Thursday, September 30, 2010

It's All About the Basics

The age old question continues - Which came first? The chicken or the egg? Depending on who you ask, you will get different answers with different sets of reasoning. This question represents our wonder at the beginnings of life and our longing to know how it all began.

In the built environment, there are basic parts of form known as the PRIMARY ELEMENTS - but unlike the chicken and the egg, we know for sure the order in which these elements occur.

POINT

The first primary element of form is POINT. By definition, a point is a static position in space that has neither shape nor form. Below is a diagrammatic example of a point.


While a point is directionless it can serve to mark the beginning and end of a line, the intersection of two lines, the meeting of lines at the corner of a plane or volume, and the center of a field. Below is a photo of a built-in wall unit in a kitchen that is serving as a wine rack.


Looking back at our formal definition of point, we know that a point can serve to mark the intersection of two lines. Take a look below at how point is illustrated graphically in relation to this photo.


In this photo with graphic overlay, the points where the lines intersect in the wall unit are shown.

LINE

The next Primary Element is LINE. Line is an important element for visual construction. It's like the old saying "connect the dots". At its most basic a line is the connecting of two points. Lines are one dimensional but can have varying degrees of thickness and can serve to join, link support surround or intersect other visual elements. Take a look at Line in diagram.


The orientation of a line can affect its role in visual construction. A vertical line expresses a state of equilibrium with the force of gravity. A horizontal line represents stability, the ground plane, the horizon, or a body at rest. A diagonal line is dynamic and is visually active. Let's take a look at a photo from an interior space and look at line.


Line can be seen in many places in this photo. A graphic overlay highlights some of the strongest lines in this space.


The horizontal edge of each stair along with the vertical lines in the stair handrail show two orientations of line mentioned earlier.

PLANE

The third primary element of form is PLANE. A plane is two dimensional with length and width, but no depth and it's primary identifying characteristic is its shape. A diagram of plane is as follows.







The three types of plane in the built environment include Overhead (roof or ceiling), Wall Plane, and Base Plane (ground or floor). A photo of an interior below shows a wall plane.


In this interior space, the second floor continuation of the stair rail and serves as a wall.


Even though this railing is not totally solid and can be seen through, it is a plane as shown in the overlay of the photo above.

VOLUME

The last basic element of form is VOLUME. Volume is a three dimensional element and can be a solid or an enclosed void. All volumes consist of of POINTS where planes connect, LINES where planes connect, and PLANES that determine its limits.






Form is the primary identifying characteristic of volume. In architecture, a volume can be seen to be either a portion of space contained and defined by wall, floor, ceiling or roof planes, or a quantity of space displaced by the mass of a building.
The photo below shows the exterior of a home and is a great example of volume.





In this photo, the exterior wall and roof planes can easily be seen as well as points and lines where they meet. In the overlay below the outlines of these planes are highlighted and can show where two wall planes meet.



So there they are - the four pieces that serve as the primary elements of form. These elements of POINT, LINE, PLANE and VOLUME when joined together visually form our built environment. Without them we would have no place to keep the chicken or the egg!

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Does this mean I am a Design Philosopher?

I think a lot - sometimes way too much. I think I actually enter the realm of "over thinking" on a daily basis. One of our first major class assignments was to form our Design Philosophy. I thought "wow, this should be a cinch". I mean after all, I know what my style is when I see it and I know what my unique vision is. My designs always include something personal for my client and focuses on the idea of a "collected" or "eclectic" interior. I love the mix of old and new, a basically neutral color palette with fun pops of color placed in just the right spot for the greatest impact, and I don't believe in buying anything that comes in "sets". So yeah, I was ready to write my Design Philosophy because I know exactly what that philosophy is, right? Or do I?
After a few word exercises and a line of questioning about our goals, we were to end the assignment by making a collage that represented our philosophy and then have a written philosophy. What started out to be so easy in my mind, all of a sudden became difficult for me. I was challenged to communicate not only through words, but through a narrated picture story about what my philosophy really is. It then dawned on my that what I first thought was my philosophy was actually just the product of that philosophy. I had to dig deeper to get to the root of what truly fueled MY design fingerprint. So after a lot of thinking, deep thinking, re-thinking and - you guessed it - over thinking, I am pleased to share my Design Philosophy with you.
True Beauty comes from within and is reflected in the things that surround us in our natural environment, as well as our built environment. Design, and in particular interior design, is a tool we can use to express who we are as individuals. It is not static as we are not static beings. Styles changes, tastes change and technology changes but what never changes is our unique human need to express ourselves.
My Design Philosophy is that it is the client , as a multi-dimensional being,  who is at the beginning, center and end of the design process. It is my burning desire as a designer to create a space that not only reflects who this person is, but what they aspire and dream to be and to do it in a way that had possibly never occurred to them before. I believe the interior spaces in which we live are an extension of who we are just like the clothes we wear and the friends we keep. I believe we as designers truly can change people's lives through design, but only once we take the time to truly find out who they are first.
Take a look at my collage and look at images that reflect my philosophy and design style. See if you can find the pictures that reflect the words I wrote. But please...try not to over think it :-)

Welcome

Hello and welcome to my virtual studio. This BLOG is inspired (ok... required) by an assignment in "Form Space and Order" - a studio course I am currently taking at SCAD Atlanta. Under the guidance of Professor Lisett Robinson, my fellow student designers and I will explore formal elements and principals of design and architectural ordering. We will be introducing terminology, ideas and other design related information. I have a feeling there may be some surprises along the way, so be sure to check in regularly to find out the latest. Thanks again for dropping by, but don't get too comfortable - I may put you to work! :-)
-chris