Content
1. Introduction
a. Architecture
b. Structure
c. Structure of architecture
2. Classification
3. Relationship between architecture and structure
4. The difference between architecture and structure
5. Influence of structure on architecture
6. Conclusion
7. Reference
Introduction
Architecture, the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills
associated with construction. The practice of architecture is employed to fulfill both practical
and expressive requirements, and thus it serves both utilitarian and aesthetic ends. Although
these two ends may be distinguished, they cannot be separated, and the relative weight given
to each can vary widely. Because every society—settled or nomadic—has a spatial relationship
to the natural world and to other societies, the structures they produce reveal much about
their environment (including climate and weather), history, ceremonies, and artistic sensibility,
as well as many aspects of daily life.
The characteristics that distinguish a work of architecture from other built structures are
(1) the suitability of the work to use by human beings in general and the adaptability of it to
particular human activities,
(2) the stability and permanence of the work’s construction, and
(3) the communication of experience and ideas through its form.
All these conditions must be met in architecture. The second is a constant, while the first and
third vary in relative importance according to the social function of buildings. If the function is
chiefly utilitarian, as in a factory, communication is of less importance. If the function is chiefly
expressive, as in a monumental tomb, utility is a minor concern. In some buildings, such as
churches and city halls, utility and communication may be of equal importance.
An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To
practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and
the space within the site surrounding the buildings that have human occupancy or use as their
principal purpose.
Structure
Within the context of the built environment, the term ‘structure’ refers to anything that is
constructed or built from different interrelated parts with a fixed location on the ground.
This includes buildings, but the term structure can also be used to refer to any body of
connected parts that is designed to bear loads, even if it is not intended to be occupied by
people. Engineers sometimes refer to these as 'non-building' structures. Common examples
include:
Aqueducts and viaducts.
Bridges.
Canals.
Cooling towers and chimneys.
Dams.
Railways.
Roads.
Retaining walls.
Tunnels.
Structure of architecture refers to the spatial stress framework of buildings, which can be
either completely hidden in the architectural modeling or a part of the architecture itself for its
artistic beauty. It is the vessel of human activity and the only way to model the space and form
of architecture. For example, the ternary structure (roof, body and pedestal) of Chinese
traditional architecture, the traditional column structure of ancient Greek architecture, the
vault roof of ancient Rome and the unique structures of Byzantine architecture and Gothic
architecture whose architectural mode lings are just shaped by their unique structures. In the
long history of world architecture, every transformation of the architectural style is necessarily
related to the change of structure system. Or, to put it in another way, the formal beauty and
the structure system of architecture have been all the time with the mutual promotion and
development.
Structural engineers design, assess and inspect structures to ensure that they are efficient and
stable. Structural engineers work on a very wide range of structures, including; buildings,
bridges, oil rigs, and so on.
Civil engineers design, construct, maintain and improve the physical environment, including
bridges, tunnels, roads, railways, canals, dams, coastal defences, and so on. The term ‘civil’
engineer is a broader one than ‘structural’ engineer that can include infrastructure such as
pipelines, transportation, environmental engineering, maritime engineering, and so on. It was
originally coined to distinguish it from military engineering.
Structural engineering was initially considered a sub-discipline of civil engineering, however it
has developed into an important and complex specialism and is now be considered an specific
engineering discipline in its own right.
Classification
In their most simple form, structural elements can be classified as:
One-dimensional: Ropes, struts, beams, arches.
Two-dimensional: Membranes, plates, slab, shells, vaults.
Three-dimensional: Solid masses.
Approved document B, Fire Safety, Volume 2, Buildings other than dwellinghouses, paragraph
B3.iii defines ‘elements of structure’ as:
‘….the main structural loadbearing elements, such as structural frames, floors and loadbearing
walls. Compartment walls are treated as elements of structure although they are not
necessarily loadbearing. Roofs, unless they serve the function of a floor, are not treated as
elements of structure. External walls, such as curtain walls or other forms of cladding which
transmit only self-weight and wind loads and do not transmit floor load, are not regarded as
loadbearing…’
Very broadly, substructures and super structures
the 'substructure' refers to work below the underside of the screed or, where no screed exists,
to the underside of the lowest floor finishes,
the substructure includes:
Foundations up to and including the damp proof course.
Lowest floor assembly below the underside of the screed or the lowest floor finish.
Basement excavation.
Basement retaining walls up to and including the damp proof course.
This a fairly narrower definition which excludes items such as; finishes, basement walls not in
contact with earthwork, retaining walls not providing external walls, and so on.
Some much broader definitions consider the substructure to include all works below ground
level, although clearly, this is a fairly ambiguous description.
the 'superstructure includes works above that level.
According to BCIS, the term 'superstructure' includes:
Frame: Load-bearing framework. Main floor and roof beams, ties and roof trusses of
framed buildings; casing to stanchions and beams for structural or protective purposes.
Upper floors: Suspended floors over, or in basements, service floors, balconies, sloping
floors, walkways and top landings, where part of the floor rather than part of the
staircase.
Roof: Roof structure, roof coverings, roof drainage, rooflights and roof features.
Stairs and ramps: Construction of ramps, stairs, ladders, etc. connecting floors at
different levels.
External walls: External enclosing walls including walls to basements but excluding walls
to basements designed as retaining walls.
Windows, doors and openings in external walls.
Internal walls, partitions, balustrades, moveable room dividers, cubicles and the like.
Doors, hatches and other openings in internal walls and partitions.
This excludes; the substructure, finishes, fittings, furnishings, equipment and services.
Architecture is the symphony…structure would be just the notes! Architecture blends the needs
of a given client (size, use, public vs private space) with the aesthetic sensibilities of the culture,
client and specific design firm. Structure would only describe the physical nature of a thing…in
this case a building.
architecture refers to the design of structures ranging from homes to navy vessels. Naval
architects design ships.
Relationship between architecture and structure
The Architecture is what you can see, feel and experience; the Structure is how the Architecture
is realized and what holds it all up. Architecture is designed by an Architect, Structure is
designed by an Engineer.
Structure and architecture are two key components in shaping building formation. Interaction
and conflict between the two components and their balanced growth in the manufacturing
process and the development of construction technologies has led to the creation of a new
generation of buildings with advanced technological structure (Mahmudi et al,.2011) Therefore
the review of the history of the presence of structure in building and its integration with
architecture is necessary. The relationship between structure and architecture is expressed as
follows:
Structural design: The structural requirements imposed the form and formal logic has
been praised and admired as a part of visual language.
Structure as a design: Structural elements are selected and controlled by primarily visual
standards.
Neglected structure: Structure is ignored during the design of the building will and not
considered as part of the aesthetic programs.
Accepted structure: Structural requirements may considerably affect the form of the
building even if the structure is not necessarily exposed.
Structures as productive forms: This option is the same as in part.
There have always been buildings which consisted of structure and only structure.
The igloo and the tepee are examples and such buildings have, of course, existed throughout
history and much of human pre-history.
In the world of architectural history and criticism they are considered to be ‘vernacular’ rather
than ‘architecture’. Occasionally, they have found their way into the architectural discourse and
where this has occurred it has often been due to
the very large scale of the particular example. Examples are the Crystal Palace in the nineteenth
century and the CNIT building in the twentieth. These were buildings in which the limits of what
was technically feasible were approached and in which no compromise with structural
requirements was possible. This is a third type of relationship between structure and
architecture which might be referred to as structure without ornament, but perhaps even more
accurately as structure as architecture. The limits of what is possible structurally are reached in
the obvious cases of very long spans and tall buildings. Other cases are those in which extreme
lightness is desirable, for example because the building is required to be portable or where
some other technical issue is so important that it dictates the design program me.
The difference between architecture and structure
It has long been recognized that an appreciation of the role of structure is essential to the
understanding of architecture.
It was Vitruvius, writing at the time of the founding of the Roman Empire, who identified the
three basic components of architecture as firmitas, utilitas and venustas and Sir Henry Wooton,
in the seventeenth century1, who translated these as ‘firmness’, ‘commodity’ and ‘delight’.
Subsequent theorists have proposed different systems by which buildings may be analysed,
their qualities discussed and their meanings understood but the Vitruvian breakdown
nevertheless still provides a valid basis for the examination and criticism of a building.
‘Commodity’, which is perhaps the most obvious of the Vitruvian qualities to appreciate, refers
to the practical functioning of the building; the requirement that the set of spaces which is
provided is actually useful and serves the purpose for which the building was intended.
‘Delight’ is the term for the effect of the building on the aesthetic sensibilities of those who
come into contact with it. It may arise from one or more of a number of factors. The symbolic
meanings of the chosen forms, the aesthetic qualities of the shapes, textures and colours, the
elegance with which the various practical and programmatic problems posed by the building
have been solved, and the ways in which links have been made between the different aspects
of the design are all possible generators of ‘delight’.
‘Firmness’ is the most basic quality. It is concerned with the ability of the building to preserve
its physical integrity and survive in the world as a physical object. The part of the building which
satisfies the need for ‘firmness’ is the structure.
Structure is fundamental: without structure there is no building and therefore no ‘commodity’.
Without well designed structure there can be no ‘delight’. The form of a structural armature is
inevitably very closely related to that of the building which it supports, and the act of designing
a building – of determining its overall form – is therefore also an act of structural design. The
relationship between structural design and architectural design can take many forms however.
At one extreme it is possible for an architect virtually to ignore structural considerations while
inventing the form of a building and to conceal entirely the structural elements in the
completed version of the building.
The Statue of Liberty (Fig. ii) at the entrance to New York harbour, which, given
that it contains an internal circulation system of stairs and elevators, can be
considered to be a building, is an example of this type. The buildings of early
twentieth-century expressionism, such as the Einstein Tower at Potsdam by
Mendelsohn (Fig. iii) and some recent buildings based on the ideas of
Deconstruction (see Figs 1.11 and 7.41 to 7.44) might be cited as further
examples.
All of these buildings contain a structure, but the technical requirements of the
structure have not significantly influenced the form which has been adopted
and the structural elements themselves are not important contributors to the
aesthetics of the architecture. At the other extreme it is possible to produce a
building which consists of little other than structure.
The Olympic Stadium in Munich (Fig. i), by the architects Behnisch and Partners with Frei Otto,
is an example of this.
Between these extremes many different approaches to the
relationship between structure and architecture are possible. In the ‘high tech’ architecture of
the 1980s (Fig. iv), for example, the structural elements discipline the plan and general
arrangement of the building and form an important part of the visual vocabulary.
In the early Modern buildings of Gropius, Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier (see Fig. 7.34) and
others, the forms which were adopted were greatly influenced by the types of geometry which
were suitable for steel and reinforced concrete structural frameworks.
Influence of structure on architecture
The structure in addition to its role in three concepts of strength, performance and beauty has
major influences on architecture. These effects have defined a wide range for structure that
causes the structure be directly related to the strength and stability as an effective mental
element and the related fitness besides its main role. On the other hand observing the
dimensions and proportions of the structure stabilizes (Javaherian ,2007) Such as the Pyramids:
The pyramids as the oldest buildings in architectural history can be a symbol of survival and
sustainability
Conclusion
To sum up, these few examples of very different building types demonstrate that all buildings
contain a structure, the function of which is to support the building envelope by conducting the
forces which are applied to it from the points where they arise in the building to the ground
below it where they are ultimately resisted. Sometimes the structure is indistinguishable from
the enclosing and space-dividing building envelope, sometimes it is entirely separate from it;
most often there is a mixture of elements with structural, non-structural and functions. In all
cases the form of the structure is very closely related to that of the building taken as a whole
and the elegance with which the structure fulfils its function is something which affects the
quality of the architecture.
Reference
Structure and Architecture Angus J. Macdonald, Department of Architecture, University of
Edinburgh, Second edition
https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Structure_definition
https://www.britannica.com/topic/architecture/Architectural-types
