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Aesthetics

by the WBDG Aesthetics Subcommittee

Last updated: 10-30-2010

Overview

In The Ten Books of Architecture the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius stated that a building should meet obligations of commodity (utilitas), firmness (firmitas), and delight (venustas). Commodity addresses how a building serves its function and can be made more useful to the occupants. Firmness means endurance, or a building's ability to stand up to natural forces over time. Delight refers to aesthetics.

Because Vitruvius's three standards of architecture are still accepted as benchmarks of excellence, it is important to note that a work of architecture's success is not predicated on aesthetic accomplishment alone.

Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy devoted to beauty. It dissects the visual compositional elements like proportion and line, as well as other formal qualities—auditory, tactile, olfactory, thermal, and even kinesthetic—that achieve beauty. Moreover, aesthetics involves studying concepts that may underlie the stamp of beauty, such as political context or expression of status. In the case of architecture, underlying concepts may also include imageable form, a sense of place, and interpretation of available technology. Not surprisingly, then, theories of beauty vary to reflect currents of thought in societies. It is free of specific values.

Specific values comprise style. Phrased another way, just as theories of beauty change according to generation or culture, so do the ways that beauty is manifested. The early 21st century is a remarkable period in architecture because it permits both pre-modern historical styles in great variety (Classicism and its many iterations, including Romanesque, Gothic, Victorian, Craftsman, Art Deco, Postmodern) as well as Modernist forms, which now have their own traditions. Meanwhile, forms of contemporary architecture are continually evolving; they cannot be pinned down as a style until a critical mass of buildings has consistently satisfied one set of compositional and conceptual criteria.

This variety of appropriate expression can be seen in these two examples of federal building projects.

Because contemporary architecture does not abide one style—in fact, contemporary culture advocates diversity of styles, even in cases of historic preservation, and encourages the development of new architectural languages—designers agree that aesthetically successful architecture comes from an integrated approach. By correctly formulating a project's purpose, seeking inspiration in its programmatic requirements, and engaging in team-wide design reviews, an architect most effectively arrives at a solution that is as delightful to the senses and to the intellect as it is cost-effective, secure/safe, sustainable, accessible, and functional/operational.

Not only is architectural achievement contingent upon meeting all three of Vitruvius's obligations, but also those obligations mutually reinforce one another. Good architecture achieves useful, humane, and economical results, regardless of what that result looks like.

With an eye to such integration, an architect makes aesthetic decisions in full collaboration with the client, building users, other consultants, and the public. Therefore it is important for the client and building users to be well informed about the possibilities of architecture. This will enable them to assist the architect and design team in conceiving a building design that will meet the client's and users' needs.

One way to become acquainted with the possibilities of an architectural commission is to become familiar with a number of buildings of the same type. In addition, this branch of the WBDG is designed primarily to help those not familiar with architectural design terminology to understand the basic process, techniques, and language by which architectural concepts become reality. Toward that end, the following strategies are recommended:

• Understanding the Appropriate Language and Elements of Design
  Architects use specific terminology to describe fundamental elements of a building, and to assess its design quality. A client's fluency with this vocabulary improves the architect's application of the elements it represents.
• Engage the Integrated Design Process
  An integrated design process interlaces the multiple design disciplines that inform a building. A series of steps can provide an orderly flow to this dialogue, and the full and constructive participation of all members of the design and delivery team will help assure the best results.

The design awards programs of professional societies, the federal government, and industry trade associations offer additional insight into aesthetic values at a given time in history. For more information see Design Award Programs.

Emerging Issues

Anti-terrorism and High-Performance Buildings

Building Information Modeling (BIM)

Major Resources

Federal Agencies

• Department of Defense (DOD)
  • DOD—UFC 3-120-10 Interior Design
  • U.S. Army—Installation Design Guides
  • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers—Engineering and Design Regulation - Interior Design ER 1110-345-122
  • NAVFAC—MIL-HDBK 1190 Facility Planning and Design Guide, Chapter 5, Section A.1, 1987
  • U.S. Air Force—Achieving Design Excellence (PDF 2.1 MB) and Architectural Compatibility Guidelines (PDF 740 KB) and Air Force Interior Design Guides
• General Services Administration
  • Facilities Standards for the Public Buildings Service, P-100, Chapter 1, Section 2
• Standard Form 330, Architect-Engineer Qualifications—Architects and engineers use this form to present their qualifications and experience when seeking federal projects and emphasizes qualifications-based selection for the procurement of A/E services. This form replaces SF 254/255.

Organizations

• National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC)—The National Capital Planning Commission provides overall planning guidance for federal land and buildings in the National Capital Region
• U.S. Commission of Fine Arts—The Commission of Fine Arts was established by Congress in 1910 as an independent agency to advise the Federal and District of Columbia governments on matters of art and architecture that affect the appearance of the nation's capital.

Associations

The work of many building professionals impact aesthetics decisions. These include architects, landscape architects, interior designers, lighting designers, and engineers. In part to help define the boundaries of professional and aesthetic responsibility, each of these professions is represented by a national trade association. In most cases, the trade association or organization publishes industry guidelines about the legal, ethical, and aesthetics role of their members in the building design process.

Profession	Association
Architects	The American Institute of Architects (AIA) Committee on Design Society of American Registered Architects National Council of Architectural Registration Boards    (NCARB) Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture    (ACSA)
Landscape Architects	American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA)
Interior Designers	American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA) International Interior Design Association (IIDA) National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ)
Lighting Designers	Illuminating Engineering Society of North America    (IESNA) International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD)
Professional Engineers	American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-    Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) American Society of Plumbing Engineers (ASPE) American Society of Sanitary Engineering (ASSE) Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) Structural Engineers Association International (SEA)
Planners	American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) American Planning Association (APA)
Others	ASIS International Associated General Contractors (AGC) of America Audio Engineering Society (AES) Building Commissioning Association Building Owners & Managers Association International    (BOMA) Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA) Foodservice Consultants Society International (FCSI) International Facility Management Association (IFMA)

Publications

• The Aesthetic Movement by Lionel Lambourne. London, England: Phaidon Press Limited, 1996. ISBN 0714830003.
• Architectural Graphic Standards, 11th Edition by Charles Ramsey and Harold Sleeper. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2007.
• Architecture For Dummies by Deborah K. Dietsch and Robert A. M. Stern. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2002.
• The Four Books of Architecture by Andrea Palladio and translated by Robert Tavernor and Richard Schofield. Dover Publications, 1965.
• Design Professionals and the Built Environment: An Introduction by Paul Knox (Editor), Peter Ozolins (Editor). February 2001. ISBN: 0-471-98515-5.—Brings together many of the world's leading names from the UK, USA, Europe, and Asia; this is the first book to fully reflect the move towards a more synthetic approach in professional and student courses.
• A History of Interior Design, 3rd Edition by John Pile. August 2009. ISBN: 978-0-470-22888-3.—Much like the history of art, the history of interior design encompasses numerous styles, movements and the international political and social developments that have informed or challenged its evolution. This lavishly illustrated book will be of interest to anyone who appreciates interior design as well as antiques, furniture design, textiles, decorative objects and the general evolution of the space where we work and live.
• Interior Design, 4th Edition by John Pile. March 2008. ISBN: 0132321033. Extremely comprehensive on all elements of interior design including codes. Textbook standards.
• Interior Design Illustrated, 2nd Edition by Francis D. K. Ching, Corky Binggeli. October 2004. ISBN: 0-471-47376-6.—Ching's illustrated introduction to interior design is now completely revised to be even more clear and accessible. It includes new and updated material on finishes, furnishings and textiles, lighting, sustainability, acoustics, workstations, and much more.
• Interior Graphic Standards, 2nd Edition by Corky Binggeli, Patricia Greichen. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2010.
• On the Art of Building in Ten Books by Leon Battista Alberti and translated by Joseph Rykwert and Neil Leach. MIT Press, 1988.
• A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander, Sara Ishikawa, Murray Silverstein, with Max Jacobson, Ingrid Fiksdahl-King, and Shlomo Angel. Oxford University Press, 1977.
• Space, Time and Architecture: The Growth of a New Tradition, Fifth Revised and Enlarged Edition (The Charles Eliot Norton Lectures) by Siegfried Giedion. 2003.
• The Ten Books on Architecture by Pollio Vitruvius and translated by Morris Hicky Morgan. Dover Publications, 1960.

Samples of Great Buildings and Architecture

• Architecture and Interior Design Through the 18th Century: An Integrated History by Buie Harwood, Bridget May and Curt Sherman. New York, NY: Prentice-Hall, December 2001. Exceptionally comprehensive, this single-source reference allows readers to compare and contrast architecture, interior design, interior architectural features, design details, motifs, furniture, space planning, color, lighting, textiles, interior surface treatments, and decorative accessories through many centuries—from antiquity to the 18th century—from the many regions of the world.
• The Art of Landscape Detail: Fundamentals, Practices, and Case Studies by Niall Kirkwood. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., August 1999. A fresh, holistic approach to the theories, approaches, and practices of landscape detail. With the support of a wealth of graphic and written material taken from historic and contemporary landscape design work, Kirkwood clearly demonstrates the role that landscape detail plays in the design process. Going beyond theoretical considerations, the book outlines landscape detail as a primary design activity, both pragmatic and poetic, using a range of built landscape design examples.
• The Evolution of American Urban Design: A Chronological Anthology by David Gosling. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., December 2002. Covering a 50-year span, the book seeks to identify built urban design projects and traces the evolution and separation of American urban design theories up to the end of the twentieth century. It includes contemporary designs, projects, and writings in an attempt to identify future directions of the next century.
• The Great Buildings Collection
• The Phaidon Atlas of Contemporary World Architecture is a gorgeous new compendium of recent design from around the globe. This coffee-table book is so heavy, it's sold in its own carrying case.
• Weimar University's Innovative Housing (in German) Website allows you to search by criteria, architect, or name of project. Pick "Kriteriensuche" or "Suche". If you have trouble reading a foreign site, try using the Babelfish translator to get a crude approximation.