Architecture

A principle attributed to architect Louis Sullivan asserting that the shape of a building should primarily derive from its intended purpose. This idea became a cornerstone of modernist architecture and challenged purely decorative approaches to design.

The practice of designing buildings that minimize negative environmental impact through energy efficiency, responsible material selection, water conservation, and reduced carbon emissions across a building's entire lifecycle. Sustainability also encompasses social equity and long-term economic viability.

The relationship between the size of architectural elements relative to each other and to the human body. Well-calibrated scale creates a sense of harmony and comfort, while deliberate manipulation of scale can evoke grandeur, intimacy, or awe.

The deliberate arrangement and hierarchy of interior and exterior spaces within a building or complex. Spatial organization governs how people move through, inhabit, and experience architecture, encompassing circulation paths, room sequences, and public-to-private gradients.

The engineering frameworks that transfer loads from a building to the ground, including gravity loads from the structure's own weight and occupants, as well as lateral loads from wind and seismic forces. Common systems include post-and-beam, load-bearing walls, steel frames, and reinforced concrete.

An approach that incorporates natural elements, materials, and patterns into the built environment to strengthen the human connection with nature. Research shows that biophilic design improves occupant health, well-being, productivity, and cognitive function.

The process of repurposing existing buildings for new functions different from their original design intent. Adaptive reuse preserves cultural heritage, reduces construction waste, retains embodied energy in existing materials, and often revitalizes neglected neighborhoods.

Building traditions that emerge from local materials, climate conditions, cultural practices, and available construction knowledge rather than from formal architectural training. Vernacular architecture represents centuries of accumulated wisdom about how to build appropriately for a specific place.

A computational design approach that uses algorithms and parameters to generate and manipulate complex building forms and facades. By defining relationships between design variables, architects can explore vast solution spaces and optimize for performance criteria such as daylighting, ventilation, and structural efficiency.

The expressive articulation of construction and materials in architecture, where the method of assembly becomes a source of aesthetic meaning. Tectonics explores how structure, joinery, and material connections are revealed, celebrated, or abstracted in the design of a building.