The Balance Problem Set

Problem 11 Tutorial: Small Parts Within a Larger Form

Question: Which of the three images below is the best example of a balanced composition of small parts within the larger form?


Stonehenge,
Wiltshire, England,
(c1500BCE)
Notre Dame Cathedral,
Paris, France,
(1163-1250)
Frank Lloyd Wright,
The Guggenheim Museum,
New York City, NY,
(1956)
Tutorial:

Balance in gothic churches
Balance is created by the use small parts within a larger form. The small detail scale parts serve to balance the larger building scale form.

Notre Dame Cathedral or any of the gothic churches are excellent examples of balance created by the use of small parts within the larger form. The structural stones, the sculptural ornamentation and the stained glass windows with their tracery are the small parts that make up the larger form of the cathedral or church.


Notre Dame Cathedral,
Paris, France,
(1163-1250)
Sculpture,
Notre Dame Cathedral,
Paris, France.

Rose window,
Notre Dame Cathedral,
Paris, France.
Other examples of this concept:

Renzo Piano,
Menil Collection,
Houston, Texas, (1987)
Renzo Piano,
Menil Collection,
Houston, Texas, (1987)
From a distance, the roof canopy is perceived as part of the whole building form. At a closer view, the canopy is highly articulated in its form, and made even more lively by the play of light and shadow on the curved and repeated form.

Problem 11 | Answer | Problem 12

Aesthetics | Balance Problems | vocabulary | The Architecture Project

The Architecture Project
University of Arizona
Tuesday, September 2, 1997
lapointe@u.arizona.edu

http://tutorials.architecture.arizona.edu/
All contents copyright © 1997.
All rights reserved.