Activity 1.1.2 Design Principles and Elements
IntroductionHave you ever noticed how buildings of similar size and shape can have completely different visual effects? Architects, like artists, must understand the elements and principles of design and how they affect the visual impact of the building on a viewer. Whether it is the intent of the architect to create a feeling of strength and stability or to create an unusual form that will elicit a double-take from the public, the elements and principles of design can be used to manipulate the intellectual and emotional reactions of the people who see and use the building.
Equipment Principles and Elements of Design Applied to
Architecture presentation notes
ProcedureIn this activity you will identify design elements and principles as they pertain to images of structures.
For each of the following, choose one element of design and one principle of design that you feel is most prominent in the image and then justify your choice.
Word BankBalance Form Rhythm TextureColor Line Shape UnityEmphasis Proportion/Scale Space Value
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1. Principle of Design
Rhythm, Unity, Contrast
Justification: This is irregular rhythm since the arches
aren’t exactly the same The unity is shown in the materials, the
only material used is stone There is a contrast, although not a large
contrast, in color. The stone is two different colors, grey and brown.
Element of Design
Form and Shape, Texture
Justification: This has a shape in the arches. There
is form in the columns The stone has a rough texture
2. Principle of Design
Balance, Emphasis, Unity
Justification: There is horizontal balance here. If the
building were split down the center, the left and the right sides mirror each other.
The building is all one color and seems to be made mostly out of the same material, showing unity.
Element of Design
Lines, Form, Space
Justification: This building uses many vertical lines,
as shown in the columns The form in this building is the dome at
the top of the building. There isn’t a lot of open space, making
the front of the building look a little
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busy.
3. Principle of Design
Rhythm, Proportion and Scale, Contrast
Justification: There is regular rhythm in the
decoration on the roof of the building. The pattern repeats until it gets to a corner.
The 3:5 golden scale is evident in the building. The red building and the while tower have a 3:5 proportion
There is a contrast in the color of the two structures, red and white.
Element of Design
Lines, Color, Shape, Space
Justification: This building has many horizontal lines,
which are especially clear in the tower. There is the use of warm colors in the
main building with the use of red. Shapes can be found in the arches of
the red building and in the windows of both buildings.
The white building has a very open space that’s not very cluttered. The red building has less open space, although the space is used very well.
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4. Principle of Design
Balance, Rhythm, Movement
Justification: There’s asymmetrical balance, since
the building is tilted and shifted to one side.
This building has regular rhythm in the spacing of the horizontal lines.
There is a feeling of movement in the way.
Element of Design
Lines, Form, Texture
Justification: In this building horizontal lines are
curved around the building. The building is in an asymmetrical form,
somewhat resembling an egg. The texture of this building appears to
be smooth since the material used appears to be glass.
City Hall and London Bridge
5. Principle of Design
Emphasis, Contrast
Justification: There is an emphasis on the figure in
the center since s/he’s wearing a different color and larger than the others.
There is a contrast in colors since one figure is in blue while the others are in white.
Element of Design
Lines, Space, Color
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©Istockphoto.com
Justification: There are curved lines, shown in the
arch over the figures. There isn’t a lot of open space since
there’s many figures and words (at the bottom).
The two main colors used in this are blue and white, which are two cool colors
6. Principle of Design
Rhythm, Unity
Justification: The balconies creates regular rhythm in
the building. The entire building is blue or clear, so
the unity is in the color.
Element of Design
Lines, Shape, Space
Justification: From this angle, they look diagonal, but
horizontal lines are used in this building. The balconies are in the shape of
triangles and there’s one large rectangle on the side.
There is a lot of open space on this building.
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©Istockphoto.com
7. Principle of Design
Balance, Unity
Justification: On the door of the building, there is
horizontal balance. The colors used are all very muted,
showing unity in the colors.
Element of Design
Lines, Color, Shape
Justification: The driveway has curved lines while the
house has horizontal lines where the walls meet the roof.
The two colors, red and yellow, are both warm colors.
The roof is in the shape of triangles (cones).
8. Principle of Design
Rhythm, Proportion, Unity
Justification: With the arches, there’s regular rhythm. The proportion between the top row of
arches and the bottom row of arches is 3:5, which is the golden ratio.
The entire structure is made out of the same material for unity.
Element of Design
Lines, Space
Justification: Vertical lines are used in the
columns/supports and curved lines are used in the arches.
The space is very open and not cluttered.
Roman aqueduct
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©Istockphoto.com
Microsoft Office clipart
9. Principle of Design
Balance, Emphasis
Justification: In this structure, there’s horizontal
balance, mirrored over the center of the image.
There is emphasis on the gold artwork at the back of the room.
Element of Design
Lines, Color, Texture
Justification: The lines of the columns are vertical. The whole color palate is white and
gold, which are both warm colors. The texture of the stone, other than
where it was carved, looks very smooth.
10. Principle of Design
Rhythm, Contrast, Unity
Justification: The buildings show regular rhythm. There is a contrast in colors, the main
color is blue and the accent color is red. Unity is shown in the style the houses
are built in.
Element of Design
Shape, Space, Color
Justification: The windows are all uniform in square
shapes. There is not a lot of empty space,
however the space seems to be used well.
There are two main colors, red and blue, with red being a warm color and blue being a cool color.
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Conclusion1. In what way do certain elements or principles identify the time period in which a
structure was created?
Elements and principles can be used to identify the time period in which a structure was created because certain elements and principles were more common or heavily used. Therefore, if the elements and principles of a structure match with certain elements and principles of buildings from a certain time period, then that structure is most likely from that time.2. What factors might account for an incorrect identification?
Some factors that might account for an incorrect identification of a time period could be if some factors are similar to others (ex. two types of arches that look similar). Another factor could be if some features are found in multiple time periods.3. Describe an example of a way that design principles and elements could impact
the function of a building.
One example of a way that design principles and elements could impact the function of a building is when they are used to highlight certain features or places in the structure. This can help direct people to use or go to parts of the building. On the other hand, if some parts of the building are hard to find, hidden, or not exactly “showcased”, then those parts won’t be used as much.
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