Design Theory

Palladio, Late Renaissance: Universal grammar

• Palladian architecture began in the early 1500s and is a European style of architecture derived from the designs of the Italian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580).
• Andrea Palladio was a late renaissance architect who was the last great architect to derive contemporary buildings from ancient architecture. 
• Palladio created carefully proportioned, symmetric buildings that became models for private homes and government buildings in Europe and America.
• Famous for his grand, orderly look. 
• In 1570 he published his masterwork Four Books on Architecture where Palladio suggests that the lengths of a room should be the harmonic or geometric mean of the height and width of that room. 
• Palladio used principles that related to art and forms that related to nature to generate his architecture.
• He is known as a Renaissance master and the most influential and most copied architect in the Western world.

                                                         Villa Capra, Palladio. Showing the grid.

Palladio’s principles:
Grid definition 
Exterior wall realignment 
Room layout 
Interior wall realignment principal entrances‐porticos and exterior
Wall inflections exterior ornamentation‐ columns 
Windows and doors 
Termination

One of his most famous is Villa Capra, also known as the Rotunda, was modeled after the Roman Pantheon. Villa Capra is a completely symmetrical building with a square plan and four facades. The name Rotunda refers to the villa's circle with an intersection of a square with a cross. 

Villa Carpa, exterior view

Design Theory

BALANCE

Visual stability, symmetrically/asymmetrically.
If something is not in balance, it tips over.
The placement of objects within a room according to their visual weight.
Line, form, colour and texture all help to determine their visual weight. Formal balance – symmetrical (mirrored effect). Informal – uses different objects of the same visual weight to create a sense of balance in a room.

This is an example of formal balance. The elements are mirrored around the centre of the room. The lines in the ceiling and in the black shape, makes the space interesting and dynamic. The colours and the value also make the room in balance.

PROPORTION AND SCALE

Refers to how the elements within an object relate to the object as a whole while scale relates to the size of an object compared to the space in which it is located. It is about the relationship between objects.

This is an example where the scale of an object is surprisingly large compared to the other objects in the room and the space it is located in.

RYTHM

Controls the eyes as they move around a room. Rhythm allows the eyes to move around from one object to another and creates a harmonious atmosphere in a room. Rhythm is created through repetition of line, form, texture and colour.

This is an example where the eye moves from shape to shape, because none of them stands out from the others. They also have the same colour and size. The circles in the ceiling and the colour are repeated, and create a rhythm in the room.

EMPHASIS

The focal point is an obvious feature in a room to which the eye is attracted and could be anything from a fireplace, a piece of artwork, or a window treatment featuring a beautiful view. The focal point of a room should be emphasized with the use of line, form, colour and texture.

This is an example where the focal point is the fireplace. It is the first thing you see in the picture (room). The shape and colour is different from the other elements in the room, so the fireplace stands out.

UNITY AND HARMONY

A well-designed room will have a unified whole that gives a sense of order. The shapes and sizes of the objects in the room are consistent, with harmony of colour and texture. Repeating elements, balancing them throughout a room and adding a little variety for interest will give a room a personality all its own.

This is an example where the colours and the shapes create harmony. There are some variations in the room, created by lines in different directions and sizes. But the value of black and white and the sizes of the objects create unity.

Design Theory

The Dolphins Barn project.

The brief was to create 4 apartments into 1 sharing-unit for 4 troubled teenagers and 1 live-in supervisor. My troubled teenagers struggled with eating disorders and bad self esteem.

My ideology was to create a safe place for them to develop themselves. They needed a place where they could grow and establish a healthy relationship with people and food.

I used the cocoon as inspiration for my concept and all the walls where curved - to make the interior spaces welcoming and soft. The cocoon is a protective case (whether real or metaphorical), and that is what I wanted to do for these teenagers - create a protective and safe home.

Bachelor degree project

My 3rd year project was an "Office for Sustainable Design"

and the concept was "GreenLife"

Parametricism

My thesis project is about parametricism and how successful that is in terms of contemporary architecture.
If you have some input on that subject, please let me know:)

First post!

Hi all,

My first post,
stay tuned!