Architectural Concept

a small introduction to the architectural concept

1. A guide to architectural

design concepts

2. What is a concept?

+ In simple words .... A concept is an Idea!

* Something formed in the mind; a thought or notion.
* Mind representation.

* Solution.

* Driving force of any project, an identity for the work.

3. What is a concept?

Definitions of Concept

* Idea * Image

e Theory e View

+ Notion + Intention

« Parti (French) + Plan

+ Conception * Thought

© Opinion + Impression
e Abstraction + Hypothesis
« Philosophy e ... DESIGN
« Belief

¢ Inspiration

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6. + shoteh and modeling

reference mage

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8. Where do ideas (Concepts) come from?

* Site (site analysis)

+ Program (functional requirements)
* Place / Culture / Society

* Technology / Materiel / Method

* Personal Architectural Influences

+ Movement

* Space / Emotions

* Speed / Technology

* Memory / Place

* Precedent Research

9. Dimensions of Concepts

Any building concept should provide:

e Exterior Expression
¢ Interior Experience

10. Levels of Expression

The concept should be appeal to both:
* The Normal Layman
+ The Professional Specialist

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11. Elements of Concept Generation and
Expression

Function
Form
Materials
Structure
Lighting
Ventilation
Meaning
Philosophy

12. You might be asking yourselves: | can design without a concept,
why do | need to go through all the trouble?

That's absolutely true but you need a concept because:

1. It gives depth and meaning to your work, the more innovative and
coherent your concept the more interesting your work is!

2. Concepts open the door for more related ideas, they make you think and
research. A richer concept means a richer building!

3. Concepts are what distinguish architects, yes anyone might be able to
design (functionally) with experience, but your creativity is what makes
you special! Even among peer architects and designers.

13. Help! | am stuck

* Becomfortable, use any, yes ANY way you find best to express what you
are thinking of.

* Understand the nature and context of the project you are working on.

* Brainstorm, don't be afraid to experiment!

* Empty all your thoughts, the relevant and irrelevant, on butter paper.
Doodles are not only fun, but they usually also carry messages!

* Select one or a couple of ideas, work more intensively on them.

* Settle on the concept, an idea you personally feel attracted to.

* Remember; great concepts have a humble beginning. Concepts evolve.
* With time, every architect finds his preferable way.

14. But also ...

* Remember that the concept is usually derived from an idea related to the
project, its function, context, objective.

* The concept will definitely evolve as u work, don’t worry!

* The concept is to be applied on any project (of any scale) on all levels and
details.
* And again; great concepts have a humble beginning.

15. You have a concept but don't know how to
communicate it?

* Multiple tools can be used to express your idea;
— Drawings, all sorts of drawings are applicable even if a section.
— Conceptual models.
— Use little text!

* Using different materials, colors and methods might help you both
understand better what you are doing and hence express your concept.

* Sometimes you need multiple tools to express your idea.

16. How can | express a concept?

1. Diagrams: drawings of geometric shapes to show different relationships
within any given space.

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17. How can | express a concept?

2. Parti: a type of diagram that serves as a
general idea to figure out a building's

program or layout . They are usually in the
form of quick sketches or even 3D models.

rs Fie cree
9 “anal the woods

‘Odd shapes intrude
on “pure” space E

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Box subtracted public-private
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f Radial scheme

Us in conflict 4 à with missing spoke

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18. Examples..

Parti model

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19. 3. Morphology:
the study of the forms of things, in particular.

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21. Diagrams Examples...

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Acoso pince

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25. FREE TOP DETACHED OFRCE ENTRANCES
AND
SHOPPING BASE

URBAN SPACE INFRONT URBAN SPACE ON BASE URBAN SPACE IN BACK URBAN SPACES ALL AROUND

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26. Conceptual models

Yes you can turn your idea into a model!

Conceptual model can be used to express:

Layers of a project; vertical, horizontal and rotated planes.
Outer Shell.

Circulation, whether vertical or horizontal and types.
Materials and colors

Any construction issues

Coherence with Topography

Any other idea u want to communicate

29. Analogy & Metaphor

30. Definition

+ Analogy: a similarity between like features of two things, on which a
comparison may be based.

* Analogy is a cognitive process of transferring information from a
particular subject (the analogue or source) to another particular subject
(the target), and a linguistic expression corresponding to such a proccess.

31. Analogy: A comparison based on such similarity;

a. superficial analogy: to take the same shape of sth without any change.
(direct)

b. structural analogy: to make a structure of building from a shape or
something.

c. holistic analogy: combination of both.

32. Metaphor

Metaphor is a literary term which means "carrying-over and a synonym is
the word transfer.

It associates meanings, emotions, things , times and places which
otherwise would not have been related.

METAPHOR

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33. Examples...

Santiago Calatrava .....

me

Eye concept

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34. Tornado Tower,
(designed by Manuel Gausa ACTAR Arquitectura,2001, Barcelona)

35. Concert Hall
by Santiago Calatrava , the City of Arts (Valencia).

* The concert hall features the architect’s signature wing effect — a single
wing that seems to enfold the building without covering it entirely.

37. The shape of the spar and its cables is said to evoke an image of a harp lying
on its edge

39. Full Moon building
in Azerbaijan

B

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40. Steven holl;
Sponge concept

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42. Recommendations

* Be aware of the following:

Overcomplicating the issue, remember your concept evolves.
Being afraid of expressing you ideas.
Using too much text.

Not enjoying what you are doing.

43. ©) Thank you

44. Examples (©)

45. Project: BMW Central Building
Architect: Zaha Hadid

Concept:

The brain, or active nerve center

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46. Concept as organizational tool:
Connectivity and Interaction

“The Central Building is the active nerve-center
or brain of the whole factory complex [where]
all the threads of the building's activities gather
together and branch out again from here.”

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48. Project: Crawford House
Architect: Morphosis

Concept:

“We understand our arena of
operation to be one marked by
contradiction, conflict, change
and dynamism. And to that end
we are interested in producing
work that contributes to the
conversation, that adds yet
another strain to what some may
hear as the cacophony of modern
life.”

“We have found that in order to
produce an authentic work of
architecture it is often necessary
to rephrase and rework the
original questions”

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49. To articulate multiple boundaries and
to obfuscate the distinction between
interior and exterior space were
primary concerns.

...we began with a series of markings
to measure and reinterpret the site to
suggest a new order...

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52. Project: Seatle Public Library
Architect: Rem Koolhaas

What is the library in the digital
age?

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53. HEADQUARTERS

mol ODICALS

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LAW BOOKS BUSINESS
ENVIRONMENT NATURAL SCIENCE

EMBLY

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PARKING: > > = HOR HSE PRINT SHOP

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“The in-between spaces are like
trading floors where librarians
inform and stimulate, where the
interface between the different
platforms is organized - spaces
for work, interaction, and play.
(And reading).”

54. a

Concept is about questioning the program

55. CONTINUOUS COLLECTION

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Project: Thermal Baths
Architect: Peter Zumthor
Concept:

Architecture as Atmosphere
(sensory experience)

Zumthor talks of the importance
of “the sound of the space, to the
way materials and surfaces
respond to touching and tapping,
and to the silence that is a

prerequisite of hearing”
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59. "Thinking about daylight and artificial light |
have to admit that daylight, the light on
things, is so moving to me that | feel it
almost as a spiritual quality. When the sun
comes up in the morning -- which | always
find so marvelous, absolutely fantastic the
way it comes back every morning -- and
casts its light on things, it doesn't feel as if
it quite belongs in this world. | don't
understand light. It gives me the feeling
there's something beyond me, something
beyond all understanding. And | am very
glad, very grateful that there is such a
thing. And | have that feeling here too; I'll
have it later when we go outside. For an
architect that light is a thousand times
better than artificial light."

à
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61. Concept is about sensory perception

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62. Project: Storefront for Art and
Architecture

Architect: Steven Holl with
Vito Acconci

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63. Project: Chapel of St.
Ignatious
Architect: Steven Holl

The light is sculpted by a number of
different volumes emerging from the roof.
Each of these irregularities aims at
different qualities of light. East facing,
South facing, West and North facing, all
gather together for one united ceremony.
Each light volume corresponds to a part of 4 4
the program of Jesuit Catholic Worship. t Be) 4

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66. Concept is about light as an
organizational and perceptual tool

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67. Project: Church of the year 2000

Architect: Peter Eisenman

Concept:

Two Routes

The church becomes an earthly analogue to heaven. Its aim is not
so much to create space as to create the feeling of still greater
space. Everything is mysterious and half-hidden, yet everything is
revealed; the church in its contemporary contradictions between
mystery and clarity, space and mass.

The church as a model for the new relationships between man,

God, and nature at the end of the millennium.
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68. Today, air travel and media have collapsed
the distance of the pilgrimage and created
universal access to its experience. Again,
as in the past, the church itself must
provide the pilgrim’s experience of
distance and proximity. The name of our
church becomes symbolic of proximity
and distance, two routes.

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Two routes, one
secular, one
ecclesiastical.

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69. Concept is about re-defining
tradition of pilgrimage

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