ARCHITECTURAL
DESIGN THEORY II
LECTURE 3
TANGIBLE AND INTANGIBLE IN
ARCHITECTURE
22 april 14
Sat Priya School of Architecture & Design,
Rohtak
TANGIBLE AND INTANGIBLE IN ARCHITECTURE
Tangible is that which can be touched.
Only physical things can be touched.
So all physical things are tangible.
22 april 14
Sat Priya School of Architecture & Design,
Rohtak
tangible
2
22 april 14
Sat Priya School of Architecture & Design,
Rohtak
tangible
3
Intangible is that which can be only
experienced.
Normally it is the qualitative aspect
that can not be touched but is
experienced such as beauty, goodness,
delight, joy, happiness and the like.
22 april 14
Sat Priya School of Architecture & Design,
Rohtak
intangible
Art Form - Dance
Dance
Human
Expression
22 april 14
Joy
Sat Priya School of Architecture & Design,
Rohtak
Anger
intangible
TANGIBLE AND INTANGIBLE IN ARCHITECTURE
As tangibility relates to physicality, it is
measurable.
Intangible aspects are abstract and
therefore not measurable. Beauty and
goodness can not be weighed or
measured.
22 april 14
Sat Priya School of Architecture & Design,
Rohtak
TANGIBLE AND INTANGIBLE IN ARCHITECTURE
Tangibility therefore deals with the
physical world and intangibility with the
philosophical world.
Tangibility and intangibility can also be
seen as the measurable and the
immeasurable.
The quality of physical existence and of
evoking reactions that are abstract are
found in all man made objects.
22 april 14
Sat Priya School of Architecture & Design,
Rohtak
TANGIBLE AND INTANGIBLE IN ARCHITECTURE
Why does this image feel
good?
Why is it called beautiful?
What are the aspects that
make it a visual delight?
If these issues are kept in
mind a designer can
create beautiful things.
22 april 14
Sat Priya School of Architecture & Design,
Rohtak
TANGIBLE AND INTANGIBLE
IN ARCHITECTURE
What is the reaction
on seeing this visual?
If it is good, try to find
out why it is so and if
one does not like it,
one should try to find
out why it is not
likable or what would
make it better.
22 april 14
Sat Priya School of Architecture & Design,
Rohtak
TANGIBLE AND INTANGIBLE IN ARCHITECTURE
How would you like to
live in this house?
This is Falling
Waters by Frank
Lloyd Wright.
Try to note what
makes this house so
interesting.
22 april 14
Sat Priya School of Architecture & Design,
Rohtak
10
TANGIBLE AND INTANGIBLE IN ARCHITECTURE
This is not very pretty.
It is important to
figure out why it is not
pretty so that the
designer can avoid
making the mistakes
that stop this from
becoming pretty.
22 april 14
Sat Priya School of Architecture & Design,
Rohtak
11
TANGIBLE AND INTANGIBLE IN ARCHITECTURE
There is a feel of
plasticity in this
architecture.
This has come about by
the curved lines for all the
elements used to create
this spatial organization.
The curved line is the
tangible reason for the
intangible reaction.
22 april 14
Sat Priya School of Architecture & Design,
Rohtak
12
TANGIBLE AND INTANGIBLE IN ARCHITECTURE
Note the difference in the two spatial
environments.
How has this difference been created?
22 april 14
Sat Priya School of Architecture & Design,
Rohtak
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TANGIBLE AND INTANGIBLE IN ARCHITECTURE
Note the differences in these bedrooms.
22 april 14
Sat Priya School of Architecture & Design,
Rohtak
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TANGIBLE AND INTANGIBLE IN ARCHITECTURE
The previous slide showed views that
created different reactions.
To find why these different reactions were
created, it is necessary to quantify the
reasons. Ultimately a designer has to
finally give dimensions and allocate
materials to create designs.
22 april 14
Sat Priya School of Architecture & Design,
Rohtak
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TANGIBLE AND INTANGIBLE IN ARCHITECTURE
Architecture in its final manifestation is a
physical object but both its creation and
the reactions it produces are intangible.
An architect endeavors to create objects
that produce positive reactions in the
users and viewers.
A designer or a creator, therefore, has
to convert the intangible into the
tangible.
22 april 14
Sat Priya School of Architecture & Design,
Rohtak
16
TANGIBLE AND INTANGIBLE IN ARCHITECTURE
If a building or a spatial organization is
found to be beautiful, a designer has to
identify the aspects that make it beautiful.
This would entail the conversion of the
intangible into the tangible.
The object could be beautiful because of
the form, proportions, colors or textures
which are quantifiable as these are
physical qualities.
22 april 14
Sat Priya School of Architecture & Design,
Rohtak
17
TANGIBLE AND INTANGIBLE IN ARCHITECTURE
A designer has to learn to perceive the
intangibles and convert it into tangibles so
that these could be associational facts for
future designs.
22 april 14
Sat Priya School of Architecture & Design,
Rohtak
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