Part I-Space & Form

Basic Architectural Design
Studio II
Chapter 2 Space/Form
Form and space
Space
Form and space
Space
Form and space
FORM DEFINING SPACE
Vertical and Horizontal Elements
Base plane
Interior of Glass House, New Canaan,
Street in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England
Connecticut,1949, Philip Johnson
Elevated Base plane
Elevated Base plane –
Degree of spatial & visual continuity
Edge is well defined; Spatial continuity interrupted; Visual and spatial

Spatial continuity Visual continuity maintained; continuity is interrupted;
maintained; required stairs or ramps for Elevated plane isolated
physical access physical access; from ground level;
accommodated;
Elevated Base plane –
spatial & visual continuity
view of the Acropolis, Athens, Greece
An elevated plane can define a transitional space between
the interior of a building and the outdoor environment.
Piazza San Marco, Venice

Depressed Base plane
Steps down –
introvert nature
Steps up –
extrovert
nature
Rock- cut churches of Lalibela, 13th century

Depressed Base plane The reading area within a larger library
space is defined by dropping its floor
plane below the main level of the library.
Theater at Epiduros, Greece, c.350 B.C., Polycleitos Library, Wolfsburg Cultural Center, Essen, Germany, 1962,
Alvar Aalto
An area within a large room can

be sunken to reduce the scale of
the room and define a more
intimate space within it.
House on the Massachusetts Coast, 1948, Hugh

Stubbins
Overhead Plane
Overhead Plane
Moving the roof of the house in Guinea

Overhead Plane -ROOF PLANE
Glass House, New Canaan,

Connecticut, designed by Philip
Johnson, 1949.
Overhead Plane -Ceiling PLANE
Overhead Plane -
Ceiling PLANE
Vertical space defining elements
Vertical space
defining elements
Vertical linear element
No volume of space can be established without

the definition of its edges and corners.
 Linear elements serve this purpose in marking
the limits of spaces that require visual and
spatial continuity with their surroundings.
marks the corners and edges of spaces.
Hagia Sophia ,Istanbul
Parthenon , Rome
Colonnade in ST.Peters Square

Cloister and Salle des Chevaliers, Mont
S,Midhel, France, 1203-28
Single Vertical Plane
 A Vertical plane has frontal qualities. Its

two surfaces or faces establish the edges of
two separate and distinct spatial fields.
 They can differ in form , color or texture to
articulate different spatial conditions.
 The height of the vertical plane relative to

our body height and eye level is the critical
factor that affects the ability of the plane to
visually describe spaces.
 The surface color, texture, and pattern of a
plane affect our perception of its visual
weight, scale, and proportion
Provides little or no sense of Provides sense of enclosure.

It allows visual continuity Separates one space from Full sense of enclosure
enclosure. It defines the
another
edges of spatial field
- A composition of vertical
planes cuts the continuous
field of the architectural
volume, creating an open plan
of spaces that merge with one
another.
German Pavilion (Barcelona Pavilion) at the

International Exposition of 1929, Barcelona, Ludwig
Mies Van der Rohe
L- Shaped Plane
L – Shaped configurations of Vertical planes:

 defines a field of space along a diagonal from its
corner outward.
 Stable and self-supporting
 can stand alone in space
 flexible space defining elements since they are open
ended
 If a void is introduced to one side of the corner of

the configuration, the definition of the field will be
weakened.
L- Shaped Plane
can be used in combination with one another

or with other
elements of form to define a rich variety of
spaces.
L- Shaped Plane
Kingo Housing Estatenear Elsinore, Denmark

1958–63, Jorn Utzon
Parallel Vertical Plane
 A pair of parallel vertical planes defines a field of

space between them.
 the space has a strong directional quality due to the
open ends of the field
 the space is extroverted in nature
Nave of the basilican church, S. Apollinare in Galleria Vittorio Emanuelle II, Milan, Italy, 1865–77,
Classe, Ravenna, Italy, 534–39
Giuseppe Mengon
The flow of the space defined by parallel

planes corresponds naturally to the paths
of movement within a building ,along its
corridors, halls, and galleries.
The parallel planes that define a circulation
space can be solid and opaque to provide
privacy for the spaces along the circulation
path. The planes can also be established by
a row of columns so that the circulation
path, open on one or both of its sides,
becomes part of the spaces it passes
through.
House in Old Westbury, New York,

1969–71, Richard Meier
A U- Shaped configuration of vertical
planes defines a field of space that has an
inward focus as well as outward
orientation.
Piazza del Campidoglio, Rome,c. 1544,
Michelangelo
V illa Trissino at Meledo, Andrea Palladio
A U-shaped building form can
also serve as a container and can
organize within its field a cluster
of forms and spaces.
Sketch of an Oval Church by Borromini, Genesis of

San Cario Alle Quattro fontane
Four vertical planes encompassing a field of
space is probably the most typical, and
certainly the strongest, type of spatial
definition in architecture.
Lefr: Traditional Chinese Patio House
Right: Palazzo Farnese, Rome, 1515,Antonio da Sangallo the Yonger

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Part I-Space & Form

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Basic Architectural Design

Edge is well defined; Spatial continuity interrupted; Visual and spatial

Piazza San Marco, Venice

Rock- cut churches of Lalibela, 13th century

An area within a large room can

House on the Massachusetts Coast, 1948, Hugh

Moving the roof of the house in Guinea

Glass House, New Canaan,

No volume of space can be established without

Hagia Sophia ,Istanbul

Colonnade in ST.Peters Square

 A Vertical plane has frontal qualities. Its

 The height of the vertical plane relative to

Provides little or no sense of Provides sense of enclosure.

German Pavilion (Barcelona Pavilion) at the

L – Shaped configurations of Vertical planes:

 If a void is introduced to one side of the corner of

can be used in combination with one another

Kingo Housing Estatenear Elsinore, Denmark

 A pair of parallel vertical planes defines a field of

The flow of the space defined by parallel

House in Old Westbury, New York,

Sketch of an Oval Church by Borromini, Genesis of

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