“The mother art is architecture. Without an
architecture of our own we have no soul of our own civilization.” - Frank Lloyd
Wright
Architecture is one of the most fundamental fields
of study and is the building block of existence, quite in the literal sense. An
architect is a man of versatility. He creates designs that adapt to human needs
and emotions. It can be put this way; like how the prism is able to bring out
the underlying colours of plain light into different shades, similarly an
architect is able to manifest the needs of a client into aspects of design,
aesthetics, engineering, construction, space, cost, materials and colour in the
right balance.
Architecture is a fast-paced and ever-changing
subject, perhaps why we don’t have many solid, stagnant theories. But
architecture plays a significant role in relation to quite a few
non-architectural theories and fields.
It is
widely accepted that the Darwinian theory of partial selection is the way of
existence in the world. A good architectural form is not only determined by its
originality band innovation, but also by its survival value and sustainability.
Every individual has an unique thought-profess of ideas. Competition and
conflict of ideas in a society suppress or reinforce each other to produce one
or more dominant ideas. So, a Darwinian process happens among many competing
ideas in the mind, to produce the most dominant or in common man’s words, the
most appealing idea. All this happens in an architect’s mind for the benefit of
the client or the consumer. Another type of Darwinian selection takes place
among the consumers when they choose any particular design over the others that
depend on their personal need and stylistic fashion. One can see how such an
important theory influences the thought process of both architects and the
common man.
Architecture
has its relation close home too with its influence over Indian astrology and
the Hindu religion. The religion of Hinduism traces its roots to ancient times
in India and the people place their beliefs in paramount importance. That is
how the ‘Vastu Shastra’ came to play an important role in building psychology,
through astrology and religion. ‘Vastu Shastra’ helps in determining the
position of a structure, giving special importance to the cosmic elements
keeping in mind the directions and the elements of the solar system like the
sun and the moon. Overall, it is a renowned belief for one’s own personal
satisfaction.
The universal concept of Golden ratio has been used
in many architectural designs since the ancient times. Apart from architecture,
one can find its presence in daily life under various situations; from flowers
to eggs to DNA. The field of design, logo design in particular uses this
concept. Some of the most famous companies like Apple, Google and Toyota have
incorporated the theory and concept of the Golden ratio in their logos. It’s
very intriguing that the maximum presence of the Golden ratio is seen in
nature. The existence of such order in nature is what inspired to use those concepts
o engineer new ideas. This leads to a field in architecture called biomimicry.
It involves picking up inspiration from nature. A similarity can be drawn
between pine trees and skyscrapers, from their structure; both of them have a
sloping effect at their peaks. Mercedes Benz had turned towards the boxfish for
their bionic car concept. The aerodynamics and efficiency of the shape of the
boxfish
inspired
designers to apply the characteristics of the fish to the vehicle. This
resulted in an extremely streamlined vehicle with 65% lower drag coefficient
than other compact cars in the market at that time. This throws light on how
the convergence of biological sciences and design today depends upon
innovations that are billions of years old.
In accordance with Maslow’s theory on hierarchy of
needs, the levels of needs have at least one element that is satisfied by
architectural ideas and influences, with the levels of Safety and esteem being
the principal ones.
Finally,
one of the most frequently used theories in virtually any field is the colour
theory. The use of warm and cool colours, complimentary colours helps man
perceive his surroundings in an aesthetic way. The layman identifies his liking
only with a product’s colour appeal but an architect or a designer perceives
much more than that. People tend to be largely influenced by colour. One such
striking example is exhibited by fast food chains such as KFC and McDonald’s
that use warm colours such as red as red possesses the ability to induce hunger
and attract customers.
Every scientific profession; from designers to
engineers; from psychologists to biologists, utilise colour theory to subconsciously
affect our reaction that is induced by our surroundings.
Today, everything is interconnected and a slight
change in any field can influence the surroundings a great deal. Architecture
as a fundamental science and art, exerts its dominance in various areas, making
it pivotal. It has no fixed catalogue as it is ever-changing and adapting
itself to new differences and changes. Architecture should be valued more in
our lives to come.
“Good architecture should be a projection of life
itself, and that implies an intimate knowledge of biological, social, technical
and artistic problems.” – Walter Gropius
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