IMAGINE being in a space and experiencing it with a blank state of mind. Stepping into the field of architecture has its kind of magic. The possibility that either you build a bream or break it. Looking at the world as if it is a blank canvas to paint on. It starts with selecting a medium of expression, shaping a narrative, and underpainting to form a background. Everything you learn and perceive leads to creating lines, planes, and volumes. A sense of expression gets developed. The process continues and brings out detailed intricacies of life, mood, and atmosphere. That is just how beginning to learn architecture is!
Experiencing spaces
The simple use of curved glass to bend and refract light revolutionized how we see the world. In many ways, it is not all that different from everyday life. The intriguing part about establishing perspective is that it is certainly not in the details. A focal point forms a clear sense of visual experience. A person with knowledge of architecture can interpret different places according to their own understanding, such as spatial scale, solid-void play, form development, elements of style, materials used, macro and micro level interaction of spaces, color, and structural details as well. Multiple stories generate by selecting various forms of experiencing space.
One such story can be about roaming through a building with various openings at particular places. An architect will start by deriving of concept, observing the transformation of closed to open spaces, and understanding the materials by physical touch, architectural elements and details, the surrounding environment, and various activities. It helps with finding relevance in designing spaces. A relationship is built between the building and viewer forming a thread of memory of space.
Each experience is a different memory for different viewers. A play of physical, emotional, sensory, and memorial experiences can be achieved when places are seen from an architect’s point of view. We can visualize the whole process from analysis, design, and execution to documentation. A journey from wow factor to how factor!
Sometimes experiencing life from a different lens opens a new world of possibilities. We know, for illustration, that buildings and metropolises can affect our mood and well-being, and specialized cells in the hippocampal region of our brains are used to the figure, geometry and arrangement of the spaces we inhabit. Yet being in a public space can bring you joy and inspiration. An architect’s mind can realize the process that resulted in creating a space and evaluate the phases that led to it. The weaving of the circulation patterns of movement around the place involving activities by different age groups.
The tangible and intangible factors contribute to the creation of space through visual aspects. The physical interaction of the facades, people, streets, and surrounding environment justifies the little actions. Differentiating the spaces, by identifying the use of various materials and textures creates layers of expression in a beautiful illustration.
Nature as a form of expression
Architecture is not only about the structures, streets, and vehicular and pedestrian movement yet, also about the nature surrounding it. Nature in art and architecture can take many forms. Constructive communication depends on how we interact with our environment. Walking by a street, we mostly only notice the things that move or pass around our eye level. Surrounding nature brings a sense of being in an open, semi-open, or shaded space. The liveliness and radiance that comes with being part of your surrounding is the essence of the entire experience. Architecture happens hand in hand with natural law.
Consider strolling through a boulevard where the place is shaded and adorned by trees, shrubs, and a variety of flora. An architect identifies the trees lined at the center of the space and starts a visual journey by identifying the trees as a focal point. The spatial arrangement, sense of scale and proportion, the play of light and shadow, and mix of colors, changes through the seasons, feeling the presence of textures, anNature in Art: Detailed Discussion of Nature Inspired Art and Artists
d creation of a narrative are the things that get noticed among the others. Observing landscape as a part of architecture highlights the pressing environmental issues and topics about conservation, sustainability, preservation, biodiversity, and threatened habitats. It helps with a deeper understanding of the symbiotic relationship between man and nature through an architectural lens.
Different experiences create different stories. Different stories create different outcomes. One can narrate Architecture in various ways yet feel it the same. It brings you to a platform where nothing is too much to absorb. The process keeps you driven as much as the outcome. It truly changes your perspective and goes far beyond feel-good aesthetics. So start noticing and learning from the architecture around you, both built and unbuilt.
Let your mind be as vast as the sky. Be still. Appreciate. Observe.
References:
Courtney Jordan. 11 Perspective Tips for Convincing Architectural Sketches and Paintings. [online]. Available at: https://www.artistsnetwork.com/uncategorized/architectural-sketches-11-perspective-tips/ [Accessed 06 August 2023].
Art is Fun. Nature in Art: Detailed Discussion of Nature Inspired Art and Artists. [online]. Available at: https://www.art-is-fun.com/nature-in-art [Accessed 06 August 2023].
Expressions of Nature. Aesthetica Magazine. [online]. Available at: https://aestheticamagazine.com/expressions-of-nature/ [Accessed 06 August 2023].
7 Rules for Composing Powerful Architectural Perspectives – Architizer Journal (2022). Journal. [online]. Available at: https://architizer.com/blog/practice/tools/the-art-of-rendering-perspectives/ [Accessed 06 August 2023].
PERSPECTIVE OF AN ARCHITECT – Architect-US (2022). Architect. [online]. Available at: https://www.architect-us.com/blog/2022/03/perspective-of-an-architect/ [Accessed 06 August 2023].
How Architecture Has Changed in the Past Two Decades. How Architecture Has Changed in the Past Two Decades. [online]. Available at: https://www.easyrender.com/a/how-architecture-has-changed-in-the-past-two-decades [Accessed 06 August 2023].
