Ask the average person about architectural design, and most jump to the creative aspect. Architectural design has a great deal to do with creativity, but it’s also rooted in several important principles that help create a design that makes the most out of the building. While it might be possible to create a piece of architecture without these principles, they’re essential to know so that the finished result is a polished appearance. A good freelance architect should study these principles to use them in their designs and know when to try something different.
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Symmetry
The world of nature is full of symmetry. Drop a line down the center of the human body, and you will see that, for the most part, our bodies are very symmetrical. There are two eyes and two ears, and each half of our nose and lips looks the same as the other half. This isn’t unique or unusual. Most animals are symmetrical in this way, and so are most plants and other living creatures. This is part of why when we look at a symmetrical shape, we feel at ease with it.
Some 3D visualizer services have used asymmetrical designs to good effect, with the Sydney Opera House and Disney Concert Hall in California examples of this. To pull off these designs, careful attention to balance was needed to help give the building an even weight. However, these asymmetrical wins would have been difficult to create without knowing and understanding what a symmetrical design looks like. This is why symmetry is such a significant architectural principle.
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Contrast
Without contrast, a perfectly functional building may look boring to the viewer. A common complaint from clients who have hired an architectural detailing service to design a building or remodel is that the new design doesn’t “pop.” This can be frustrating for the architect since what the customer means isn’t always clear. Generally speaking, however, when clients say something like this, they mean that their building or remodel needs more contrast.
Contrast is the difference between two or more features. Black, for example, contrasts sharply against white because they are so different. Contrast is essential for several reasons. The contrasting text helps those with visual impairments better make out important information. It doesn’t have to be color in a design that provides contrast. Size, shape, and typography can all have a difference in the contrast in the design.
Hierarchy
Sometimes as a CAD designer, you will want to give one particular part of the design more emphasis than other areas. There are many ways to assign hierarchy in a design. For example, if you create one window bigger than the others, the bigger one will have more emphasis than the other one. A contrasting shape, color, or placement can also help lead others to understand this architectural feature is more important. Hierarchy is essential to help guide the eye around the building and prevent the design from getting too monotonous.
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Forming an Axis
An axis is a line defined by two points in the space available. An architectural model-making service will use techniques such as the design principles listed above to create two points in the feature to form an Axial Composition. These points will help draw the eye. You’ve probably already seen and appreciated an axis when you walk down a busy city street. The pattern of buildings along the line of the street can form an Axial Composition. Patterns, contrast, and hierarchy can help create an Axial Composition.
Datum
Similar to the Axis is a datum. In some cases, they can be both. A datum takes objects that don’t match and forms a continuous pattern that makes them match. In the earlier example of an Axle Composition, we had buildings along a street forming the Axial Composition. If every one of these buildings were a different shape, it would still form a pattern along the road, making it a datum. The main purpose of a datum is to help add a little bit of control and purpose to otherwise disorganized shapes, and it can do so through any of the above principles.
Proportion
While playing around with size can help add contrast and create a hierarchy, it can also work against the design if it lacks proportion. A huge roof on a tiny building will look out of place, as will a huge knob on a normal-sized door. A large window might serve as an accent point, but a window too big for the wall, or a sill too small for the window, will look out of proportion. It’s a delicate balance between creating a hierarchy and creating proportion, but most of the time, it’s fairly easy to distinguish where the line is.
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Pattern
In music, the rhythm of the song is fundamental. A regular beat is what turns something into a melody from simple noise. The pattern in design is like a visual song, helping to create repetition that appears throughout the whole design. A pattern might be a row of windows or doors evenly spaced apart or a stretch of evenly spaced stairs. If doors are thrown up any which way or windows are oddly placed, the result is a disrupted pattern that feels like visual noise.
Patterns abound in nature, with uniformity in colors, shapes, and sizes of the plants and animals that make up the world. People evolved for millennia in the patterns of nature, and because of this, many find patterns incredibly soothing. A quality architectural site planner will create patterns with repeating designs in their work to make the resulting design pleasing to the eye.
Texture
It’s not just visual contrast that is needed to help make a design stand out. We are sensory creatures, and too often, vision is the only sense readily made use of. Texture can add another point of visual beauty to a design but also add touch as well. Whether an object is rough or smooth plays a part in how we experience it. If everything in the design has the same texture, it will likely feel lacking, even if the rest of the design is excellent. Texture, as well as other sensory inputs, can be an essential part of the design.
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Visual Movement
When a viewer looks at a building, whether outside of the structure or the interior design, their eyes follow a specific movement pattern. If the architectural design is disjointed, the viewer may be confused about where to look first. This can be a very unpleasant experience. Instead, an architectural drafting service should guide the viewer’s eyes through focal points, which control the eye’s motion.
This can be done using the principles we discussed earlier, such as creating contrasting shapes and hierarchies. With many other things to consider, planning visual movement can feel like a struggle. In general, however, once the rest of these design principles are mastered, visual movement will come along with it.
A Good Designer Knows When to Bend the Rules
As we mentioned earlier, many of these design principles have been broken in the past, and the results are promising. Skyscrapers have been bent into odd shapes, airports turned into art pieces, and much more. By carefully studying the rules, you can know how and when to break them. Breaking the rules can sometimes lead to new solutions to problems and create a piece that otherwise wouldn’t work for the client’s situation.
Although most of the time, these principles must be adhered to, there is always an exception to the rule. After all, if a camouflaged blind contrasted with its environment, it would not serve its purpose. Sometimes, the rules need to be broken to fulfill the problem that needs to be solved.
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Conclusion
The world is filled with diverse and captivating architectural designs, ranging from the awe-inspiring skyscrapers of New York and the intricate details of Gothic cathedrals to the vivid colors of the Renaissance period. While these styles may appear distinct, they are all rooted in common principles, such as patterns, proportion, and contrast.
As the realm of architecture continuously advances, today’s admired contemporary designs may eventually be seen as relics of the past. Nevertheless, the timeless core principles underpinning various architectural styles will persist, shaping the masterpieces of tomorrow and transcending both time and trends.
How Cad Crowd can assist
Cad Crowd takes pride in our comprehensive network of architectural design professionals who are well-versed in 3D architectural visualization services and 3D architectural rendering services. These experts are committed to bringing your projects to life, skillfully merging their exceptional abilities with your unique vision. Don’t hesitate to enlist their support in actualizing your architectural aspirations; request a complimentary, no-obligation quote today.
