Course Content
Topic 1. INTRODUCTION TO ARCHITECTURE
Learning Outcomes: At the end of the lesson, you should:
1. Clearly define architecture considering its various aspects.
2. Clearly describe the factors affecting architecture
3. Understand the multi-faceted nature of architecture.
Test what you know
1.
Reading Assignment:
a.
All About Architecture (2018). What is architecture? Medium. Retrieved from
https://medium.com/@AAA_Publication/what-is-architecture-1b52f5339c2a
b.
Dizdar, S. I. (2014). Some options about design studies of architectural education.
European Scientific Journal, 10(36). ISSN: 1857 – 7881, e-ISSN 1857 – 7431
2. Student Activity:
From the given articles, list down five (5) concepts that clarify the nature of architecture. Briefly
give your definition of the concepts that you have identified.
Discussion:
I.
Definition of Architecture
Architecture, essentially, is the art and science of designing and constructing buildings. It is
also the profession of designing not only buildings but the total built environment, which includes
open areas, communities, and other man-made construction and environments, with due
consideration to aesthetics in addition to function and stability. More than its physical nature,
architecture can also affect behavior and relationships, increase productivity, encourage community
support, and improve overall health, among many
other non-material outcomes.
applies
mathematical
and
Architecture also
scientific
creatively as opposed to engineering.
principles
Thus,
architecture is the built realization of a particular
concept or idea through construction type, use,
occupancy, or the overall physical or social landscape
integration.
Architectural Design Example
Source: https://www.utechgh.com/wpcontent/uploads/2019/10/overview-architecturalanimation-technology.png
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a.
As an art, architecture requires the conscious use of
skill, craft, and creative imagination in the production of
what is beautiful, appealing, or of more ordinary
significance.

Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy that deals
with the nature of art, beauty, and taste, to
establish the means and validity of critical
judgment concerning works of art.

Beauty is the aggregate of qualities in a person or
thing that gives intense pleasure to the senses or
deep satisfaction to the mind or spirit, whether
arising from the harmony of form, color, the
Cultural Center of the
Philippines
Source:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/co
mmons/3/30/CCP_Main_Theaterx.jpg
excellence of craft, truthfulness, originality, or
other, often the unspecifiable property.

Taste refers to critical judgment, discernment, or
appreciation of what is fitting, harmonious, or
beautiful prevailing in a culture or personal to an
individual.
b.
As a science, architecture deals with bodies of facts or
truths obtained through direct observation, experimental
investigation, and systematic study, systematically
arranged and showing the operation of general laws.

Technology is an applied science. It is a branch of
knowledge dealing with the creation and use of
technical
methods
and
materials,
and
their
The Scientific Process
Source:
https://www.proprofs.com/quizschool/topic_images/p1aid6rpju1vpm1i
2csn5hqt16733.png
interrelation with life, society, and the environment.

Engineering is the art and science of applying scientific principles to practical ends in the
design and construction of structures, equipment, and systems.

c.
Architectonics is the unifying structure or concept of artistic work.
Design is the creation and organization of formal elements in a work of art. As an activity, it
means to conceive, contrive or devise the form and structure of a building or other
construction.

An idea is a thought or notion resulting from mental awareness, understanding or activity.

A concept is a mental image or formulation of what something is or ought to be, esp. an
idea generalized from particular characteristics or instances.
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
Design Concept is the concept for the form, structure, and features of a building or other
construction, represented graphically by diagrams, plans, or other drawings.

Conceive means to form an idea or conception in mind.

Contrive means to form ideas in an artistic or ingenious manner

Devise means to form ideas in mind by new combinations or applications of existing ideas
or principles.

A reason is a faculty or power of comprehending, inferring, or thinking in an orderly,
rational way.

Creativity is the ability to transcend traditional ideas, patterns, or relationships and to
initiate meaningful new ideas, dorms, or interpretations.

Originality is the creative ability to imagine or express independently and individually.

Imagination is the faculty of forming mental images or concepts of what is not present to
the senses or perceived in reality.

Reproductive Imagination is the power of reproducing images stored in the memory
under the suggestion of associated images.

Creative Imagination is the power or recombining of previous experiences in the creation
of new images directed at a specific goal or aiding in the solution of a problem.

Intuition is the power or faulty knowing without evident rational thought and inference.

Speculation refers to meditation or reflection on a subject or idea, resulting in a
conclusion inferred from incomplete or inconclusive evidence

Serendipity is the aptitude for making desirable and unexpected discoveries by accident
or by chance, having no apparent or deliberate cause.
d.
Construction is the art, science, or business of building. It also entails the process of
building, starting from site preparation through erection, assembly, and finishing operations.
Synthesis Activities:
1. Student Activity:
Topic Storyboard*/Infographic** (See requirements of storyboard from
Course Information)
Make a storyboard presentation on the terms related to the development of architecture.
*A storyboard is a sequence of drawings that depicts the development or evolution of a concept.
**An infographic is a collection of imagery, data visualization, and minimal text that gives an easyto-understand overview of a topic
2.
Study Questions:
a.
What is design?
b.
What is the difference between originality and innovation?
c.
What is creativity in design?
d.
What is a design concept?
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e.
What makes architecture an art?
f.
What makes architecture a science?
3. Test what you have learned: Take the assessment quiz.
References:
Ching, F. D. K (1995). A visual dictionary of architecture. USA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Ching, F. D. K. (2007). Form, space, and order. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Ching, F.D.K. & Binggeli, C. (2012). Interior design illustrated (3rd ed.). New Jersey: John Wiley &
Sons, Inc.
Dictionary.com (2020). Macroclimate. Retrieved from
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/macroclimate
Encyclopaedia Britannica (2020). Human being. Retrieved from
https://www.britannica.com/topic/human-being
Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2020). Microclimate. Retrieved from
https://www.britannica.com/science/continentality
Salvan, G. S. (1986). Architectural theory of design. Quezon City, Philippines: JMC Press, Inc.
The British Library Board (n.d.). Vitruvius’s theory of beauty. Learning Bodies of Knowledge.
Retrieved from https://www.bl.uk/learning/cult/bodies/vitruvius/proportion.html
Trees-Energy-Conservation (2020). What is a mesoclimate? Retrieved from https://trees-energyconservation.extension.org/what-is-a-mesoclimate/
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