“The architect should be equipped with
knowledge of many branches of study
and varied kinds of learning, for it is by
his judgment that all work done by the
other arts is put to test. This knowledge
is the child of practice and theory.”
And….. This is how Knowledge
Tree of Architecture grows….!!!!
SO…
You better Concentrate…☺☺
“In discussing Architectural matters, we rarely achieve
anything but a quarrel about what you like and what I
like”
- Christian Norberg Schulz
What exactly, are theories?
Formally defining simple regularities
What are theories?
❑Theories are therefore made of two things: words and formal expressions. But both
represent concepts.
❑A theory is a system of concepts with one type of expression, the verbal, which links
the concepts back into our understanding, necessarily with some imprecision; and
another, mathematical form which links the concepts forward into phenomena,
necessarily with great exactness.
❑Theories thus link our understanding to the world, connected to our understanding
by linguistic concepts and connected to phenomena by formal expressions
corresponding to the concepts.
What is Architectural Theory?
❑Architectural theory is the act of thinking, discussing, and writing about architecture.
❑Architectural theory is taught in most architecture schools and is practiced by the
world's leading architects. Some forms that architecture theory takes are the lecture or
dialogue, the treatise or book, and the paper project or competition entry.
❑Architectural theory is often didactic, and theorists tend to stay close to or work from
within schools.
❑It has existed in some form since antiquity, and as publishing became more common,
architectural theory gained an increased richness.
❑Books, magazines, and journals published an unprecedented amount of works by
architects and critics in the 20th century.
❑ As a result, styles and movements formed and dissolved much more quickly than the
relatively enduring modes in earlier history. It is to be expected that the use of the
internet will further the discourse on architecture in the 21st century.
Characteristics of Architectural Theory
❑ History and Theory are closely related and have always been essential to the study
of architecture.
- Theories are general statements dealing with what architecture is, what it
should do, and how best to do it.
- History deals with theories, events, design methods, and buildings.
❑Theories are helpful to architects in making choices and decisions
- Establishes a procedure
- Orders decisions to make them useful
❑Theories in architecture are less rigorous than scientific theories which are analytical
in nature and require rigorous proof.
Characteristics of Architectural Theory
❑Architecture Design is synthesizing in nature
- Assimilates and integrates a wide variety of elements in new ways
- Suggests directions but cannot guarantee results
Pruitt Igoo Housing Project, St. Louis, Mo.
Eiffel Tower, Paris, France
❑A symptom of the speculative character of theory in architecture is the tendency for
theoretical statements to be manifestos employing evocative language
Louis Kahn – “ The nature of space is the spirit and will to exist a certain way.”
Robert Venturi – “Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture”
Do architects need theories?
❑To bring to conscious thought the principles that underlie the spatial and formal
patterns that transmit culture through buildings, and to formulate possible alternatives
that work as though they were culture — since architecture must be an addition to
culture not simply a removal of it — is an intellectual as well as a creative task. It requires
not only the conceptualization of pattern and configuration in vacuum, but also
comparative knowledge and reflective thought.
❑Architectural theory is the ultimate aim of this reflection. An architectural theory is an
attempt to render one or other of the non-discursive dimensions of architecture
discursive, by describing in concepts, words or numbers what the configurational aspects
of form or space in buildings are like, and how they contribute to the purposes of
building.
❑In a sense, theory begins at the moment architecture begins, that is, when spatial and
formal configuration in buildings, and their experiential and functional implications, are
no longer given through a tradition of social knowledge transmitted through the act of
building itself.
Do architects need theories?
This is not to say that creative architecture depends on theory. It does not.
But in that architecture is the application of speculative abstract thought to the
material world in which we live, the reflective aspects of architectural enquiry lead to
the formulation if not of theory then at least of theory-like ideas. The need for theory
becomes greater as architecture advances.
Theory is most required when architecture becomes truly itself, that is, when it
becomes the free exploration of formal and spatial possibility in the satisfaction of the
human need for buildings.
However, the fact that theory is an inevitable aspect of architecture does not mean
that all theories will have a positive effect on architecture.
Does architecture really need theories, or are
they just a pretentious adjunct to an essentially
practical activity?
If architecture does need theories, then what are
they like?
Are they like scientific theories?
Or are they a special kind of theory adapted for
architectural purposes?
If architectural theories can be wrong, and have
apparently adverse consequences, then can they
also be right?
How can we set about making architectural
theories better?
And most difficult of all: how can architecture as
a creative art be reconciled to the disciplines of
theory?
POSITIVE & NORMATIVE THEORIES IN
ARCHITECTURE
- Jon lang
NORMATIVE THEORY
•Design principles used are based on personal experiences of Architect.
•Not based on systematic research and systematic body of shared knowledge.
•Intellectual development in design profession held back due to lack of explicit body of
positive theory.
Form follows function – Louis Sullivan
Less is more – Mies Van Der Rohe
Less is bore – Robert Venturi
House is a machine for living in – Le Corbusier
Ornament is crime – Adolf loos
Organic Architecture – F L Wright
•Normative Theory is a value laden statement on, what ought to be; perceptions of good
or bad; right or wrong; desirable and undesirable.
•Perceptions for action – Design principles; standards; manifests.
Professed
SUBSTANTIVE THEORY
Practised
NORMATIVE THEORY
Professed
PROCEDURAL THEORY
Practised
POSITIVE THEORY
Definition:
Positive Theory is a system of statements or ideas which describe and explain a
phenomenon tested using scientific methods.
Characteristics:
- Explanatory and predictable.
- Tentative and subject to revision
- Can’t be proved stands disproved.
Function of Positive Theory:
- make sense of what otherwise remains non meaningful.
- to be value free, to avoid bias.
- raise o consciousness behavior in built environment having design implications
- to be helpful in making design decisions that lead to predictable outcomes.
Lack of Positive Theory:
- Fear that systematic research will lead to challenge of cherished beliefs.
Ex: space standards – height of riser, size of room, width of corridor.
NATURAL ENVORONMENT THEORY
Natural – nature of materials,
geometry, structures, climate.
Artificial – built environment
SUBSTANTIVE THEORY
PERSON ENVIONMENT THEORY
The influence of the built
environment on human behavior
POSITIVE THEORY
PROCESS OF DESIGN
Analysis, Synthesis, Evaluation
PROCEDURAL THEORY
NATURE OF CREATIVITY
MODEL OF NORMATIVE THEORY
DESIGNER INTENTIONS MEDIUM OBJECT IMPACT ON USERS
Focus of Aesthetic
concern Principles
MODEL OF POSITIVE THEORY
IMPACT ON USER OBJECT MEDIUM IMPLICATIONS FOR DESIGN
Principles of
environmental
experience
This was the contribution of Jon Lang to the field of
Architectural Theory…
