Rhythmical Arrangement

G erman poet Johann Goethe once said that architecture is “frozen music”. This phrase aptly captures the rhythmical arrangement of elements in a building. Regularly spaced windows, doors, and columns tap out a measured, stately pace. Renaissance architects preferred this orderly rhythm to represent the logic and reason behind their geometric forms. Overlapping, irregular, and asymmetrically placed building elements, on the other hand, pulse in a syncopated beat. A contemporary example of this style is

Frank Gehry’ Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles (see on your left). Its collage of rippling metal shape expresses the improvised feeling of modern juzz.

Texture and Color

Smooth and rough surfaces, and bright and pale colors further differentiate the various parts of a building. Gothic Revival architects were particularly adept at these contrasts. They would often shape brick walls, stone trim, painted cast-iron columns, and stained-glass windows into colorful, textural fantasies.

Color and texture can be applied to emphasize the functional and structural roles of a space or element. Public spaces, for example, may be painted in a brighter tone than private rooms, or walls may be contrasted in smooth plaster and knotty wood. Varying color and texture can also make different areas seem heavier, lighter, smaller, larger, warmer, or cooler.

Color in architecture is often associated with regional traditions. Walls of Mediterranean houses are covered in yellow, orange, and white stucco, while the walls of houses in rural Scandinavia are clad in red-painted wood.

Light

Light, whether natural or artificial, is essential to any building. It is what shapes the form of architecture and brings it to life. The placement of windows in a wall or of a skylight in the roof affects the amount of daylight streaming into the building by day, as well as the illumination seen on the wall at night.

Unit 25 How Buildings Stand Up

1 Introduction2 interface

1.1 Read the text title and hypothesize what the text is about. Write down your hypothesis.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

2. What do you know concerning this issue? List your ideas in the table left column “I know”.

I know that…	I have learnt that…

2. If you know answers to these questions write them down in the space given after each question.

1	How is the weight of the structure itself called?
2	What generates live loads on the structure?
3	What is dynamic load?
4	What is the difference between tension and compression?
5	What happens to the beam under compression?
6	Where are cantilevers widely used in construction?
7	Goo What two basic components do modern tents consist of?