how to architect

Fact 10: Notre Dame is a gothic cathedral in Paris France. It was designed rich with symbolism from the stained glass, to the three entrances and circular or rose windows. The cathedral was also one of the first to employ the flying buttress.

Fact 9: The term Palladian window refers to a central window with arch and two flanking rectangular windows. Although it’s architect Andrea Palladio’s namesake, because of his liberal use of the motif, it’s not his invention.

Fact 8: An early innovation in architectural shape was the Colosseum in Rome. The building’s form was derived from Greek semicircular theatre. Instead, the idea with the new Amphitheater was to make a building surround its subject matter completely.

Fact 7: A plinth (or base) can be composed of steps or a monolith that a building rests on. For an object like a column the plinth is the block like portion below the circular elements.

Fact 6: Architecture is like people. We are conceived, and are buildings too.

Fact 6: Architecture is like people. We are conceived, and are buildings too.

Fact 5: The architect should be good at Math. Not necessarily because they’re doing mathematical calculations all day, but because they deal with numbers quite a bit. Whether it’s dimensional relationships or monetary ones.

Fact 4: The gable roof is a simple form created by triangular sections of wall typically just above the first or second floors. Gables can easily be grouped on the elevation of a building and are an effective means of keeping a home warm and dry.

Fact 2: The Gamble House in California, designed by Greene and Greene was part of the Art’s and Crafts movement in architecture. The home incorporated exposed wood structure, large overhangs, a high degree of craftsmanship, earthy tones and integrated landscape features.

Fact 1: In ancient Greece, a select apprentice became an expert at all the building trades. He was called the “arkhitekton” or master builder. When ready, he had the authority to direct design and construction.

Fatty at the top of Trexler Game Preserve this morning. 74 and Sunny. What a grand day!

S is for stormtrooper.

The Ashlar pattern is highly worked stone cut at mostly perpendicular angles.

The ubiquitous Barn. Part of the fabric of life and found all over the world. They come in a wide variety of sizes, shapes, and materials. They’re used to store and protect food, objects, and animals. For the last hundred years they’ve been optimized to generate income as billboards along America’s roads and highways. And today, they are prized as unique structures that lend themself to adaptive reuse.

The Scroll is a decorative architectural form. It's much like the volute found on the Ionic or Corinthian columns of the Greeks, or later seen on the Composite column of the Romans. The shape originated with the spiral found in natural forms like the conch and snail shell or the whirling pattern of a hurricane. Of course, like anything, architects got creative with the shape and places it's found. Here it's a fancy shape that dresses up a simple colonial stair.

Warning. Interesting to architects only... In a Philadelphia high rise lobby today. Bottom left are THE Louis Kahn's initials on those drawings!