balance in architecture

OBJECTIVE: To explore the compositional tool of "balance" in creating a composition.

BACKGROUND: "Balance" is a simple visual concept that relates to our experience of physical balance. If a painting or photograph is "out of balance" we immediately recognize it and try to rehang it or "crop" it to make it balanced. It is a natural tendency to want the world, including the visual world, to be "in balance." Examples of out of balance compositions would include those with all of the interest or activity on one side of the artwork, "top heavy" sculptures, and directional compositions with all of the movement running in a diagonal direction. Because we as people are "land based" and stand erect with two feet on the ground, we tend to relate visual balance to the horizon. This is particularly true in architecture, since buildings must be built on the ground. Balance in architecture can easily be achieved, and unless there is a very strong reason for not doing so (such as an attempt to call special attention to a structure or part of the building), balance should always be strived for in architectural composition. Methods of achieving balance can be classified as follows:

a. Axial symmetrical balance (arranging visually equal elements on both sides of a single axis, like the human body, or most traditional Christian churches, for example)

b. Biaxial symmetrical balance (arranging visually equal elements in each of the four quadrants created by a pair of crossed axes, like the Shedd Aquarium building, for example)

c. Radial balance (arranging visually equal elements at an equal distance from a center point and spaced at an equal distance apart from one another, like the petals of a flower, for instance)

d. Asymmetrical balance (arranging visually un equal elements around a point such that their visual weight of each element multiplied times their distance from the point of balance all equal one another, like the careful placement of stones in a Japanese garden, or the composition of the three black buildings by Mies van der Rohe and red sculpture by Alexander Calder which make up the Federal Building complex on Dearborn Street in Chicago, for example). This type of balance is the most widely used in architectural composition today, due to the extreme complexity of most building functional programs, which prevent total symmetry.

Part 1:

Draw a 150 foot square for the "field"

Draw eight 10 foot x 10 foot squares, four 20 foot x 20 foot squares and two 40 foot x 40 foot squares on the field - color squares black.

Arrange the black squares on the white field in a balanced arrangement.

Place your name, date, critic’s name and course number under the drawing

Title is 2D balance - monochrome

Plot out full size on the large plotter.

Part 2:

Do the same project as above, but fill squares with various colors and rearrange to make balanced.

Place your name, date, critic’s name and course number under the drawing and plot

Title is 2D balance - color

Plot out full size on the large plotter.

Part 3:

Do the same project as Part 1 above, but extrude squares – the 10 foot x 10 foot squares should be 80 feet high, the 20 foot x 20 foot squares should be 40 feet high and the 40 foot x 40 foot squares should be 20 feet high. View in 3D and rearrange to make balanced.

Place your name, date, critic’s name and course number under the drawing and plot

Title is 3D balance

Plot out full size on the large plotter.