We began discussing Form this week in class. Form is a key element in architecture and design. It is the manner of arranging and coordinating the elements and parts of a composition so as to produce a coherent image. Form suggest reference to both internal structure and external outline and the principle that gives unity to the whole. Shape, size, color and texture all affect form. Position, orientation, and visual inertia are the relational properties that govern the pattern and composition of elements.
To understand Primary Solids we first must begin with the Primary Shapes, which include the circle, triangle, and square. When you extend or rotate these shapes you make volumetric forms or solids that are easily recognizable. Circles create spheres and cylinders; triangles create cones and pyramids; and squares generate cubes.
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Example of a Pyramid |
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Image: Isager, Ditte. "Washed." House Beautiful. April 2010. 97. |
Dimensional Transformation
All other forms are understood to be transformation of the primary solids. Dimensional transformation is when a form can be transformed by altering one or more of its dimensions and still retain its identity. Changes in height, width, length can transform a cube. A sphere can be changed by elongating it along an axis. Pyramids can be changed by altering dimensions of the base, modifying height, or tilting the axis.
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Image: Abranowicz, William. "Foreign Exchanges." Elle Decor. October 2010. 255. |
Subtractive Forms
A form can be transformed by subtracting a portion of its volume. Depending on the extent of the subtractive process, the form can retain its initial identity or be transformed into a form of another family. Subtractive forms are when regular forms have fragments missing from their volume, yet they retain their formal identities if we perceive them as incomplete wholes. The primary solids are easily adaptable to subtractive treatment. By subtracting spatial volumes from a form recessed entrances, positive courtyard space, or window openings shaded by the vertical and horizontal surfaces of the recess can be created.
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House at Poissey by Le Corbusier |
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Image: Merrell, James. "Bath of the Month." House Beautiful. May 2010. 150. |
Additive Forms
A form can be transformed by the addition of elements to its volume. Whether or not the identity of the initial form is altered or retained is determined by the nature of the additive process and the number and relative sizes of the elements being attached. An additive form is created by physically attaching or relating one or more subordinate forms to its volume. There are different ways to group two or more forms; by spatial tension, edge-to-edge contact, face-to-face contact, or interlocking volumes. In order to view these groupings as unified compositions of form, the combining elements must be related to one another in a coherent manner. The nature of the relationships that exist among the component and the overall configurations are categorized by five different types of form; centralized, linear, radial, clustered, and grid.
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Example of Interlocking Volumes |
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Image: Schrager, Victor. "Precious Metals." Elle Decor. October 2010. 241. |
Formal Collision of Geometry
Formal collision of geometry happens when two forms that are different either in geometry or orientation merge, interpenetrate each other's boundaries, each fighting for visual dominance. This collision can happen in a number of ways; two forms can forfeit their individual identities and merge to create a new form; one of the two forms can receive the other totally within its volume; two forms can merely share an interlocking portion of their volumes while retaining their individual identities; or two forms can be linked by a third element that is similar in geometry to one of the original forms.
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Image: Emmerling, Samantha. "The Best!" House Beautiful. April 2010. 144. |
