What is Considered Beautiful

A ncient Roman architect Marcus Vitruvius Polliot (see on your right) insisted that three fundamental principles are essential to architecture. His formula still holds true. A building must balance all three to be considered architecture. These three fundamental principles are:

Function: This refers to how a building is used. Whether a building is used as a house, a store, or a museum, it must accommodate practical requirements for every purpose within its walls. A building without function may be beautiful, but it is sculpture, not architecture.

Structure: This refers to how a building stands up. Whether it consists of steel columns, wood studs, or brick walls, the framework must resist gravity and loads placed upon it. But to be architecture, it must do more. It must create beauty from structural necessity – this is what differentiates architecture from engineering.

Beauty: This refers to the visual and sensory appeal of buildings. It is what Vitruvius called “delight”. Architectural delight can be found in a neatly patterned brick wall, a vaulted stone ceiling, or a tiny window emitting a stream of sunlight. Beauty is the ultimate test of good architecture. Without beauty, a highly functional building is merely utilitarian without rising to the realm of architecture. It is the difference between a suburban tract house and Frank Lloyd Wright’s masterpiece, Fallingwater.

What is considered beautiful and what is considered ugly changes over time. The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., designed by Edward Durrel Stone, a leading architect of his day, was considered the height of architectural beauty when it opened in 1971. Today, it is ridiculed for its boxy shape, gigantic lobbies, and modernistic decorations.

The Kennedy Center

Sometimes an architectural style that was once considered beautiful will fall out of favor, only to be rediscovered decades later. In Miami Beach, the city’s once thriving Art Deco hotels fell into disrepair in the 1970s and 1980s after years of neglect. After preservationists pointed out the merits of these architectural treasures, the hotels were renovated to become hip tourist destinations. Art Deco has once again become synonymous with the beauty of Miami Beach.

T ruly outstanding works of architecture never fail to wow us with their spatial power. Such structures as Stonehenge, the Parthenon, or the Moscow Kremlin are still admired for their monumentality even though they are thousands of years old.

How to Spot Good Architecture

How can you tell if a building is good architecture? You can be pretty sure that a building is good architecture if you can answer “yes” to the following questions:

D oes it express its function in a meaningful and visually interesting way? For example, an airport may be aerodynamically streamlined to resemble flight, a museum may be sculpted into abstract shapes to represent the contemporary art inside, or an institution that values collaboration among its employees may consist of buildings grouped around shared courtyard.

Modern International Kuwait Airport (left)

Does it compliment or contrast with its surroundings? Good architecture does not end at its walls. The design of an individual building should relate to its environment in a unique way. Some of the best buildings are not very noticeable right away – they use the same materials and shapes as neighboring structures but tweak them in new ways. Other buildings introduce a completely different vocabulary to call attention to the form and the function of a particular structure.

Is it well built? Architecture should be made to last. It is easy to discern a flimsy building from a solid one – hollow doors, shaky floors, and crooked walls give it way. But the difference between average and excellent architecture is harder to discern. Small details such as door hardware, windowsills, stair railings, and even baseboard can make or break the architecture. As modern architect Mies van der Rohe once said, “God is in details.” That’s why the best architects always insist on designing every tiny thin.

D oes it age well? Good architecture has an essential character that remains steadfast even though the building’s use and the needs of its inhabitants may change. When the Amsterdam’s Entrepotdok was completed in 1830, it was the largest bonded warehouse complex in Europe, used for the temporary storage of goods in transit The city’s plans to demolish the complex were intercepted by a neighborhood committee which came up with a plan to rejuvenate the stately warehouses, with commercial space on the ground floor and housing in the upper floors. Situated adjacent to the city zoo, Entrepotdock has become a delightful multifunctional neighborhood.

Do the building’s spaces surprise, inspire, mystify, delight, or disturb? Good architecture solicits a visceral reaction. A tranquil courtyard filled with plants and fountains soothes our senses, while a dark, underground passage may fill us with dread. An equally spaced row of monumental columns appeals to our sense of balance, and angled walls, floors, and ceilings that look about to tumble over impart danger and disorientation.