Introduction to architecture by james c.snyder and anthony j.catanese FIVE TYPES OF CONCEPTS There are five types of concepts: analogies (looking at other things), metaphors (looking at abstractions), essences (looking beyond the programmatic needs), programmatic concepts (looking at the stated requirements), and ideals (looking at universal values). Analogies Of the five categories analogies are probably the most frequently used device to formulate concepts. Analogies identify possible, literal relationships between things. One thing is identified as having all the desired characteristics and thus it becomes a model for the project at hand. Until the rise of the modern movement in the first half of the twentieth century, it was assumed by clients and architects alike that all the great architecture of the world had already been built. The task of the architect was to figure out which previous building was the appropriate model for the new building being designed. At one point the initial assumption was that Gothic was the appropriate model for churches, colleges, and universities; Greek Doric was the appropriate model for banks; and St. Peter's Basilica was the appropriate model for capitols from Washington, D.C. to Madison, Wisconsin. Some analogies seem to turn up more than others. One of the most frequent is the village street or a covered shopping street like the Galleria in Milan. A recent example is Diamond and Meyers' use of both a village street and the Galleria as an analogy for the design of a building for the University of Alberta in Edmonton that combines a student union with married students’ housing. The apartments are located along the interior street with a curved dome and daylighting similar to the Galleria in Milan. In developing this project, the architects were concerned with the basic validity and how to develop and carry out the analogy. An example of one refinement of the original analogy is in the use of panel windows that open onto the street. The architects noticed that the perspective view down the street in an early version of the design did not match the vitality and colorfulness. St. Peter's Basilica, Rome. (George Gerster, Rapho Photo Researchers) Student Union Housing, University of Alberta, Edmonton, by Diamond and Meyers. concept in architecture 1 To introduce that visual vitality. Thus. University of Alberta.snyder and anthony j. The gangway system seemed applicable to the new design even though the Tree Tops project was on a flat site and the activity was housing rather than warehousing. not glass. on Hilton Head Island. the gangway and bridge system of circulation in the warehouse area of Savannah. but this particular scheme did not have that friendly clutter. he developed an analogy of the research building as a community where people could see each other and become aware of the activities within the building. Kahn. This concept is very similar to Roche's Ford Foundation Building. Stoller and Glasser. Analogies do not have to relate to other specific buildings. South Carolina. The colors of these panels and the posters attached to them provided the visual vitality the architects were seeking. Georgia. Another example of the use of a direct analogy in which one building provides an appropriate image for another project is Tree-top by David Glasser of Marquiss. they designed and developed special windows for the rooms overlooking the street.Introduction to architecture by james c. was identified as having characteristics that would solve a variety of siting and circulation problems. Kahn observed that the medical researchers on the University of Pennsylvania campus were inappropriately spread out all over the medical concept in architecture 2 . of other streets they had seen. They remembered picturesque images of wash hanging from the windows. The windows were solid. In this example. in discussing the concept behind the Richards Medical Research Building at the University of Pennsylvania. catanese Section: Student Union Housing. brightly painted panels. He talked about the need for researchers to communicate and share their ideas. and were opened to provide extra cross-ventilation and views of the street activity below. made several analogies. the result of consideration of the uniqueness to be made of its spaces and their service requirements. expresses the character of the research laboratory.12 Kahn may have developed an inspiring and appropriate analogy as his concept for building. Stoller. and they do not need the kind of light that an artist might require. Researchers do not appear to be enamored of the concept of a community of scientists or of their visual accessibility to each other. catanese Treetops. observed it in use.snyder and anthony j. Neither do they seem to be inspired by the analogy that their research spaces are artists' studios with two walls of windows for light. talked to the users. Kahn. the building has some important achievements. and learned of its problems. Hilton Head Island. this building was the only facility he visited that tried to include the philosophical issues of creativity. many choose to close their blinds for privacy and to control heat gain from the sun. This design. His second analogy and concept developed around an appropriate self-image for the researchers. Kahn likened the activities and imaginative thinking of the researchers in their laboratories to those of artists in their studios. South Carolina. They need walls on which to hang experimental equipment. University of Pennsylvania by Louts I. by Glasser. concept in architecture 3 . . Jonas Salk visited research buildings around the United States as part of the process of selecting an architect for his new research building. Richards Medical Research Building. Kahn's conceptual image for the medical research facility was a community of artists' studios filled with creative researchers. . He studied the Richards Building. and he chose Kahn to do the Salk Institute in San Diego. . and Marquis. Despite its drawbacks. Still.Introduction to architecture by james c. My Medical Research Building at the University of Pennsylvania incorporates this realization that science laboratories are essentially studios . (David Glasser) school campus. but according to some reports the building—while heralded by some as the most important structure of the 1960s—is difficult for researchers actually to use. Simon's Island. the corridor becomes a 15 gallery. see the emergence of what kind of institution it would be ." and "The house is a dream. Charles Moore. Stanford Anderson wrote about and quoted Kahn's interest in essences and his use of metaphors. Essences Essences distill and concentrate aspects of more complex issues into terse. . It could have a different image on the inside. but huge.. with essences. Other examples of metaphors include Gio Ponti's provocative list of definitions and explanations of various aspects of architecture. and dramatic environment appropriate to a resort. theatrical. brightly colored and decoratively formed set of walls surrounding an 13 interior space. The geode is a conceptual metaphor that suggests how the building could have two simultaneous images. and the budget becomes an economy. to take a program and to translate its areas programs to spaces. However." 14 Geode-architecture analogy. A statement of the essence of something can also be the result of discovering and identifying the roots of an issue." "The fountain is a voice. with elements and their articulation." Other metaphors discussed in his book. inside it is an orgiastic. answering to an inspiration it serves. Essence connotes insights into the most critical and intrinsic aspects of the thing being analyzed. metaphors identify relationships between things. and the environment of spaces which express the place of one man and another.." "The door is an invitation. It is apparently an old Georgian plantation. When viewed from the outside the building could have an image that would match the image of the neighborhood. Similes are metaphors that. Kahn is concern with form.Introduction to architecture by james c." concept in architecture 4 .. so that the lobby becomes a place of entrance. In Praise of Architecture. catanese Metaphors and Similes Like analogies. His definition of architecture itself is a simile: "Architecture is like a crystal. It is almost the first duty of the architect. on the outside. [the] condominiums by the beach do something in response to this [geode-like] image. every building . in a discussion of his interests. Metaphors and similes identify possible patterns of parallel relationships while analogies identify possible literal relationships. the relationships are abstract rather than literal." "The colonnade is a choir. use the words “like" or "as" to express a relationship. He develops that metaphor in a brief scenario: At St. such as an entertaining." "The room is a world. explicit statements. "I'd think of the nature of something. suggested that he likes buildings to be like geodes. what things are.snyder and anthony j. include: "The obelisk is an enigma. Georgia. you might say. Introduction to architecture by james c. This search can be an analysis of the program or it can be a graphic analysis in which the project is diagramed in different ways. function. Placing emphasis on essences and roots runs contrary to the one other major philosophical approach to creativity and architecture popular in this century. Architects from Frank Lloyd Wright to Eero Saarinen have valued this belief. are essentially public places belonging to the city as well as to the hotel. San Francisco. The work of John Portman of Atlanta illustrates another version of the search for essences. Judging from its role in the success of these buildings. catanese Geode-architecture analogy: St. that Hugh Stubbins' Medical School Library at Harvard was a "very good library. Designers have developed several methods for searching for the ess en c e of a p rojec t a nd for tran sforming it into concept statements. especially in his elevators.snyder and anthony j. The assumption is that the most important Things are the most essential. This philosophy is based upon the idea that each individual architect has a unique. The proof that they capture the essence of a hotel is their popularity. Hyatt Regency Hotel. The general willingness to use precedent—whether historical or recent—other than vernacular sources has only regained respectability since Kahn's emergence as a form-giver in the 1960s. Simon's Island. A pragmatic method of identifying the essence of s project is to analyze the program and identify the hierarchy of issues for the project. something that has been missing from almost all twentieth-century structures. as did Walter Gropius. While not always candid about his contemporary sources. Georgia. Kahn unabashedly identified the architecture of ancient Rome and the work of Le Corbusier as his major inspirations. decoration is essential elements in an architecture admired by the general public. interest." A comparison between the plans and interior spaces shows a remarkable similarity. The main multistory lobbies. in the middle of designing the library at Phillips Exeter Academy. (Alexandre Georges) concept in architecture 5 . innovative interior spaces. Kahn did modestly suggest. Another insight is his willingness to build architecture that includes decoration. one of the founders of the Bauhaus. by John Portman. As concepts they integrate image. innovative contribution to make. which are decorated with tiny light bulbs and pierced by windows for a view of the dramatic space. Portman's understanding of what interests and excites people is developed in his detailing. project by Charles Moore and Associates. as Kahn has suggested. that allow the designer to overcome the circumstances of each project and to accomplish what is really important to accomplish. and—whenever possible—an urban-design plan for the city in which they are built. Portman's most famous buildings are hotels with dramatic. The search is to identify ideas that tie together the various parts of the building and. especially in San Francisco. after all. by Eero Saarinen. Given a particular design problem to solve. or essential? Symbols in architecture are images that evoke automatic responses to a set of stimuli. to create. we wanted the architecture to reveal the terminal.A. His technique combines analogies and essences. New York. and each is expected to have at least one aspect that would be highly desirable in his own solution. One. In contrast to the philosophical musings about essences and expression. then he edits to bring out its salient characteristics. (Ezra Stoller/ESTO). The collection of hypotheses is then used to focus and direct the synthesis and design of the actual proposal. usually visual. within the complex of terminals that makes up Idlewild [now Kennedy International]. especially because laymen are usually more literally than visually inclined. The characteristics are further abstracted into a hypothesis about the important design lesson to be learned from the original setting. Eero Saarinen interpreted the conceptual challenge at the TWA Terminal at International Airport to be the expression of movement and travelas the key idea that could hold the whole project together. John F. Next. Now. enclosed place. to design a building in which the architecture itself would express the drama and specialness and excitement of travel. Two...snyder and anthony j. that does not mean that one does not have the right to see it that way or to explain it to laymen in those terms. According to Saarinen: The challenge of the Trans World Airways Terminal was twofold. Pictures of several famous places are chosen.Introduction to architecture by james c. but as a place of movement and of transition. critical. not as a static. 16 Trans World Airlines Terminal Building. First. a building for T.. Lerup analyzes each picture in a series of steps. another pragmatic and diagrammatic method of discovering essences has been suggested by Lars Lerup... Symbols are a subset of the essences category. Why. Thus. which would be distinctive and memorable. Symbols imply that the essences can be characterized in specific forms and images that the public can understand. The fact that to some people it looked like a bird in flight was really coincidental.. he begins by identifying famous places that have characteristics matching aspects of his design problem. would anyone try to manipulate the design of a building to symbolize that which was not important. he redraws the image. Kennedy International Airport.W. catanese Another kind of essence architects look for is the essence that they can express in the design of the building. That was the last thing we ever thought about. concept in architecture 6 . That hypothesis is combined with others distilled from the other photographs. This would aid neither the client nor the architects who are flexible and comfortable in emphasizing different ideals for different projects have an advantage in providing services to their clients. In fact.for each project he designed. For example. Direct Responses and Problem Solving Not all concepts capture the essence of a project. concept in architecture 7 . Ideal concepts represent the highest aspirations and goals of the architect. catanese Thus. Their previous experiences and insights would be useless. and designing for self-sufficiency of the whole system. unpartitioned spaces he called "universal space. If architects bring the right concept to the project. Mies developed the concept of an ideal building based upon large. The major problem area that was identified in the A i r and Space Museum was circulation and orientation for a very large number of visitors. and offices were expected to work best as versions of a universal space. an architect can bring to each project a series of ideal concepts about how to conserve energy in buildings. both to display the prime attraction and to entertain the viewer moving from one theme exhibit room to another. D. Ideals In contrast to the previous categories of concepts. symbols have to do with expectations. Ideals can have positive effects and if architects did not have them to refer to and use in conceptualizing and developing their designs their task would be more difficult. open. classroom buildings. and each project would have to begin from scratch. which suggest that the architect look inside the problem or at a similar problem to discover appropriate concepts. street like circulation pattern that would disperse people to all the various theme rooms was tested in the first few months of use. it becomes a preconception and their basic competence is questioned. more than twice the projected number of visitors visited the museum in its first year. The concept developed in response was a two-level street that connects a series of enclosed theme exhibit rooms. only a few actually make a pragmatic approach sound inspiring and many designers inadvertently avoid working on the problem at hand while trying to be creative. This is especially important when economics are crucial and cost increases due to inflation alone can kill a project if it is not designed quickly enough. the whole building would have been less useful and would have created unnecessary frustrations to its millions of users. ideal concepts are those that architects bring to the problem. libraries. Concepts can be developed around more pragmatic issues often explicitly identified in the building program. Another example of the potential for ideals to influence concepts is illustrated by the work of Mies van der Rohe. Many building types can be designed to match expectations.Introduction to architecture by james c. If their choice is inappropriate. Visitors to the building have a choice of viewing order. zoning according to need for heat.C. Student unions. The concept of a double-level. The building can be both the place for an activity and the image that symbolizes that activity. These concepts might include compartmentalizing. identified the importance of knowing what kinds of problems to attack in large projects." Mies thought it was basically appropriate . developing windowless backs of buildings that can be turned toward cold winds. Gyo Obata. because the collection is simply too large to be taken in at one time. While many architects take pride in their ability to solve a c l i e n t ’ s problems. Three open multistory hall are located at interval along the street. angling surfaces for heat collectors. Without a clear concept of circulation as a prime issue. in discussing his proposal for the A ir and Space Museum in Washington. nor do they all symbolize the function of all the activities in a building.snyder and anthony j. they are praised for their genius. concepts. by Mies van der Rohe. Conceptual scenarios integrate a number of applicable concepts and are used for communicating ideas to one's self and to clients. (Balthazar Korab). essences or intrinsic aspects. appropriateness. Berlin. Most importantly. concept in architecture 8 .snyder and anthony j. and depth of thought) that can become an important basis for architectural design. Of course. National Gallery. ideas. Concepts integrate the various elements of a design into a coherent whole and allow the architect to direct his or her resources to the most important aspects of design. programmatic or pragmatic responses. metaphor or abstract relationships. catanese SUMMARY Notion. the appropriateness of a concept or scenario is pivotal and it comes from a process of self-criticism. and ideals or external values. There are five types of concepts: analogies or literal relationship. the search for appropriate concepts and their application in architectural design helps make good architecture. and scenarios form a continuum (of increasing complexity.Introduction to architecture by james c.