The document discusses several key concepts in architectural design including scale, proportion, human scale, hierarchy, symmetry, rhythm, and axis. It provides definitions and examples to illustrate each concept. Scale refers to size relative to a standard, while proportion is the relationship between parts and the whole. Elements like windowsills and door frames give buildings a human scale. Hierarchy is expressed through varying size, shape or placement of elements to show importance. Symmetry involves balanced patterns around a center. Rhythm uses repetition of shapes, progression of sizes, or line movement. An axis establishes a line of organization.

1. While SCALE allude to the size of something compered to a reference standard or to the size of something else,
PROPORTION refers to the proper or harmonious relation of one part to another or to the whole.
Proportioning system go beyond the functional & technical determinants of architectural form & space to
provide an aesthetic rationale for their dimensions . They can visually unify the multiplicity of elements in
an architectural design by having of all its parts belong to the same family of proportions. They can provide a
sense of order in, & heighten the continuity of, a sequence of spaces.
Whole Part
Proportion

2. Human scale in architecture is based on the dimensions & proportions of the human body. We can use elements that have
human meaning & whose dimensions are related to the Dimensions of our posture, pace, reach, or grasp. Such element as a
table or chair, the sill Of a window & the lintel over a doorway, not only help us to judge the size of space, but also give it a
human scale.
A table that made for ten men for meal, that can be used by two. But it fails to make intimacy between
those two men.
Of a room three dimensions, its height has a greater effect on its
scale then either its Wide or length.

3. INTIMATE ENVIRONMENT bedroom
MASS ENVIRONMENT Public
place
SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT

4. A axis is a line established by two points in space, about which forms and spaces can be arranged in a symmetrical or
balanced manner.
A main line of direction, motion, growth, or extension.
Axis

5. → Well-defined spaces, generally
centralized or regular in form .
→ Points in space established by
vertical, linear elements or centralized
building forms.
→ Gateways that open outward
toward a view or vista beyond.
Character of termination element:

6. Location: Vatican City, Rome, Italy
Architect: Bernini
Building Type: Piazza, outdoor
plaza, open urban space

7. Itsukushima Temple
Hiroshima Prefecture
Japan
A symbolic gateway in the sea

8. A datum refers to
• Line
• Plane
• Volume
of reference to which other elements in a composition can relate.
a linear datum must have sufficient visual continuity to cut through or bypass all of the elements being
organized.
If planar or volumetric in form, a datum must have sufficient size, closure, and regularity to be seen as a
figure that can embrace or gather together the elements being organized within its field."
Devore House, Pennsylvania
Architect: Louis Khan
Datum

9. German Pavilion, Montrel World Exposition
Architect: Rolf Gutbrod and Frei Otto

10. Hierarchy
The articulation of the importance or significance of a form or space by its size, shape or placement relative to the
other forms and spaces of the organization.
A system of elements ranked, classified and organized one above another, according to importance or significance.
Hierarchy by Size
Permanent Mission of India to the UN. New
York.
-Charles Correa

11. Hierarchy
The articulation of the importance or significance of a form or space by its size, shape or placement relative to the
other forms and spaces of the organization.
A system of elements ranked, classified and organized one above another, according to importance or significance.
Hierarchy by Shape

12. Hierarchy
The articulation of the importance or significance of a form or space by its size, shape or placement relative to the
other forms and spaces of the organization.
A system of elements ranked, classified and organized one above another, according to importance or significance.
Hierarchy by Placement

13. A symmetrical composition requires the balanced arrangement equivalent patterns of form
and space on opposite sides of a dividing line or plane ,or about a center or axis.
Symmetry

15. Petronas twin tower
Malaysia

16. Bilateral Symmetry
Example : The Parthenon
Location: Athens, Greece
Architect: Ictinus and Callicrates with Phidias
Building Type: Temple
Symmetry: Vertical mirror through each side of the
temple

17. Biaxial symmetry is the condition in which the
plan is symmetrical on two perpendicular axes.
Palladio
Villa Rotonda
Vicenza, Italy
(1569)
Biaxial symmetry

18. Radial Symmetry
Swiss ray tower
London

19. Architect: James Ream
Building Type: House
Symmetry: The rooms of
the house spiral out from a
central chimney.
Example : Ross House
Spiral or Helical Symmetry

20. Wheel Pattern
Strip Pattern
Variation In Symmetry

21. Symmetry In nature

22. Rhythm
Rhythm, controlled or measured flow of movement, either aural or visual, usually produced
by an ordered arrangement of differing elements of the medium concerned. Rhythm is a basic feature
of all the arts, particularly music, poetry, and dance; rhythm can also be detected in natural
phenomena.
Three outstanding methods ….
1. Through the repetition of shapes.
2. Through a Progression of sizes.
3. Through continuous line movement.

23. Through the repetition of
shapes. . .
Through a Progression of
sizes . . .

24.  In Nature…..

25.  In ARCHITECTURE…..
Kahn’s Salk Institute