2.1 Architectural Theories & Design Philosophies
Key Takeaways
- Le Corbusier's Modulor (developed 1943-1955) sizes architecture around a 1.83-meter human figure, with the navel at 1.13 meters and the raised arm at 2.26 meters
- Louis Sullivan coined "form follows function" in his 1896 essay "The Tall Office Building Artistically Considered," founding architectural functionalism
- Symmetrical balance mirrors elements along a central axis; asymmetrical balance achieves equilibrium through unequal visual weight, as in Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater (1935)
- Organic architecture, led by Frank Lloyd Wright, treats a building as an integrated whole that grows from its site rather than an object imposed on the land
- A datum is an organizing line, plane, or volume - such as a continuous cornice line - that unifies varied forms through its own continuity
Architectural Theories & Design Philosophies
Architectural composition rests on a shared vocabulary of design principles that examiners expect licensure candidates to recognize in a plan, elevation, or photograph, and to name correctly when analyzing an unfamiliar building. These principles are not decorative jargon - they are the analytical tools an architect uses to explain why a composition succeeds or fails, and the PRC Architect Licensure Examination (ALE) tests both the vocabulary and the ability to apply it to an image or design scenario.
Principles of Composition
Proportion is the comparative relationship between the dimensions of a building's parts and its whole. The classical orders (Doric, Ionic, Corinthian) fixed proportion through a module - typically the diameter of a column at its base - from which every other dimension (column height, spacing between columns, entablature depth) was derived as a ratio. The most widely tested proportioning system is the Golden Ratio (phi, approximately 1.618), an irrational number in which the ratio of a whole to its larger part equals the ratio of the larger part to the smaller part. It generates the golden rectangle and golden spiral and is traditionally associated with the proportions of the Parthenon.
In the twentieth century, Le Corbusier formalized a modern proportioning system called the Modulor (developed 1943-1955), an anthropometric scale based on a human figure standing 1.83 meters tall, with the navel positioned at 1.13 meters and the raised arm reaching 2.26 meters. Le Corbusier divided this figure into two golden-ratio series (red and blue) and layered in the Fibonacci sequence, producing a single system meant to reconcile the metric and imperial (foot-inch) measurement traditions and to size everything from door widths to ceiling heights around the human body.
Scale describes the size of a building element relative to a known reference, most often the human body. A doorway sized for comfortable human passage reads as human scale; an oversized portico or a soaring nave reads as monumental scale, intentionally diminishing the individual to communicate power or reverence; a low, tightly enclosed alcove reads as intimate scale.
Rhythm is the visual tempo created by the repetition of elements - columns, windows, piers - at regular or varied intervals. Rhythm can be regular (evenly spaced, like a Doric colonnade), alternating (A-B-A-B), progressive (elements that grow or shrink in a sequence), or flowing (continuous, curving repetition).
Balance is the visual equilibrium of a composition. Symmetrical (formal) balance mirrors elements along a central axis - think of a Neoclassical government building or the axial mass of the Taj Mahal - and communicates order, formality, and permanence. Asymmetrical (informal) balance achieves equilibrium through the visual weight of dissimilar elements rather than mirroring; Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater balances a heavy stone chimney mass against light cantilevered concrete trays without mirroring either side, producing a dynamic rather than static composition.
Unity (harmony) is the sense that all parts of a design belong to a single coherent whole, typically achieved through consistent material, color, geometry, or a repeated architectural theme across otherwise varied elements. Hierarchy is the deliberate differentiation of elements by size, form, or position to signal relative importance - a dominant entrance portal, a taller central tower flanked by lower wings, or a primary volume rendered in a distinct material. Datum is a line, plane, or volume that collects, measures, and organizes a pattern of forms and spaces by virtue of its continuity and regularity - a continuous cornice line unifying a streetscape of otherwise varied buildings is a classic datum.
| Principle | What It Describes | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Proportion | Ratio of parts to whole | Golden Ratio; the Modulor |
| Scale | Size relative to the human body | A monumental cathedral nave |
| Rhythm | Repetition / visual tempo | A regularly spaced colonnade |
| Balance | Visual equilibrium | Symmetrical facade vs. Fallingwater |
| Unity / Harmony | Parts read as one whole | A consistent material palette |
| Hierarchy | Emphasis by importance | A dominant central entrance |
| Datum | Organizing reference line/plane | A continuous cornice line |
Architectural Theory: Four Schools Tested on Licensure Exams
Functionalism holds that a building's form should be generated by its function and use requirements rather than by applied style. The credo "form follows function" was coined by American architect Louis Sullivan in his 1896 essay "The Tall Office Building Artistically Considered," and it became a rallying principle of Modernism and the International Style, echoed in Le Corbusier's description of a house as "a machine for living in."
Formalism, by contrast, treats geometric and compositional form as the primary generator of design, pursued for its own visual and intellectual discipline rather than as a direct expression of function - Andrea Palladio's symmetrical villa plans are a classical example of form-driven composition.
Contextualism asserts that a design should respond to and draw cues from its surrounding physical, cultural, and historical context - massing, materials, and street alignment that defer to an existing urban fabric rather than imposing an unrelated object onto it. Postmodern architects such as Robert Venturi and Aldo Rossi advanced contextualist arguments against Modernism's tendency to disregard the existing city.
Organic architecture, most closely associated with Frank Lloyd Wright, holds that a building should grow from and harmonize with its site and natural surroundings as an integrated whole, rather than being an object imposed upon the land. Wright's Fallingwater (1935, Bear Run, Pennsylvania) cantilevers concrete terraces directly over a waterfall, and his Prairie-style houses use low, horizontal lines and deep overhanging roofs to echo the flat Midwestern prairie landscape.
How the ALE Tests These Concepts
Expect application-style items: a photograph, elevation, or floor plan is described, and the correct answer names the principle being demonstrated (proportion, rhythm, balance) or the theory under which the building would be classified (functionalism, organic architecture). Distinguish carefully between a principle of composition (a compositional tool available under any style) and a theory or philosophy (a belief about what should generate design in the first place) - a common wrong-answer trap is naming a theory where the question is really asking about a principle, or the reverse.
Which architect developed the Modulor, an anthropometric proportioning system based on a 1.83-meter human figure?
The phrase "form follows function," the rallying principle of architectural functionalism, is credited to which architect?
A row of identically sized columns spaced at equal intervals along a building's facade most directly demonstrates which design principle?
Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater balances a heavy stone chimney mass against light cantilevered concrete terraces without mirroring either side of the composition. This best illustrates which design principle?