| Architecture Student Chronicles

Architectural Characters of a Building

June 9, 2010June 7, 2010 by Architect

The Character and Style of a building is based on its functional aspects, associated aspects and personal aspects….

Character of a building is classified into three main categories:

Functional Character
Associated Character
Personal Character

In this article, we are going to discuss in detail all the three basic characters of a building mentioned above with examples…

Functional Character of a Building

Every building has specific functions and is made for specific broad purpose. The internal planning is in co-ordination with the exterior facade that tells us the purpose of the building.

The external appearance plays an important role in determining the purpose and the function of the structure.

Character and Style in Buildings

June 9, 2010June 4, 2010 by Architect

Every building that is constructed for a specific purpose has a specific form which itself depicts its original function. The inter-connection between the interiors and the exterior of a building is essential.

The true style of a building reflects the particular period in which it has been built.

But not many architects agree with the above statement. Some feel that there is no virtue in designing a building that shouts its date of built. The design of a building should always remain new and vibrant to avoid boredom.

The trend of Designing a building has changed drastically. In my previous article, I had discussed “New Trends in Architecture in the 21st century”.

Various architectural styles developed with the development in the technology. Technology brought new materials and new techniques of construction. Traditional architectural styles such as that of Greeks, Roman, and Medieval periods and the modern architecture of the industrial era, twentieth century, and the Art Nouveau movements always brought in different pictures of architecture and kept redefining the meaning and principles of architecture.

Changing Trends in Architecture in the 21st Century

December 25, 2013May 28, 2010 by Architect

Building having Exterior Metal finish with diffused Lighting Techniques

Architecture has transformed from a complex creative process of integrating diverse functions, structural systems, myriad services and utilities, inter-related spaces and exterior-interior visual connections into a game of appliqué where one cuts and pastes decorations and ornament onto four sides of dull boxes.

Building having Exterior Metal finish with diffused Lighting Techniques | Architecture

The building in the picture above has a facade that is completely covered with sheets of perforated metal and acryllic sheets. Diffused lighting technique has been used to illuminate the facade of the building. The use of diffused lighting has been used in an innovative manner.

All of us agree that when we evaluate a building for its overall appeal, the exterior facade takes the first place. The exterior aesthetics has gained more importance than the interior functionality. The building has to be made look visually pleasing. Ornamentation without function is otiose. But the trend has changed which has changed the definition of Ornamentation.

Important Projects of Le Corbusier | Modern Architecture Exemplified

May 7, 2010 by Architect

Le Corbuier was an architect, painter and a philosopher. He became a powerful thinker of new urban theories and propounded a bold, modern architecture.

In 1951, he was appointed Architectural Adviser to the Punjab government for designing the new capital city, Chandigarh. This city represents the expression of his revolutionary ideas and is where his greatest monuments have been erected.

Le Corbusier and Frank Lloyd Wright became the pioneers of Modern Architecture….

He lived his austere life and admired the simple and the useful. He was not only an architect and a planner but a painter, a sculptor, in secret a poet, a visionary whose view encompassed all that concerns man. Above all, Corbusier was a great humanist whose primary preoccupation was the welfare of man. He worked in India for a pittance and did not die a rich man.