product or result of architectural work:
buildings, urban areas and landscapes
Several Other
Meanings . A style or method of building characteristic of a
people, place or time.
The profession of designing buildings and other

habitable environments by architects
The conscious act of forming things resulting in a

unifying or coherent structure.
Source :Ching .F., Visual Dictionary of Architecture

Several Other Meanings
In its most simple form, architecture is the design and

organization of spaces, and in its most common form, it
is the design of buildings, their interiors and surrounding
spaces.
The architect acts a designer, who can work in a wide
range of scales, from a scale as large as the planning of a
city, up to a scale as small as the design of a chair.
2. Etymology of the Word ‘Architecture’
Etymology of the Word ‘Architecture’ Etymologically (in

terms of the root of the word), the word ‘architecture’
comes from the Greek arkhitekton (ἀρχιτέκτων), which is a
combination of the word arkhi, meaning “chief” or
“master”, and tekton, meaning “mason” or “builder”.
which originated as far back as 3,000 BC.
Architectus carried the same meaning in ancient Roman
times, as is evidenced by the oldest surviving writings of
the profession authored by Vitruvius from around 25 BC.
Etymology of the Word ‘Architecture’
 In the Middle Ages, the word largely fell out of use and was
replaced with others such as “master mason.”
 The word architect was re-discovered along with Vitruvius’s texts in
1415 in Italy
 In line with the etymology, architecture used to denote both the
process and the product of designing and constructing buildings;
and the architect used to be known as the “master mason” or
“master builder” in the past.
3. Origin of Architecture
Architecture is one of the oldest professions in human history.

It appeared with human being’s need of shelter to protect
himself from the weather and danger outside. It first evolved
as the outcome of needs (like shelter, security, worship etc.)
and means (like the available building materials and skills).
 As human cultures progressed, building became a craft and

later the formalized version of that craft, which is practiced
by educated professionals, is called ‘architecture’.
4-Natural form, Man-made form,
Architectural artifact
 As the famous architect Louis Kahn says “architecture is what

nature cannot make”. Indeed, human beings are one of the few
animals that can build buildings.
Structures that some animals build, such as some birds’, bees’, or

white ants’ nests, indeed resemble our buildings in terms of their
structural economy.
Natural form, Man-made form,
 For example a certain bird in South America (Rufous-breasted Spinetail)

builds a two room nest, with rooms tied to each other by a tube like
structure.
 Or, white blind ants build structures out of mud on the ground.
Natural form, Man-made form,
Or, the sea mollusk nautilus builds a shell

around itself out of calcium carbonate.
As it grows, this nautilus adds a new and
bigger volume to its shell, and the small,
emptied part of the shell is filled with
nitrogen, which gives the shell the
quality of floating in the water.
These older parts of the shell are left as
the record or the heritage of the
animal’s history.
Examples  2 Roth, L. Understanding Architecture
-Architecture as Identity
As our experience and knowledge develops and as the

cultural and environmental circumstances change, we
change and evolve this architectural environment.
But if we want to protect our identity, we should take optimum
care in protecting the “shell” of our past. Because that “shell”
(or architecture) of our past is the physical record of our lives,
our successes and aspirations. It is the cultural heritage that is
left to us.
Historical Buildings
-Significance of Architecture
 Therefore, architecture is the art that we cannot avoid.

 We can avoid and not see other arts one way or another, such as
painting or sculpture, but architecture, like it or not, affects us and
shapes our behaviors all time, as we live in and around it.
We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us.

by Winston Churchill.
However Architecture is not just Art.
 Architecture deals with form and gives very much importance to how that
form looks, but it also deals with function and how that function affects form.
This is what differentiates the art works, such as sculpture, from architecture.
 Architects think also of other things such as function or structure, next to form,
beauty and expression. Moreover, art does not have to be beautiful.
 Art expresses the sensations, feelings of the artist through the forms he/she
chooses, with or without purpose or beauty.
 Architecture is not that free.
5. Fundamentals of Architecture
The earliest surviving written work on architecture is Roman

architect Marcus Vitruvius’ De architectura (Ten Books on
Architecture), which was written in the early 1st century AD.
Vitruvius has written in his book that a good building must satisfy
three main qualities, which are firmitas, utilitas, venustas.
Referring to firmness, functionality, and beauty, Vitruvius
denoted that a good building should be firm, useful, and
beautiful and that the architect should strive to fulfill each of
these three qualities as well as possible
Fundamental Definition of Architecture
The Ultimate test of Architecture
 Therefore, the ultimate test of architecture is made with the following questions:
 1. Is the building functional? (Could it be used effectively and easily?)
 2. Is the building firm? (Is its structure firm enough to carry all the weights it
should carry, such as its own weight, its users’ weights, and the forces of the
wind and the earthquake? And, Are its materials durable enough to withstand
many years of use?)
 3. Is the building beautiful? (Does the building give visual delight to the user
and the viewer; is it aesthetic and pleasing?)
 (Source: Ching, F., Architecture: Form, Space and Order)
6. Scope of Architecture
 As the etymology indicates, the architect has to act as the “master

builder” and see the building both as an object of design and as a
process of building
 First of all, architecture takes place at a site or a context. The site of an
architectural project affects and determines very important
characteristics about the project, such as its layout, orientation,
approach, views, relationship with the environment, and materials (as
they would differentiate according to the climate).
Building Services
 Secondly, to be able to create comfortable environments for

people, architecture takes care of the lighting, heating and
acoustic conditions of the building, as well as the color of spaces
and the texture of the materials.
 It considers how light affects and travels within the building, how the
building is heated or ventilated, how it reacts to sounds (acoustics),
what colors it should have, and the textural sensations evoked by
the materials used in it. After all, a completed building is a sensory
experience.(farelly, p. 8-11)
Source :Farelly, Mimarligin Temelleri
Architectural Production and Creativity
 Architectural production is a process that includes the stages of

thinking, designing and drafting. This process starts with the
development of a “concept”.
 A concept is the initiating idea of the project and can be formed by
way of considering several factors, such as the function and site
conditions of the project, a possible structural system, or the historical
and cultural context of the site.
 This “concept” starts to take “form” by including the “functions”

attached to it. Then, this “form” is further shaped “structurally” and
“materially”. Finally, the form is realized in three dimensions by
taking care of the sound related (acoustics), light related
(illumination) and spatial considerations.
 As other design disciplines, architecture is an act of problem solving
that requires a creative thinking process.
 These problems need creativity because they do not have
predetermined methods (as in mathematical formulas or theorems)
for their solutions.
The concepts and methods for different design problems

can be formed by getting inspired from past architectural
solutions and architects, by getting inspired from nature
by analogy or metaphor, or most favorably by total
innovation of new forms and structures.
Architectural creativity exists when the architectural work
is both original and appropriate.

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WELCOME TO Fourth Semester: Course Instructor: Ar. Huda Riaz

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WELCOME TO Fourth Semester

Course Instructor: Ar. Huda Riaz

 Art is expression or application of human creative skill and

The profession of designing buildings and other

The conscious act of forming things resulting in a

Source :Ching .F., Visual Dictionary of Architecture

In its most simple form, architecture is the design and

Etymology of the Word ‘Architecture’ Etymologically (in

Architecture is one of the oldest professions in human history.

 As human cultures progressed, building became a craft and

 As the famous architect Louis Kahn says “architecture is what

Structures that some animals build, such as some birds’, bees’, or

 For example a certain bird in South America (Rufous-breasted Spinetail)

Or, the sea mollusk nautilus builds a shell

As our experience and knowledge develops and as the

 Therefore, architecture is the art that we cannot avoid.

We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us.

The earliest surviving written work on architecture is Roman

 As the etymology indicates, the architect has to act as the “master

 Secondly, to be able to create comfortable environments for

 Architectural production is a process that includes the stages of

 This “concept” starts to take “form” by including the “functions”

The concepts and methods for different design problems

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