design

This famous watercolor by Joseph Gandy of Sir John Soane's Bank of England depicted as a ruin effectively reveals the clever plan which takes full advantage of the laws described above.

Natural Laws of Architecture – The Plan

So much architectural criticism today is based on subjective impressions that it can be easy to lose sight of the fact that there are some basic, objective laws which command our respect in the design of buildings. If we contradict or ignore them, our designs risk looking unnatural and ill-fitting to their purpose, or worse, […]

December 28, 2009
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The Doric capital at Grand Central Station, New York City, shows sculpted leaves where the ancient Greeks would have painted.

On the Origin of the Doric Species – The Missing Link

The typical explanation for the origin of the Doric order starts with the idea, depicted below by Sir William Chambers, that the ancient Greeks had developed traditions of joinery which were later commemorated in stone (once they were capable of building monumentally). Optical refinements were added to the forms originating in joinery, so the theory […]

December 24, 2009