Aesthetics in Architecture
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ScribdTranslationsAesthetics in Architecture
It is not difficult to relate these concepts when you have a notion of what is
aesthetically acceptable in an architecture, but what comes before that? Well,
there is an equally important perception that helps us see what is beautiful or
what is appropriate, without needing to delve into the minute details that critical
eyes provide us with. To this we can add that aesthetics is the particular way of
understanding art or beauty.
That appreciation, perception or sensitivity is what Aesthetics studies and
although they are problems of sensory knowledge, these "tastes" are defined by
lived experiences and complemented by one's own culture, that is why we can
identify an aesthetic even if it is outside the context to which it belongs, since it
is not limited to the place, the form or the color, but also includes the material
and the technique.
Relationship with architecture
Beauty has been an intrinsic part of human life and architects have dedicated
themselves to defining which elements make up good architecture and which do
not, taking into account that these elements are what provide beauty. All
architectural and artistic movements have arisen as a result of the standards
dictated to achieve excellence, defined by what is beautiful at the moment it
arises, thus aesthetics also deals with the question of whether this quality is
objectively present in architecture, which it can qualify, or define if it is only in
the mind of the individual; therefore, its purpose is to show whether architecture
is perceived in a particular way (the aesthetic way) or whether architecture has,
in itself, specific or aesthetic qualities. Aesthetics also questions whether there
is a difference between the beautiful and the sublime.
The sense of “good taste” is something very particular that depends on the
context and culture in which we have lived. Architecture shows us how beauty
also involves being something functional, being the result of the intersection
between humanities and technology.
"Architecture is beyond utilitarian facts. Architecture is a plastic fact. Its
meaning and task is not only to reflect the construction and absorb a function, if
by function we mean that of pure and simple utility, comfort and practical
elegance. Architecture is art in its highest sense, it is mathematical order, it is
pure theory, complete harmony thanks to the exact proportion of all relations:
this is the “function” of architecture." Le Corbusier, 1923
In simple terms, architecture includes Aesthetics and its value is defined by the
leap that is perceived between one Architectural Movement and another,
supported also by artistic movements, granting a philosophical value to its
evolution over time, as civilizations advance and/or transform.
Contributions to Architecture
During the archaic classical world, before the 5th century BC, during the reign of
Pericles, aesthetics were associated with rigid geometric forms and many of the
forms were inspired by oriental aesthetics.
The golden section has greatly influenced architecture throughout the ages. The
existential minimum was also used: dimensions based on the measurements of
the human body to establish the minimum dimensions that a man can use. The
Stoics preserved and compiled the historical theories of the Greeks, with
Vitruvius entering as an important figure, establishing the architect for the first
time.
It is clear that Human Proportion was one of the first concerns of Aesthetics in
Architecture, resulting in a humanization of architecture in the following
centuries.
For the S. XX the great theme of architecture is housing. And with
neoclassicism the era of Napoleon began, from which avant-garde movements
emerged, while the modern movement remained for its intrinsic causes. With
this movement, several schools emerged with their own tendencies, languages
and methodology, as well as the perception of form and other mechanisms in
the field of architecture. As is the case with Gropius' Bauhaus, whose purpose
was "not to propagate any 'style', system or dogma, but simply to exert a
revitalizing influence on design."
Now, according to the philosopher Kant, "Architecture realizes a previously
conceived concept of an object," that is, it begins long before the actual
modeling of the matter, with a phase of creative visualization guided by the pre-
directed question, during which the figures of the bodies and the structural
distribution of their constituent elements are outlined. This phase involves a
study of possibilities, an exercise in deliberation that is all the more arduous the
more indeterminate the object sought is at the beginning. The architect must be
willing to push the development of an idea to the point where it reaches its full
potential, and until ideas become intelligible, possible and transmissible. This
kind of coercion is what shows us how aesthetics marks the change between
one architecture and another, making it possible at the moment in which it is
accepted as beautiful. Furthermore, it places the Architectural Detail as the area
or part of a work that stands out for its qualities or difficulties at the time of its
execution and not as aesthetics per se.
Nowadays, aesthetics has included new directions within architecture, and
Peter Zumthor visualizes it as Atmospheres, making it evident that beauty is not
a forced idea, but a continuation, enhancement and/or adaptation within the
environment in which the architectural work is located, making it integral.
“Architecture is a science that arises from many
other sciences, and is adorned with very varied
learning; by the help of which a judgment is formed
from those works which are the result of other arts.
Practice and theory are its parents. Practice is the
frequent and continued contemplation of the way of
executing a given work, or of the mere operation of
the hands, for the conversion of matter into the best
form and in the most finished manner. The theory is
the result of that reasoning that demonstrates and
explains that the forged material has been
converted to result in the intended purpose. For the
merely practical architect is unable to assign
sufficient reasons for the forms he adopts; and the
architect of theory fails too, grasping the shadow
instead of the substance. He who is theoretician as
well as practical, therefore, built doubly; capable not
only of proving the convenience of his design, but
equally of carrying it out.”
Vitruvius defined balance between three fundamental aspects of all
architecture: Utility, Beauty and Firmness.
