Solids and Cavities in Architecture

As we've said before Architecture is within art.Architecture is the art of playing with solids(forms) and cavities(space),that are very essential components of architecture.Cavity is the clearly defined space.Rasmussen use a different word cavities, instead of spaces and voids,because void is undefined and space is overdesigned.On the other hand the solids enclose and form the cavities.In other words,solids are the containers and the cavities are the contained.Rasmussen also make  a kind of parallelism ,let say the relationship between solids and cavities,glasses and liquid.The glass it self is the solid and the liquid is the cavity.That's how he tries to make a simple example to understand better the relationship.
Architecture is a "game",how we play with solids and cavities.
Rasmussen says there are two types of architects, who differ from the way they start designing.One is sloid-minded and the other one is cavity-minded.So the architect might choose to start designing firstly with main space.He/she might think about the space and other detais late, but some others might have other approaches.Furthermore Rasmmussen gives examples of works  of these types of architects.In the Gothic architecture is characterized by solid-minded.The Beauvais Cathedral in France  is the right example of the solid minded design.First thing we can see is the sharp pointed structure.While the cavity minded design belong to the period of Renaissance.Like in Karli in India cave temples,St.Peter church,etc.
Another period is Late Renaissance or Mannerism.This period followed Renaissance architecture in a more sophisticated manner.Mannerism was the dominant art form of the Late Renaissance.In those buildings that were build in that period,we can distinguish the contrast between the solids and cavities create visual drama in architecture.The employment of masses and cavities together in effective contrasts leads to works that use grand architectural/visual effects.We can observe that effective use of contrast in many edifices and buildings.In buildings like: Porta di Santo Spirito,Italy; Palazzo Massimo alle Colonne In Rome; S.Maria della Pace in Rome,Fontana di Trevi,Police Headquarters,Copenhagen city Hall etc.This contrast was strongly reflected in one of the modern design of "Falling Water"(Johnson Wax), particularly in the importance of interpenetrating exterior and interior spaces .
The relationship and the contrast between the solids and cavities are part of the design and is important how we use them,both to be in control.A good architect should look on all sides,not only the space part but the structure too.

From the past to the present

Architecture has evolved throughout the years.During these years has been tried to define the relationship between building technology and architectural aesthetics.The two fold essence of architecture are abled by two important components: the physical structure, which obeys objective requirements and the aesthetics part ,which gives us an emotion of a subjective nature.This relationship and the right mixture of these two components places architecture in a field completely apart from the other arts.
Pier Luigi Nevri ,an italian architect,engineer and builder,in his book "Aesthetics and Technology in building" has analysed architectural designs and components throughout history.He ,as a builder judges building technologies and methods of construction and as a non technician analyses the aesthetic aspect as a work of art.Good Technology is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for Good Architecture.The conditions to building correctly are economic efficiency,functionality,stability and durability.Each one of them has their own importance.
-Stability-the building should be stable otherwise we have not build correctly
-Durability- it should be resistant to different external elements (fire ,earthquake etc)
-The other two conditions are result of proper proportioning of sizes of spaces,relaionship of spaces,richness of ornament,preciousness of materials.
Nervi says that the relationship between Building technology and Aesthetic Appearance are present in building from the past to the present.This relationship he presents with examples from Greek and Egyptian,Roman architecture.Greeks and Egyptians were limited by marble and stone materials.Different from Greeks and Egyptians ,in Roman architecture thrusting roofs plus the introduction of powerful horizontal forces made possible internal shapes and spaces.An example is the reconstruction of the interior of the Basilica of Maxentius.The relation between  Aesthestics and Technology is shown during the Gothic period in Gothic Cathedrals.
From the past to present ,architecture is different.This rrlationship has evolved in a aesthetical way.Some modern architectural building are: Firth of Forth,Bridge,Eiffel Tower,etc.
To sum up the relationship between the technology and aesthetics that Nevri found in the great buildings of the past has remained intact.

Hierarchical Spatial Design

3D Voided

Color in Architecture

Color in it self has a strong impact on our perception of space,our comfort,mood and even on our appetite.For example In Fast Foods the colors are red,orange,yellow.There we eat fast because we dont feel comfortable.We get "angry" with the red.The red color increase our blood pressure.
Usage of colors in architecture has evolved over the years.The use of color with the type of architecture makes a built form way more influential.As said by Rassmusen :"Color in architecture is used to emphasize the character of a building,to accentuate its form and material and to elucidateits divisions."
Certain colors can make an object seem lighter,others heavier than it is.It can be made to appear large or small,near or distant.For exapmle:If a room is small,warm and dark colors might make it look smaller ,whereas cool and light colors might make it larger.
As we've learnt different colors have different psychological effects on us.
BLUE- transmitHcalm,positivity
GREEN-relieves pain
ORANGE-Improves mental clarity
PINK-Meditation
WHITE- headache
Colors are also used in marketing.Like the color Blue in clothes gives confidence on people.There are also cultural influence on our experience of color.For exapmple in English if a person is said to be green, he is sick ,while in German means hopeful.Or bride dresses are white in Europe,US, while in China is red.
Color has been used in architecture since ancient times as Neolithis cave paitings.The difference between a paiting and  a architectural environment is when a paiting loses its color it is no longer a work of art while in architecture the art of building is concentrated with form,diving and articulaing space.Furthermore Man discovered how to make the materials more durable than they were from natures hand and new colors begun to appear Red yellow bricks,deep black wood.A wood material isn't  resistent of water so we mix plastic material with wood to create a composite material with wood material as we wanted.
Color may express the character of a building and the spirit it is meant to convey.Colors changes with the daylight.We see the colors differently in town with high humidity and in town with low humidity.Architecture should be real ,building materials were used to exploit their inheent color,the red of brick,the white of marble,grey of concrete.A good example is Mies van der Rohe's Barcelona Pavillon.
To sum up color is an important element in architecture,it is not only aesthetically but it also has a great psycho-sensory importance.We should use it carefully and wisely in our projects.

Daylight in Architecture

Different spaces have different characteristics where it is related with the implementation of the daylight.But what is Daylight? By Daylight I mean the practice of placing windows,skylight and reflective surfaces so that sunlight directly or indirectly can provide effective internal lightning.We perceive such architectural spaces with the help of texture.Light helps us to understand the texture because light provide shadows and shadows makes visible the texture. Light have psychological effects on people .For example :Back in time light was used by the Nazis in various experiments by torturing people and consequently they lost their memory.Rasmussen has exemplified 3 main methods of using Daylight in architectural space like:
-The bright open hall- where the light comes from all the sides.In some cases this cause a lack of shadows.In the moment we have a lack of shadows we can not understand the details on texture.But this can be solved by locating the furniture in another way to create some shadows.
-The room with a skylight- when light comes from the top.Sometimes the skylight is not so good because the light is too much diffused to produce the shadows necessary to see forms and texture clearly and easily.
-The room with the light entering from the side- this light is the traditional that we are using.This light in large areas gives light somewhere in the middle and the spaces that are near to the wall are not well lead .We can not understand whats going on there.This kind of light gives us some borders inside the building it defines a space itself.Light is another medium to define space.After learning these kind of lights categorized by Rasmussen can we say that exist ‘an excellent light’?
The answer has been found in the saw-tooth roof ,high side lights which produce an excellent in all parts of the room. By ‘excellent light’ we dont mean only much light.Important is the quality of light and not quantity.When we have a high quality of light we can say that we have achieved the excellent light.

Relief Composition