The Secrets Of Architectural Composition

Well arranged, logical, and aptly illustrated, this classic survey covers every aspect of the design process. It addresses architectural principles as well as their practical application, examining general questions of scale, balance, proportion, and symmetry and presenting detailed treatments of doors, windows, walls, stairways, columns, and other features. Long acknowledged as a valuable resource for students and teachers alike, this volume is unsurpassed in terms of the richness of its material and the consistency of its insights. It was written by Nathaniel Cortlandt Curtis, an influential designer and artist who served as the head of the Tulane School of Architecture. Curtis illustrated his work with nearly 250 line drawings that depict architectural elements from a splendid variety of periods and settings, from ancient Rome's temples and palaces to modern-day hotels and museums of Paris and New York.

Excerpt from Architectural Composition No man of true education has ever attained the commandership of an army or to the presidency of a nation because these positions are highly remunerative, but because he found in them his calling. If the student architect likewise feels the calling to educate through art, or if at least he.is conscious of the influence his work is to have in inculcating into the masses the guiding principles of truth and service allied to beauty, then let him be ushered into the assembly of his elders. He certainly must be aware that if the generation of to-morrow shows proclivities for good citizenship, high aspirations, refined taste, and self control - or for the antitheses of these Virtues - the law of compensation shall deem him largely responsible for it. The architect must realize that as an artist he is a thinker, a preacher and a doctor all in one. Through the artistic, merits of his work he can greatly help to reform, uplift, and cure; and all this he does by being true to his art and to himself. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Architecture Use the patterns of architectural composition to inspire creative design In Compositions in Architecture, Don Hanlon offers students an excitingly original path to dis-covering architectural composition, one that avoids the traditional either/or choice between theory and practice. By exploring the underlying patterns of organization in architecture, this book enables the reader to connect architectural theory with the design process. And by relating what happens in the design studio with how the architect thinks about architectural composition, the approach spurs creative thinking. With examples that range across diverse cultures and historical periods—from the famous to the obscure—the author reveals the universal compositional strategies that can be used to solve particular architectural problems. Readers will explore: The five formal properties of composition—number, geometry, proportion, hierarchy, and orientation How the plan conveys the central organizing strategy of a building Typological similarities of architectural forms that cut across cultural, social, historical, and geographic boundaries Enriched by a graphic approach that will appeal to visual learners, Compositions in Architecture reveals the formal structures in architecture throughout the world as well as through the ages and inspires architects to turn abstract ideas into real-world design.

Excerpt from Architectural Composition: An Attempt to Order and Phrase Ideas Which Hitherto Have Been Only This was favorably received, and formed the basis of a course of lectures which has been given by the author annually for some years at Columbia University before the students of the School of Architecture. The theories involved have never been impugned, nor indeed can they well be; as they comprise only generaliza tions of principles which have long been recognized in their individual application. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.