Thursday, December 1, 2011

Architecture

Architecture is the art and science of designing buildings. In a broader sense, the architecture includes designing and building the entire built environment, ranging from the macro level of town planning, urban design, landscape architecture, down to the micro level of building design, furniture design and product design. The architecture also refers to the results of the design process.

The scope and the desire
According to Vitruvius in his De Architectura (which is the oldest written sources which still exists today), the building must either choose a beauty / aesthetics (Venustas), Strength (Firmitas), and Use / Function (utilities); architecture can be regarded as balance and coordination between the three elements, and no one element that exceeds any other element. In the modern definition, the architecture should include consideration of function, aesthetic, and psychological. However, it can be said also that element of the function itself in it already covers both the aesthetic and psychological elements.

Architecture is a field of multi-Discipline, including the math, science, art, technology, humanities, politics, history, philosophy, and so on. Citing Vitruvius, "Architecture is the science that arise from other sciences, and is equipped with the learning process: assisted with the assessment of these works as works of art". He also added that an architect should be well versed in the field of music, astronomy, etc.. Philosophy is one of the principal in the architectural approach. Rationalism, empiricism, phenomenology, structuralism, post-structuralism, and dekonstruktivisme are some directions from philosophy influencing architecture.