RELEVANCE OF GEOMETRICAL SYSTEMS IN CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE

Abstract

Beauty, utility and technical support are the three fundamental parts which when combined cohesively create meaningful architecture. The approach and appreciation towards beauty or aesthetics in part depended upon the ways various civilizations looked at the universe and created their respective worldview. From their understanding of the universe, creation of the world-view and with the available technology, they formulated laws of beauty, quantified them in terms of numerical proportioning systems and through geometrical figures and impregnated them with meaning. Knowledge of geometry and other mathematics was used not only to give form to an enclosure or for the practical purpose of laying out on site with ease and accuracy but represent the intellectual development of a civilization. Every civilization has determined certain fixed geometrical systems devised over passage of time for its use represent its holistic development and impart identity to it which separates it from the rest of the world. However, despite varied socio-cultural and physical conditions, there is a marked underlying similarity found in the geometrical systems being used in architecture in all the civilizations. Geometry was thus recognized as a powerful organizational tool to fulfill the intangible and tangible aspects of architecture in all the civilizations. It provided a logical and rational approach towards the making of a building imparting in it the specific qualities necessary to the creation. The ancient mathematical systems of order in architecture which dominated up to renaissance were questioned by Mannerists and Baroque architects. The concept of universe underwent drastic change and was revealed by science as completely abstract and mathematical, devoid of any harmonic (ii) relationship to the world of senses. The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries experienced a general shift from static to dynamic concepts; from the limited to the infinite continuous space. The abandonment of rules of proportion coincided to some extent and even preceded the development of new cosmology. Michelangelo asserted that all arithmetic and rules of proportion are useless without the observing eye. The Baroque architects and Neo-classicists relied heavily on the eye of the perceiver as the only basis of proportion. Beauty believed to lie strongly in the eye of beholder. Architectural proportions were regarded as the creations of the human mind and not the quality of the thing in itself. In the nineteenth century, many researchers, through their research and analysis on the creations of nature, attempted to re-establish the supremacy of the proportions used earlier by holding them responsible for the cause of beauty. The major proponents of twentieth century modernism continued this trend by extending their contribution through research and application of these geometrical systems in their buildings thereby reaffirming the traditional role of geometry as an organizational tool in architecture. This research analyzes these geometrical systems, their application in buildings selected from diverse time-periods in history and from varied cultures, and attempts at establishing the relevance of geometry in contemporary scenario providing a strong scientific base for the application of these systems in architecture. It began with detailed literature survey analyzing the evolution, significance and application of geometry in architecture through different ages till twentieth century. From the analysis of history different types of geometrical systems namely mathematical proportions, golden proportions, geometrical proportions, regulating lines, module-based proportions, and preferred

dimensions were found to be incorporated in buildings. These systems have been described in detail elaborating their specific properties which made them so relevant in architecture. Significance of geometry as an organizational tool in architecture has been discussed by describing its relationship with various elements like symbolic and visual references, form, space, circulation, articulation, and structure which cohesively contribute in the making of architecture. This information formed the basis over which model was developed for each of the geometrical systems for appraisal of existing buildings or programming of proposed ones. Buildings from diverse time periods and from wide range of geographical locations, in which these geometrical systems were found to be employed, have been documented and analyzed in order to come out with underlying significant parameters for each of the systems culminating in the formation of model. Nearly half of the buildings belong to twentieth century in order to analyze the application of geometry in recent past and its relevance in contemporary times. The model has been applied on few buildings to determine its best suitability. Major findings have been elaborated in the form of conclusions determining the relevance of geometry in terms of its importance in imparting order in architecture, its relation with creativity in generating valuable novelty, its role in defining architecture as an independent organism etc. followed by the conclusions based on statistical results.