PRIMARY
ELEMENTS
PRIMARY ELEMENTS
This lecture will present the primary
elements of form in the order of their
growth: from the POINT to a onedimensional LINE, from the LINE to a twodimensional PLANE, and from the PLANE
to a three-dimensional VOLUME
Each element is first considered as a
conceptual element, then as a visual
element in the vocabulary of architectural
design
PRIMARY ELEMENTS
POINT
POINT
Marks a position in space
Conceptually, it has no length, width or depth
It is static, centralized and directionless
As the prime element in the vocabulary of
form, it serves to mark:
THE TWO ENDS OF A LINE
THE MEETING OF LINES AT THE
THE CENTER OF A FIELD
CORNER OF A PLANE OR VOLUME
THE INTERSECTION OF TWO LINES
To mark a position in space or on the
ground plane, a point must be projected
vertically into a linear form
BECOMES A
LINE WITH
LENGTH,
POINT
IS
DIRECTION
EXTENDED
AND
POSITION
POINT
Obelisk of Thutmose I, Karnak
Other point-generated forms that
share these same visual
attributes are the:
CIRCLE
Plan of the Tholos at Epidaurus
CYLINDER
Baptistery at Pisa, Italy
SPHERE
Cenotaph for Sir Isaac Newton
PRIMARY ELEMENTS
LINE
LINE
A point extended
A line is a critical element in the formation of
any visual construction
It can serve to:
JOIN OR LINK OTHER
VISUAL ELEMENTS
SUPPORT VISUAL
ELEMENTS
SURROUND OR
INTERSECT OTHER
VISUAL ELEMENTS
DESCRIBE THE EDGES OF
AND GIVE SHAPE TO PLANES
SQUARE
TRIANGLE
ARTICULATE THE SURFACES OF PLANES
LINE
The orientation of a line affects its role in a
visual construction
A vertical line can express a state of
equilibrium with the force of gravity,
symbolize the human condition, or mark a
position in space
A horizontal line can represent stability, the
ground plane, the horizon, or a body at rest
An oblique line may be seen as a vertical line
falling or a horizontal line rising
Vertical elements have been
used throughout history to
commemorate significant
events and establish
particular points in space
Column of Marcus Aurelius
Hagia Sophia, Constantinople
Vertical linear elements can also define a transparent
volume of space, as in the example above, the four
minarets outline a spatial field which the dome of
Hagia Sophia rises in splendor
Linear members that possess the
necessary material strength can perform
structural functions
Linear elements express movement across
space
Salginatobel Bridge, Switzerland
Linear members provide support for an
overhead plane
Caryatid Porch,
The Erechtheion, Athens
Linear members form a three-dimensional
structural frame for architectural space
Katsura Palace, Kyoto, Japan
A line can be an imagined element rather than
a visible one in architecture
An example is the AXIS, a regulating line
established by two distant points in space and
about which elements are symmetrically
arranged
National Mall, Washington D.C.
Two parallel lines have the ability to visually
describe a plane
The closer these lines are to each other, the
stronger will be the sense of plane they convey
Colonnade
PRIMARY ELEMENTS
PLANE
PLANE
A line extended in a direction other than its
intrinsic direction
Conceptually has length and width but no
depth
Planes in architecture define threedimensional volumes of mass and space
The properties of each plane size, shape,
color and texture as well as their spatial
relationship to one another determine the
visual attributes of the form they define and
the qualities of space they enclose
In architectural design, we manipulate three
generic types of planes:
Overhead plane
Wall plane
Base plane
OVERHEAD PLANE
The overhead plane can be either the roof plane
that shelters the interior spaces of a building from
the climatic elements, or the ceiling that forms the
upper enclosing surface of the room.
WALL PLANE
The wall plane, because of its vertical
orientation, is active in our normal field of
vision and vital to the shaping and enclosure
of architectural space.
BASE PLANE
The base plane can either be ground plane that
serves as the physical foundation and visual
base for building forms, or the floor plane that
forms the lower enclosing surface of a room
upon which we walk.
The ground plane ultimately supports all
architectural construction
It can be manipulated to establish a podium
for a building form
It can be elevated to honor a sacred or
significant place; bermed to define outdoor
spaces or buffer against undesirable
conditions; carved or terraced to provide a
suitable platform on which to build; or
stepped to allow changes in elevation to be
easily traversed
Acropolis, Athens
Elevated to honor a sacred,
significant place
Mortuary Temple of Queen
Hatshepsut
Terraces approached by
ramps rise toward the cliffs
where the sanctuary is cut
deep into the rock
The wall planes isolate a portion of space to
create a controlled interior environment
Their construction provides both privacy and
protection from the climatic elements for the
interior spaces of a building, while openings
within or between their boundaries
reestablish a connection with the exterior
environment
The ceiling plane is usually out of reach and is
almost always a purely visual event in a space
It can be raised or lowered to alter the scale of
a space or to define spatial zones within a
room
Its form can be manipulated to control the
quality of light or sound within a space
The roof plane is the essential sheltering
element that protects the interior of a building
from climatic elements
The form and geometry of its structure is
established by the manner it spans across
space to bear on its supports and slopes to
shed rain and melting snow
As a design element, the roof plane is
significant because of the impact it can have
on the form and silhouette of a building within
its setting
Falling Water,
Frank Lloyd Wright
Slabs express the
horizontality of the roof
planes as they cantilever
outward from a central
vertical core
Schroder House, Gerrit Rietveld
The overall form of the building can
be endowed with a distinctly planar
quality by introducing openings
which expose the edges of vertical
and horizontal places
PRIMARY ELEMENTS
VOLUME
VOLUME
A plane extended in a direction other than its
intrinsic direction becomes a volume
Conceptually, a volume has three dimensions:
length, width and depth
All volumes can be analyzed and understood to
consist of:
Points or vertices where
several planes come
together
Planes or surfaces which
define the limits or
boundaries of a volume
Lines or edges where two
planes meet
Form is the primary identifying characteristic
of a volume
It is established by the shapes and
interrelationships of the planes that describe
the boundaries of the volume
As the three-dimensional element in the
vocabulary of architectural design, a volume
can be either a solid space displaced by
mass or a void space contained or
enclosed by planes
In architecture, a volume can be seen to be
either a portion of space contained and
defined by wall, floor, and ceiling or roof
planes, or a quantity of space displaced by the
mass of a building
Plan and Section space defined by wall, floor
and ceiling
Elevation space displaced by the mass of a
building
FLOOR PLAN
space defined by wall,
floor and ceiling
ELEVATION
space displaced by the mass of a building
Building forms that stand as objects in the
landscape can be read as occupying volumes in
space
San Miguel Building, Ortigas
Building forms that serve as containers can be
read as masses that define volumes of space
Piazza Maggiore, Bologna
