My second year in the Interior Design and Architecture program at University of Idaho was all about abstraction. The studio based its curriculum on discarding the notion that a building is a just a box. A building can be much more than just a box. Humans need to inhabit spaces that are much more than boxes to lead a healthy life since we spend about 93% of our time indoors (Environmental Protection Agency).
The Elements of Art are line, shape, form, value, space, color and texture. All of these can be used to make a space for humans to inhabit. Architecture isn’t only about simply making a space for humans to function properly in, though. It’s also about giving the user an experience to stimulate interest. Otherwise we would just live in boxes.
“A growing body of research in cognitive science illuminates the physical and mental toll bland cityscapes exact on residents. Generally, these researchers argue that humans are healthier when they live among variety…or work in well-designed, unique spaces, rather than unattractive, generic ones”
Jacoba Urist, The Cut
Contrasting two different buildings will show how valuable art is to architecture:
Arts West, University of Melbourne
The free flowing, geometric form of the coffered timber roof and vertical arrangement gives visual interest while at the same time mediates natural daylight and assists natural ventilation. The texture of the wood that is scattered throughout the building gives a clean, natural and fresh feel to the space. Lastly, the open space in the center of the building allows for flexibility and balance to the rest of the turns and corners surrounding the rest of the structure.
“While artists work from the real to the abstract, architects must work from the abstract to the real.”
Steven Holl, The Brooklyn Rail
Health Sciences Center, Louisiana State University
The form of this building is exactly what my second-year studio told me not to do: make a perfect boxed structure. The interpreted line that the small windows dotting the building make, make it feel like a prison from the outside: boring to look at. The color of the building is very bland and is the same throughout the exterior.
images from Arch Daily; The Times-Picayune
Sources:
- Environmental Protection Agency
- Urist, J. “The Psychological Cost of Boring Buildings.” The Cut. April 2016. https://www.thecut.com/2016/04/the-psychological-cost-of-boring-buildings.html
- Holl, S. “What is Architecture (Art?).” The Brooklyn Rail. September 2013. https://brooklynrail.org/2013/09/criticspage/what-is-architecture-art