book-2

3RELATIONSHIPS BETWEENARCHITECTURAL ANDSTRUCTURAL FORMINTRODUCTIONThis chapter is the first of seven that imagine visiting a building and progressivelyexploring in greater detail the roles structure plays in variousareas and aspects of its architecture. As such it observes and reflects onarchitectural issues arising essentially outside the building. From a locationsome distance away, the form or massing of the building, ratherthan any exterior detail, dominates visually and invites an exploration ofthe relationships between architectural and structural form. But beforeconsidering the diversity of relationships between these forms thatdesigners can exploit for the sake of architectural enrichment, themeaning of several terms require clarification.Architectural form is often used but less frequently defined. Ching breaksfrom the tradition of using the term loosely. Yet, although he defines itexplicitly, his definition still remains imprecise. He suggests that architecturalform is an inclusive term that refers primarily to a building’sexternal outline or shape, and to a lesser degree references its internalorganization and unifying principles. He also notes that shape encompassesvarious visual and relational properties; namely size, colour andtexture, position, orientation and visual inertia. 1 Form, in his view, istherefore generally and primarily understood as the shape or threedimensionalmassing, but also encompasses additional architecturalaspects including structural configuration and form, in so far as theymay organize and unify an architectural design.For the purpose of this discussion, architectural form is essentiallyunderstood as and limited to enveloping form, or shape. This deliberatesimplification and clarification conceptually excludes from architecturalform any consideration of interior and exterior structural organization.It acknowledges the fact that three-dimensional massing may be completelyunrelated to structural form. By decoupling structure from the