aesthetics: the mainstay of eminent architecture

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AESTHETICS:

THE MAINSTAY OFEMINENT

ARCHITECTURE

BY: AYESHA

MANIKTALA

B.ARCH/S.S.A.A-2009-10



INTRODUCTION

ARCHITECTURE :the process and

product of planning, designingand constructing space that,

reflects functional, social, and

aesthetic considerations

Architectural works -perceived ascultural and political symbols and

as works of art.

So, the ARCHITECT is responsible

for designing the building"visually" and "functionally".

AESTHETICS is a branch of philosophy

dealing with the nature of beauty, art,

and taste, and with the creation and

appreciation of beauty.



SIGNIFICANCE OF AESTHETICS IN

ARCHITECTURE

1. Vitruvian principles:

FunctionStructure

Beauty

2. 19th century: functionality was met

with both popularity and scepticism

3. The Design Methodology

Movement started searching for

more people-oriented designs.

4. Contemporary concepts:

Conceptual architecture -characterized by an introduction of

ideas or concepts from outside of

architecture.

This produces an essentially different

kind of building than one produced

by the widely held 'architect as amaster-builder' model, in which craft

and construction are the guiding

principles.



ON BEAUTY AND TASTEBeauty is a pleasure in seeing how the

purpose is expressed in the form and

material of the object, not a pleasure in the

possession of the object or an enjoyment of its benefits.

One cannot get rid of the practical for the

sake of the aesthetic, but must take up the

practical into the aesthetic.

The practical problems which the architect

has to solve are so complex and difficult,

and the materials which he uses are so

refractory, that there is inevitably a sacrifice

of the beauty of appearance to utility.

Beauty or deformity in an object, results

from its nature or structure. Because of the

highly complex natures or structures of

many beautiful objects , there will have to

be a role for reason in their perception.

But perceiving the nature or

structure of an object is one

thing. Perceiving its beauty

is another. -Reid



We tend to appeal to properties that are

inherently positive, such as grace, or

balance, or dramatic intensity. To say that

a property is inherently positive is not to

say that any work having it is so much the

better, but rather that its tout

court attribution implies value.

AESTHETIC JUDGMENT

Aesthetic experience aims first at

understanding and appreciation, at taking

in the aesthetic properties of the object.

The object itself is valuable for providing

experience that could only be an

experience of that object... Part of the

value of aesthetic experience lies in

experiencing the object in the right way , in

a way true to its non-aesthetic properties ,

so that the aim of understanding and

appreciation is fulfilled.

AESTHETIC EXPERIENCE



AESTHETIC LAWS, PRINCIPLES

AND PROPERTIES

Aesthetic qualities may be sub-divided into

a number of basic elements:Unity

Proportion

Scale

Balance

Symmetry

RhythmTHE NEED FOR AN AESTHETICALLY

PLEASING CHARACTER OF SPACEThe avant- garde insisted that architecture

should be appreciated not in terms of its

economic, religious, or intellectual worth,

but in terms of its artistic value alone.

It seemed to follow that there must be a

pure artistic value, a value entirely

different from, and untainted by, economic,

intellectual, religious, political, gender or

moral values.



EXPRESSION OF THE ARCHITECTImitation is mimesis , which means replicating

an already existing object or process.

Representation, however, is not mimesis. It is

a means of abstraction created by the

architect in order to propose an idea or

emotion.

By using representation, the architect tries to

deviate from the real issue. He/she makes

the space act and perform differently.

For creating distraction from the existing

issues, a conventional system of symbols is

used by the designers.

If we assume that artists express emotion,

then this expression is one of the sources of

aesthetic value. Expression in turn, evokes

emotion in the audience



AESTHETIC TRUTH OR

AESTHETIC PLEASURE?The idea is that if something pleases you

without answering to any conscious

appetite, need or desire, without

signalizing the achievement of some

goal if it pleases you and you cannot

say straight off why, then your pleasure

is aesthetic.

T he beautiful is that of which the

apprehension in itself is pleasing.

Only those that are beautiful have the

capacity to please in virtue of their

aesthetic properties.

Zemach agrees thatsome aesthetic

judgments are literally true. Zemach

goes on to say that something about the

object is the truth-marker of such

judgments.

the object has properties in virtue of

which what is said regarding it holds or

fails to hold. T hese are its aesthetic

properties.



Orchard Building, Bedales

School, Hampshire

Architects:Walters and Cohen

The project includes three buildings ateaching building and an administration

block, connected via a circulation space,

all of which have been built

Design Intent:

The overall landscape design is toemphasize the existing beautiful

qualities of the orchard.

Overall desire to keep the orchard as

green and soft as possible.



Response:

The ground was remodelled to

emphasise the elevated sitting of the

music school

The impact of the paths and roads will

was minimised.

A few small trees balance the removal

of the large trees that are out of

character with the orchard.

The practice and teaching rooms are

located in a linear building adjacent to a

bank of mature trees.

A pitched stain- less steel roof light is areference to the Orchard Development

roof and allows light into the internal

corridor.

The new music school building features

level access to all areas, making it fullyaccessible for all users.

Outside the classroom the learning is in

a less formal way with wide access

galleries, small meeting rooms etc.

High porch clearly marks an entrance.



Expression:Orientation, natural light and ventilation

are key design generators.

Walters and Cohen has designed a single

storey building enclosing a protected

south facing garden that opens on to the

playing fields located to the south of the

existing music school.

New pedestrian desire lines across the

orchard is created with the removal of

the gym; these will be recognized in the

overall desire to keep the orchard as

green and soft as possible.



In the teaching block, classrooms are

placed on three stories along the

northern edge, where they are protected

from direct solar gain.

They open on to a top lit, highly glazedcirculation space, along the south side of

the building, with staff and support

rooms and spaces for small group

teaching opening off it at ground or first

floor level.

The classroom is relatively conventionalin form as this allows for more flexibility.

With better light and ventilation than

usual they should be less strained and

fatigued.



Study areas on the top floor the design team

sought to redefine the relationship between

classrooms and shared open space. The top

floor gallery, where students can congregate

informally or work individually on small tables,alongside smaller rooms, where staff can see

student privately.

Wide access galleries and the vertical shafts

mean staff and student can see many of their

colleagues and fellow students, while there is

also space for desks and small meeting tablefor casual chats and private study.

Across the galleries from the classroom are

smaller rooms for individual or small group

teaching.

In this dynamic between casual and formal

contact, the sense of community evolves in linewith the personal development of education.



BMW PLANT - CENTRAL BUILDING,

LEIPZIG

ARCHITECT: ZAHA HADID ARCHITECTS

The Central Building is the nerve-centre

of the whole factory complex with all

the building's activities gathering and

branching out again from here.The knot connects the three main

manufacturing departments of Body-in-

White, Paint Shop and Assembly while

serving as the entrance to the plant.



Design Intent:

The whole expanse of this side of the

factory is oriented and animated by a force

field emanating from the central building.

All movement converging on the site is

funnelled through this compression

chamber squeezed in between the three

main segments of production.

Such planning strategy applies not only tothe cycles and trajectories of workers and

visitors but also the production line, which

traverses this central point.

This dynamic focal point of the enterprise

is visually evident in the proposed dynamicspatial system that encompasses the whole

northern front of the factory and

articulates the central building as a point of

confluence and the culmination of various

converging flows.



Response:

The primary organising strategy is the scissor-

section connecting the ground floor and firstfloor in a continuous field.

Terraced plates, like giant staircases, step up

from north to south and from south to north

capturing a long connective void between them.

One cascade commences close to the public

lobby overlooking the forum to reach the first

floor in the middle of the building.

The other starts with offices at the south end

moving up to meet the first cascade then movingall the way up to the space projecting over the

entrance.

At the bottom of this void is the auditing area as

a central focus of everybody's attention. Above

the void 'open to view' the half-finished carsmove along their tracks between the various

surrounding production units.



Expression:

The central area as a "market place" is

intended to enhance communication by

providing staff with an area with which

to avail themselves of personal andadministrative services.

This organisation of the building exploits

the obvious sequence of front-to-back

for the phasing of public to quiet

activities.

The cascading floor plates are largeenough to allow for flexible occupation

patterns. The advantage here lies in the

articulation of recognisable domains

within an overall field.With a global

field, it opens up to visual

communication more possible than witha single flat floor plate.

The integration of workers is facilitated

by an overall transparency of the

internal organisation.



White-collar functions are located both on

ground and first floor. Equally Blue Collar

social spaces are located on both floors thus

preventing the establishment of exclusive

domain.

The intrinsic problems of a large car park in

front of a building were avoided by turning

it into a dynamic spectacle in its own right.

The inherent dynamism of vehiclemovement and the 'lively' field of car

bodies is revealed in the arrangement of

parking lots which let the whole field move,

colour and sparkle with swooping

trajectories culminating within the building.

Here cars swoop underneath, setting downvisitors into the glazed public lobby allowing

views deep into the building.



The architecture they are developing is

no longer the architecture of repetition

and pre- conceived forms. Rather, it is an

organic architecture that is able to adapt

and mould itself to the peculiarities of the terrain, to orient itself to the various

directions of access and to synthesise a

complex series of concerns into a

seamless and integrated whole. This is

made possible by the curvilinear

morphology that can incorporate amultitude of forms and directions

without fragmentation.

The building's design facilitates a radical

new interpretation of open office

landscape, delivering an even moreengaging experience of connectivity and

transparency within the demanding

functionality.

It was the client's objective to translate

industrial architecture into an aesthetic

concept that complies equally withrepresentational and functional

requirements. In the transition zones

between manufacturing halls and public

space, the Central Building acts as a

"mediator" impressing a positive

permanent impact upon the eye of thebeholder in a restrained semiotic way.

.



TEL AVIV MUSEUM OF ART, ISRAEL

ARCHITECT: PRESTON SCOTT COHEN

Physical context and site layout:

Fitting the desired neutral rectangular

galleries onto the "clamorous

geometries" of the triangular site, while

avoiding a confrontation with theorthogonal forms of the existing

museum



Design Intent:Its distinctive form was derived directly

from Cohens response to the

fundamental challenge of the project: to

accommodate rectangular, flexible

gallery spaces within a nearly triangular

site.

Response:The design features a remarkably curved

facade of faceted stone and a spirallingatrium of reflecting light.

Entrance into the new building is through a

clear glass triangular shaped entrance

portico.

The exterior ramp down from the plaza

level to the Garden Terrace of the

restaurant.

Cohen has designed an integrative series of

galleries, liberated from columns by meansof remarkably hidden structural trusses.



Expression:A vast, light-filled atrium at the centre

brings light into the deepest parts of thebuilding.

The kinetic forms of the exterior volume

and interior light well at once determine,

and are determined by, the disparate angles

of the rectangular galleries and thetriangular site configuration.

"It is a light source that becomes the

protagonist in terms of resolving the

relationship between the interior and the

exterior," he explains.



Cohens solution assigned key

programmatic elements to a series of

stacked and rotating levels and

connected them to a continuous

circulation space that spirals around adramatic central open atrium.

This space, aptly coined the Lightfall, is

topped by a skylight and reflects light to

the lowest reaches of the building,

endowing the buildings interior with aunique quality of progression and

motion while, at the same time, making

the structure cohesive in formal terms.

The plan of rotated boxes produces

open, fluid, interstitial spaces that aredistinct at each level. On the exterior,

the geometrical facade stretches and

twists in order to smoothly envelop the

multitude of angled spaces enmeshed

within.

The lobby space is envisioned as a

transitional zone, giving way to

cascading bridges, cantilevered stairs

and escalators leading to the various

exhibition spaces above and below.



On the exterior, the ramp down from the

plaza level to the Garden Terrace of the

restaurant, this descending space offers an

unusual procession along the twisting stone

façade as it conforms to the path.

Overlooking the garden, visitors will

recognize how the entire building,

meticulously integrated with its

environment, produces a gateway to the

sculpture garden thus allowing for the

garden to become the centrepiece of the

museum campus.

The internal spaces for various galleries are

created with well-hidden trusses and will

ensure the capacity to support a wide range

of exhibitions.

Visitors are guided by the Light fall as they

move from one gallery to the next.



Half-level below the plaza features a

conference room, classroom, restaurant

and a glass-panelled enclosed

passageway that runs along the edge of the Museums Sculpture Garden

connecting the new building to the

eastern end of the Museums existing

1970s Brutalist structure.

Finally, by descending either by means

of the open escalator or elevator to the

subterranean levels of the building,visitors will find the multi-purpose

exhibition space and a 400-seat

auditorium, along with a Museum café.

Throughout the building, light-filled

passages create dramatic spatial

views and expansive vistas.



MARSA DUBAI RESIDENTIAL TOWERS



MARSA DUBAI RESIDENTIAL TOWERS,

DUBAI

ARCHITECT: ZAHA HADID ARCHITECTS

Physical Context:Situated with in a densely populated

enclave in Dubai, between the Persian

Gulf to the northeast and the Mariana to

the southwest.

Design Intent:To create a variety of internal spatial

conditions to accommodate the

buildings diverse programmes and allow

it to respond to its site constraints.

Response:Key to the project is an inventive

structural system that is integrated with

the surface.

The system consists of vertical concrete

tubes, one of which resides within the

other.

The interior tube contains circulation

and core building while the outer tube

forms the exterior skin of the project,

extending through the structures

height.

The interior floor plates split in a



The interior floor plates split in a

scissor like action seesaw up the

height of the structure.

The exterior skin is punctured withopening covering up to 40 per cent of

its surface arranged to form a

gradation from a few small openings

at the towers base to more frequent,

larger openings at the top.

Expression:

A variety of internal spatial conditions are

created by the seesawing floor plates to

accommodate the building diverse

programmes, which include underground

and above ground parking, a swimmingpool, health club and multi-use hall, one

to three-bedroom apartments, and four

bedroom and penthouse suits.

Functionally the seesawing form creates a

greater perimeter area that allows anincreased amount of daylight to penetrate

into the circulation core while still

providing for control over the solar

intensity admitted to the occupied spaces.

Excellent daylight levels are thus achieved

throughout, reducing reliance on artificiallighting.

Situated with in a densely populated



enclave in Dubai, the building twist to enjoy

diagonal views of the Persian gulf to the

northeast and the Mariana to the

southwest. Generated from a closed square

plan, the tower is open at ground level on

the south side to allow for public pedestrian

access from the Mariana, while on the

north side the inverse applies and the

building splits open at its top to provide

penthouse resident with spectacular views

of the gulf.

The incorporation of a gradated range of

openings, adjusted to the orientation of

each façade, minimizes the heat load within

the building.

On elevations most directly exposed to solar

intensity, the glazing is recessed elevations;

it is positioned closer to the outside edge of

the façade. Beyond providing

environmental control, this adjustment of

glazing position within the depth of the

façade visually accentuates the buildings

changing shape and form.

Tectonic inflection at this scale enhances its

overall visual interest and at the same time

contains variations within the range of a

unifying appearance.

As one moves upward there



p

are also an increased number

of geometrically faceted

widows whose design draws

from traditional Islamic

motifs.

The balance of openings to

opaque surface is crucial for

the project to maintain its

elegance: if the skin is

compromised, so is thestructure and as a result so is

the overall elegance of the

building. The exterior skin is

supple in that it incorporates

all of the organizational and

spatial relations of the

building.

The upward gradation of the

window pattern designs is

drawn from studies of

traditional decorative faceted

Islamic geometry.

INFERENCE AND CONCLUSION



The aesthetic expression of

eminent works of architecture

has been studied in detail. The

philosophical value system

applicable to art forms is also

applicable to every aspect of

architecture. Architecture has

evolved to successfully

represent creative arts,

encompassing form, function,beauty, harmony of the space

within and the external

environment. The architect

creates illusions using forms in

spatial relation and with the

play of light and shadows, toenhance the aesthetics

appeal, adaptability to

internal and external environs,

and expression of dynamic

space as well psychological

emotions.

THUS IT CAN BE EASILY

INFERRED THAT AESTHETICS IS

AN IMPORTANT PARAMETER

CHARACTERIZING EVERY

FORM AND FUNCTION INARCHITECTURE.



THANK YOU

aesthetics: the mainstay of eminent architecture

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