MORE "UNIVERSAL" PRINCIPLES OF ARCHITECTURE
In 2023, The WAI Architecture Think Tank curated, collaged, and published an architecture idea-log titled Universal Principles of Architecture: 100 Architectural Archetypes, Methods, Conditions, Relationships, and Imaginaries.
No doubt inspired by the work of Rem Koolhaas’ Harvard studio “Project on the City” and OMA’s “Elements of Architecture” for the 2014 Venice Biennale, the Universal Principles of Architecture is a valiant effort to catalog and display in a digestible format a lexicon of architectural ideas that have permeated architectural discourse over the years for aspiring, pedagogical, and/or practicing architects. And, in their own words, the term “universal” is used to “focus on pluralism, inclusivity, and accessibility” rather than “...the conventional Eurocentric connotations of an idea that has to be accepted by everyone everywhere…” While they will be hard pressed to separate the term from its modernist connotations in the world of architecture, I am most concerned by those principles not found sandwiched between the aesthetically pleasing hardcovers.
While WAI’s book is comprehensive, it is not exhaustive. But how could it be?
The WAI Think Tank is the brainchild of founders Nathalie Frankowski & Cruz Garcia, which took shape immediately following their time as university students. They are designers, artists, curators, educators, authors, and theorists. Their output is impressive to say the least. However, let’s be clear, they are not registered architects with decades of practice and built projects under their belts. Their work is visionary and informative, but not physical, at least not building-wise. While they have dozens of lectures, essays, and theoretical building projects between the two of them, they have not been involved in the long-winded, and sometimes frustrating, process of collaborating with clients, users, and specialists to move from ideas to built form under the guns of time & money.
For some, this will be seen as a criticism. It is not; it is simply a fact.
Real-world experience and a license to practice architecture subject to liability tempers our approach as building designers. We often feel forced to specialize and relinquish control to reduce our exposure. And we exercise more caution when it comes to physical structures which are very expensive, hard to build, harder to sell, and subject to countless rules & regulations in the form of building codes, local laws, and zoning resolutions. This is a governor that limits our imaginations. We cannot think as freely or be as unencumbered as WAI. But we do build, and, with that, comes a specific type of knowledge and perspective.
It is often said that our best quality is also our worst quality; our greatest strength is also our greatest weakness. WAI’s lack of real-world experience limits their ability to identify several “universal” principles of architecture in the same way that real-world experience limits seasoned practitioners like myself in imagining much of what they have in their text.
Unlike sudoku or chess, architecture is not a closed system with set rules and a finite number of actions or “solutions.” Architecture is a “wicked problem” that is contextual and constantly adapting to its environment in every sense of the word. WAI was smart enough to know that their 100 principles are not “the” 100 principles, but simply 100 they penned to get the ball rolling. They are, in their own words, “...a few of a potentially longer and growing list of ideas that may be as diverse as there are people to think, dream, and practice architecture.”
I offer up my own additions to their powerful document with a little help from AI, Wikipedia, social media, and various architectural publications. To paraphrase Rick Rubin, this is not a competition; this is a collaboration.
I can only hope that my addition will help others see WAI’s list as open-ended and be encouraged to contribute like I have. The more stones we turn over the faster we will find ourselves on the same page. The page necessary to move architecture forward from both ends of the spectrum; academia & practice.
ARCHETYPES
Typology
Typology is the comparative study of physical or other characteristics of the built environment into distinct types. These types have evolved over time through use. They are points of reference in navigating the built environment around us. And in many cases, these typologies and the expectations of users who are familiar with them, keep architects from reinventing the wheel at every turn. Sometimes a bathroom simply looks & works like a bathroom.
Tiny House
A tiny house is a compact residential building, typically under 400 square feet (37 square meters), designed for efficient use of space and a simpler lifestyle. The focus is on minimizing material possessions and maximizing the living experience within a smaller footprint. Tiny homes have been promoted as offering lower-cost and sometimes eco-friendly features within the housing market. The structures have found niches in areas of those trying to downsize, short-term rentals, disaster relief housing, homeless relief housing, and art.
Bridge Buildings
According to Hannah Feniak, Architizer’s Managing Editor, “Bridges are both physical and metaphorical. They can be material structures that connect two or more otherwise separate places, but when used as a verb, humans can bridge ideas or abstract concepts, reconciling or connecting multiple viewpoints or things…Buildings designed as inhabitable bridges give way to technical innovations and advanced design strategies with cultural implications. At their core, these bridge-buildings are rooted in the ethos of integration and engagement, merging the built environment with the natural landscape, interior with exterior, and function with form…bridge-buildings create connections across environments and our collective imaginations, pushing the envelope of cultural and institutional typologies and programs.”
Light Touch
Architecture that strives to be as light as possible (both visually and contact-wise with the earth) was popularized by the likes of Australian Pritzker Prize winning architect, Glenn Murcutt whose work was described by the Pritzker jury as a “testament that aesthetics and ecology can work together to bring harmony to man’s intrusion in the environment”.
FARchitecture
In higher density cities, the value of real estate is so high that it is inconceivable for profit-seeking developers to leave a single square foot of buildable area on the table. As such, the floor area ratio (F.A.R.) of any given lot is maximized within the invisible envelope shaped for light & air to that permitted by the zoning district. This is the reason for so many buildings shaped like wedding cakes; it’s not some architect’s brilliant idea that has been riffed upon ad nauseum afterall.
Starchitecture
Starchitecture, a portmanteau of "star" and "architecture," refers to buildings designed by celebrity architects, often characterized by their iconic and eye-catching designs. These buildings are designed to stand out and are frequently used by cities to enhance their image and attract tourists. Starchitecture is a trend that emerged in the late 20th century and has been associated with global urban competitiveness and a desire for cities to distinguish themselves. Today, the work of these Starchitects is regularly used to give large residential developments a competitive edge in the marketplace. Tom Wolfe coined the brilliant term ‘kerbflash’ to describe their creations which serve the needs of their developer clients in search of visual equity, but may be less well-adapted to the needs of real people. It's a good thing those able to afford these extravagant units rarely live in them.
Pixelated Architecture
A pixel is one of the small dots or squares that make up a digital image on a screen. The resolution of a computer monitor or TV screen is in reference to the number of pixels. The more pixels there are, the more the image looks real or accurate. While pixels are two dimensional, architects have conceptually extruded these squares into three dimensional volumes to serve as building “blocks” for the creation of dynamic forms that visually reference pixelation in three dimensions.
Monochrome
“Monochrome” is a design technique that involves using a single tone or color to create spaces that offer unique experiences to their inhabitants. The most common way to utilize this technique in architectural design is by selecting a color that is applied to all of the finishes while paying attention to the choice of textures and materials, the subtle details that create contrast, the interplay of light and shadow, scale, transitions, furniture, and interior design. The architects, Peter Eisenman, Michael Graves, Charles Gwathmey, John Hejduk, and Richard Meier were once referred to as "the Whites" whose buildings were mostly white, taking their lead from modernist architect Le Corbusier. More recently all black structures by contemporary architects are in vogue.
Pop Architecture
According to American architecture critic and writer on architecture, Ada Louise Huxtable, “Pop Architecture is the true democratization of the art of architecture in that it represents not just mass consumption but mass taste. Its standards are set not by those with an informed and knowledgeable judgment, but by those with little knowledge or judgment at all. It is the indisputable creation of the lower rather than of the upper classes. As such, it is a significant first: probably the only architectural style in history to be formed at the bottom, rather than at the top.”
Memorial Architecture
Memorial architecture, not to be confused with “spiritual architecture”, is one of the oldest forms of architecture encompassing the design of structures, spaces, and landscapes that serve to commemorate individuals, events, or collective memories. These can range from simple grave markers to elaborate public memorials, and their design often reflects the nature of what is being remembered. Representations include everything from the Great Pyramids of Giza to Maya Lin’s Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, DC.
Glass House
Beginning with The Crystal Palace, a cast iron and plate glass structure, originally built in Hyde Park, London, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851, the idea of a glass house has seen thousands of permutations large and small over the years. This includes everything from Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House to I.M. Pei’s glazed pyramid in front of the Louvre in Paris to Peter Bohlin’s Apple store cubes.
Hostile Architecture
Hostile architecture, also known as defensive or exclusionary design, is an urban design strategy that uses elements of the built environment to restrict or discourage certain behaviors or the presence of certain people in public spaces. It aims to prevent activities like loitering, sleeping, skateboarding, or using public spaces in ways deemed undesirable by property owners or law enforcement.
Landscrapers
A "landscraper" refers to a building that grows horizontally across a large area of land rather than vertically into the sky like a skyscraper or a “Super Tall”. It is essentially a megastructure with a very large horizontal footprint.
Franchise Architecture
“Franchise Architecture” refers to not only a business model whereby architects can take advantage of an established brand umbrella to operate under, but to a particular iconography of commercial buildings seen around the world that use architecture as an extension of a corporate brand like McDonalds, Pizza Hut, or Starbucks. These structures are ubiquitous, and are the building blocks of the “generic city”.
Cookie Cutter Architecture
"Cookie cutter architecture" refers to the design and construction of buildings, particularly residential housing, where a limited number of standardized designs are repeated across a large area, resulting in a lack of architectural diversity. These developments often feature identical or very similar houses using bulk materials and assembly-line techniques, leading to affordability and speed of construction. We can thank Mr. William J. Levitt.
The Wall
A wall is a vertical structure that surrounds or divides an area. It can serve various purposes, including enclosing spaces, providing shelter, offering protection, made of a variety of materials, and acting as a barrier or partition. From the Great Wall of China to the Berlin Wall, walls are powerful devices for setting boundaries both physically and emotionally. They are elements of architecture that can both form space and deny access to it.
Parking
There are approximately 1.644 billion vehicles on Earth. This includes passenger cars, light commercial vehicles, and some trucks and buses. And, when they are not in motion on the roads and freeways that facilitate and strangle our cities, they are parked. Vehicles are heavy, they take up space, and their storage has serious impacts on how we shape urban environments. Of the 14,603 US incorporated places classified as “cities”, less than 1% meet the target density of 10,000 persons per square mile for public transit to support frequent and reliable service. It is no wonder why motorized vehicles in the US are so ubiquitous.
Scaffolding
Scaffolding is relatively inexpensive, temporary, and a means to an end. It is inseparable from the creation of buildings and many traits architects have sought to impregnate their buildings with. It is modular, structurally expressive, provides shelter from the elements, and is iconic. When buildings are erected or merely cleaned, the added scaffolding appears as a protective exoskeleton, and telegraphs the massing of the building. In numerous countries throughout the world, most notably in Asia, scaffolding is made from strong and flexible bamboo rather than steel. The great wall of China itself was erected using bamboo scaffolding.
Corporate Architecture
“Corporate Architecture” is defined as a modern term for the architectural features of a corporation’s building. These features are thought to communicate certain aspects of the business or the identity of the organisation as a whole. The design of these buildings is created to tell the corporation’s story and are a physical manifestation of their business culture. According to sociologist Robert Gutman, “A corporate headquarters is now a “giant architectural logo,” making the company conspicuous in the urban landscape.” p. 18
METHODS
Translation
In architecture, "translation" refers to a multifaceted process of interpretation and transference, both between different languages and across disciplines. It encompasses not only the literal transfer of architectural ideas or designs from one context to another, but also the interpretation and adaptation of these ideas to new situations. The essence of architecture as practice is translating between design information and the built artefact.
Resale Value
Resale value is the price an asset (apartment, building, etc.) is expected to yield when resold after being used. It's a crucial factor for consumers when deciding on a purchase and/or on the production of a piece of architecture, as it affects the long-term cost of ownership. Factors like the choice of finishes, fixtures, equipment, bedroom count, and tubs versus showers influence resale value. The choice to make spaces as non-conforming to any specific user’s taste renders genericism and banality its own artform.
Value Engineering
“Value engineering” (VE) is a systematic and organized approach to identifying and improving the value of a project by minimizing costs while maintaining or enhancing functionality. It's essentially a process of optimizing project elements by considering all factors, including cost, upkeep, and aesthetic value, to achieve the best possible outcome for the client. The goal is to maximize the function or performance of a project while minimizing its cost.
Outside In
Unlike interior architecture and/or the user-oriented approach to design, working on a project from the outside in is the default for residential developments. This method starts with zoning and setbacks to set the envelope limits of the building that will maximize the floor area ratio for the sake of real estate value. It is then rendered and used to obtain buy-in from the local community and political leaders. With entitlements in place, the program is shoe-horned into the fixed form at rapid speed.
Deconstructivism
According to Arch Daily, “Deconstructivism is, in fact, not a new architecture style, nor is it an avant-garde movement against architecture or society. It does not follow “rules” or acquire specific aesthetics, nor is it a rebellion against a social dilemma. It is the unleashing of infinite possibilities of playing around with forms and volumes…The term first appeared in the 1980s, as an idea developed by French philosopher Jacques Derrida. Derrida, a friend of Peter Eisenman, developed the idea of fragmenting a building and exploring the asymmetry of geometry (inspired by Russian Constructivism), while maintaining the core functionality of the space (inspired by Modernism).”
Architorture
"Architorture" is a term used in the architecture field to describe the brutal mix of physical and mental exhaustion faced by students and professionals. It encompasses the relentless work ethic, long hours, and demanding deadlines that are often associated with the profession. Number 18 of Bruce Mao’s “Incomplete Manifesto For Growth” is “STAY UP LATE. Strange things happen when you’ve gone too far, been up too long, worked too hard, and you’re separated from the rest of the world.”
Transparency
A group of 11 architects who taught at the University of Texas School of Architecture in Austin from 1951 to 1958 known as the Texas Rangers developed an innovative curriculum that discouraged the sculpting and shaping of a building's mass in favor of the visualization and organization of architectural space. This approach was penned in an essay by 2 of the 11, Colin Rowe & Robert Slutsky, titled “Transparency”. In it they distinguish between literal and phenomenal transparency as a modernist approach to design.
Shopping
Shopping is an activity where people seek and buy goods they want or need, with money. People in a capitalistic society are by and large consumers. Despite the significant increase in online shopping, the phenomenon is still a dominant force in both shaping our urban environment and the actions by which we curate our work and lives. According to Project on the City II: The Harvard Guide to Shopping, “Shopping is arguably the last remaining form of public activity.” And, according to Rem Koolhaas, “...architects don’t look at shopping.”
Photoshopping
Photoshopping, or digitally editing images, involves using software like Adobe Photoshop or other image editing tools to alter or enhance digital images. This can include actions like retouching, removing blemishes, changing backgrounds, or creating composite images. This method is a powerful tool for envisioning unimaginable things in unimaginable places in record time.
Customization
Buildings are custom built prototypes made by hand that never go into production. According to archiSCENE, “The advent of cutting-edge technologies has significantly fueled the customization trend, rendering what was once a laborious, expensive process into a more accessible and streamlined endeavor. Digital design tools, 3D printing, and advanced manufacturing techniques have democratized the design process, allowing for a higher degree of personalization at a fraction of the previous costs and time.”
Rendering
Rendering is the process of generating a photorealistic or non-photorealistic image from input data such as 3D models. The word "rendering" (in one of its senses) originally meant the task performed by an artist when depicting a real or imaginary thing (the finished artwork is also called a "rendering"). Today, to "render" commonly means to generate an image or video from a precise description (often created by an artist) using a computer program.
Slats, ribs, and perforations
Borrowing from elements of Scandinavian architecture & design, these are three commonly used elements used to expedite the effect of modern design without an exhaustive investigation and/or bespoke customization.
Off-the-Shelf
Not to be confused with a “Kit-of Parts”, which may refer to a custom modular system, “Off the Shelf” is the construction of buildings whose lion’s share of elements are from consumer products found at the Lowe’s Home Improvement or Home Depot. This is architecture broken into elements, commodified, and sold as consumer products.
Form Follows Funding
Stewart Brand, in his book How Buildings Learn: What Happens After They're Built, says “A building is not primarily a building; it is primarily a property, and as such, subject to the whims of the market. Commerce drives all before it, especially in cities. Wherever land value is measured in square feet, buildings are as fungible as cash.” And, Matthew Soules, in his book Icebergs, Zombies, and the Ultra Thin: Architecture and Capitalism in the Twenty-First Century, takes it further saying “Architecture is not the result of finance capitalism but rather is finance capitalism.”
Cut, Copy, & Paste
Maas, co-founder of Dutch architecture studio MVRDV, told Dezeen that architects and designers are suffering from "a kind of syndrome surrounding originality..They're required to be original, and if you somehow source something, it counteracts to your originality quota and could harm your career, because clients are in the search of originality…That's kind of stupid." So, his own think tank The Why (not WAI) Factory (t?f) produced Copy Paste: The Bad Ass Architectural Copy Guide. And Kirby Ferguson, the creator of the docuseries “Everything is a Remix” says that The Basic Elements of Creativity are "Copy, Transform , & Combine”. Oscar Wilde once said, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness.” Pablo Picasso is often credited with the quote “Good artists copy; great artists steal.” And Bowie told James Murphy, “You can’t steal from a thief darling.”
Banality
Iconic architecture typically strives to stand out and contrast itself relative to its surroundings. However, in some contexts there is nothing but iconography. In order to stand out, banality is a tool for creating the desired contrast. This is a powerful technique for making a building stand out amongst an architectural petting zoo in places like new Chinese cities or Dubai where "starchitecture" is the norm.
New Materiality
"New Materiality" in architecture refers to the emerging trend of exploring and utilizing new materials, technologies, and approaches to design, particularly in the context of digital fabrication and digital science. This involves looking beyond traditional materials and embracing innovative materials that can enhance functionality, aesthetics, and sustainability.
CONDITIONS
Tourism
Tourism is the act of traveling for pleasure or business purposes, and the commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. It encompasses various activities like sightseeing, camping, and exploring new cultures, and is a significant economic driver. Tourism has been a force in both justifying and sustaining architecture around the world.
The Codes
Building codes are a set of regulations, often enforced by law, that establish minimum standards for the design, construction, and maintenance of buildings and structures. They are designed to protect public health, safety, and welfare, ensuring that buildings are safe, structurally sound, and comply with certain regulations. The earliest known building codes can be traced back to ancient civilizations, with the Code of Hammurabi (circa 1772 BC) as one of the oldest known written legal codes and included provisions related to construction. From the ancient Babylonian code to present day, many of the codes have evolved as a result of human tragedy on behalf of great floods, fires, and disease.
Demolition
When buildings reach the end of their useful life, they are typically demolished and hauled to landfills. Building implosions or ‘wrecking-ball’ style demolitions are relatively inexpensive and offer a quick method of clearing sites for new structures. On the other hand, these methods create substantial amounts of waste. In Japan, homes are often demolished and rebuilt after only 20-30 years due to low-quality construction, rapid depreciation, and a culture of prioritizing newness. This is a practice referred to as "scrap and build". Where land is at a premium and replacement costs are less than renovation costs, demolition is the tabula rasa prerequisite for architecture.
Deconstruction
“Deconstruction”, also known as “construction in reverse”, is the selective dismantlement of building components, specifically for reuse, repurposing, recycling, and waste management. The process of dismantling structures is an ancient activity that has been revived by the growing fields of sustainable and green building. The practice requires a substantially higher degree of hands-on labor than does traditional demolition, which makes it more expensive and less common. Components within old buildings may still be valuable, sometimes more valuable than at the time the building was constructed. Deconstruction is a method of harvesting what is commonly considered “waste” and reclaiming it into useful building material. Most modern buildings are difficult to deconstruct due to the designs of such buildings.
Insurance
Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to protect against the risk of a contingent or uncertain loss. As insurance is required by property owners to safeguard against loss, it is a colossal force that dictates how buildings are built depending upon the context. This includes size, shape, height, density, light, air, materiality, occupancy, and egress.
Vernacular Architecture
Vernacular Architecture is a form of building that evolved over hundreds of years by the trial and error process of users seeking shelter with the local climate and nearby accessible materials as the primary inputs determining construction techniques and forms. This work was documented by Austrian-American architect Bernard Rudofsky Architecture Without Architects: A Short Introduction to Non-Pedigreed Architecture and featured at New York City’s MoMA in 1964. According to Stewart Brand, “The heart of vernacular design is about form, not style. Style is time’s fool. Form is time’s student.”
Pre-Occupancy
Pre-occupancy architecture focuses on evaluating and understanding how a building will function and impact its users before it's actually occupied. It involves assessing design decisions and potential performance issues using various methods like surveys, interviews, simulations, mockups, and virtual reality to gain insights before construction has begun.
Commissioning
In the context of construction, commissioning is a systematic and documented process used to verify that a building and its systems are installed and operate according to the owner's project requirements. It ensures that the building functions as intended, meets performance standards, and is ready for occupancy.
Do It Yourself (DIY)
"Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and semi-raw materials and parts to produce, transform, or reconstruct material possessions, including those drawn from the natural environment".DIY behavior can be triggered by various motivations previously categorized as marketplace motivations (economic benefits, lack of product availability, lack of product quality, need for customization), and identity enhancement (craftsmanship, empowerment, community seeking, uniqueness).
Shearing Layers
“Shearing Layers” is a concept coined by British architect Frank Duffy, which was later elaborated by Stewart Brand in his book, How Buildings Learn: What Happens After They're Built, and refers to buildings as composed of several layers that change over time at different rates. This is how builders typically think of buildings, but is foreign to many architects who think of buildings as sculptural objects. The six layers are: site, structure, skin, services, space plan, & stuff.
Passive Architecture
“Passive Architecture” consists of low-energy buildings designed to exploit passive solar technologies and establish a comfortable indoor temperature with a low-energy requirement for heating or cooling. Whenever possible the form of the building is leveraged to manage the environmental conditions of the building’s location, much like Vernacular Architecture.
Architectural Pastiche
Pastiche architecture is the deliberate imitation or combination of styles, elements, and characteristics from previous historical periods or architectural movements to create a new design. It can be seen as a broad concept with a wide range of applications, from sophisticated revivals to more playful homages, and is sometimes viewed negatively as inauthentic reproductions, though others see it as a creative and important aspect of architectural design. Architectural pastiche is widely used as a tool in suburban America to nod to the past in a particular context to create a sense of place, but whose efforts are on a tight budget and the success of the results debatable.
Architectural Nudity
"Architecture of Nudity" is a concept most prominently explored in Yuval Zohar's book, Towards a Nude Architecture, which examines Japanese onsen culture. The term describes the poetic interaction between buildings, nature, and the naked human body, focusing on the historical, spiritual, and social significance of communal bathing. It highlights how architecture serves as a space for connection, healing, and the shedding of social status through communal nakedness.
Manuel Castells' concept of the "architecture of nudity" refers to the anodyne, interchangeable, and non-representational qualities of architecture in the "space of flows". It describes the type of architecture linked to the globalized network society, such as airports, train stations, shopping malls, and certain contemporary buildings by "starchitects". This is not entirely separate from Koolhaas’ Junkspace.
Junkspace
According to Koolhaas, it is the disorienting, featureless, and sprawling environment that emerges from the "modernization" of capitalism, particularly in spaces like shopping malls, airports, and hotels. This environment, characterized by a lack of order, meaning, and identity, is not a product of modern architecture but rather its residue. Junkspace is seen as a consequence of the Enlightenment's rational program, its apotheosis or meltdown, where individual components, though intelligently designed, result in a low-grade purgatory.
RELATIONSHIPS
Fitness & Performance
ARCHITECTURE MUST FIT (Witold Rybczynski, Paul Shepheard, Robert Geddes, Nicola Di Battista, & Rob Wellington Quigley)
ARCHITECTURE MUST PERFORM (Joshua Prince Ramus & Christopher Sharples)
ARCHITECTURE MUST BE FIT IN ORDER TO PERFORM (Christopher Alker)
ARCHITECTURE IS A PERFORMANCE ART (Paul Shepheard & Thomas Fisher)
Densification
Densification refers to the process of making something more dense, whether it's increasing the number of buildings within a city, compacting soil, or solidifying a material. In the context of urban planning, densification often means adding more buildings or housing units in a given area, which can have both positive and negative impacts. If the ability for cities to be walkable, lively, and sustainable hinges on density, then densification of humans via its architecture is key.
Spectacle Architecture
“Spectacle Architecture” includes those structures designed for large numbers of humans to gather collectively but view individually cultural events like sports games or music concerts. The structure facilitates the live viewing of the event by each individual, often for the purpose of profit, as is the case with stadiums, theaters, and concert venues.
Skin the Diagram
While “Diagramming” is an effective method to conceptualize a design, many firms have gone to the extreme of building the diagram itself and simply wrapping it with an envelope. As such, the diagram dictates not only the spatial program, but the final shape of the building. One of the most accessible examples of this method being the Seattle Public Library by OMA in 2004.
Future Proofing
Buildings take time to conceive and construct. So, as soon as buildings are done being built they are obsolete. This includes their technology, their equipment, and often their use. Making modifications to a building after it has been constructed is both expensive and difficult. This includes capital improvements between “Postoccupancy” & “End of service”. Baking in flexibility to allow for upgrades at a later date without requiring major surgery is a priority for owner-operators and any serious minded architect seeking to create buildings with longer lives much to the benefit of our planet. The most sustainable building is an existing one.
Alteration & Adaptation
Buildings are lived in structures that become complete through their use, and architecture can never fully control the actions of its users. And through this use, the users recognize the need to alter and adapt it to better serve their needs, changing technologies, and/or circumstances. Alteration & adaptation through capital improvement projects are the way to force the evolution of the architecture.
Architect-Developer
An "architect-developer" is an individual or firm that combines architectural design expertise with real estate development capabilities, often taking on a more hands-on role in the entire building process, from initial concept to construction and even ownership. Essentially, they design and build, sometimes even finance and own the property. This is an attempt to reclaim the once held “Master Builder” status of the middle ages, the origin of the term “architect.”
Metropolitan Architecture
A type of architecture postulated by Rem Koolhaas in his retroactive manifesto, Delirious New York, whereby buildings are a collection of disparate programs in hopes of creating new and interesting interactions between users. It was later poked fun at by now New York OMA partner, Shohei Shigematsu who referred to large-scale mixed program buildings in the hands of developers as “bento boxes” in his TEDx talk from 2010.
(Contingent) Architecture
This is a redundant term alluded to by British architect, Jeremy Till, in his book, Architecture Depends, whereby architecture is the result of embracing architecture’s contingency, i.e. “colossal forces” affecting architecture, rather than willfully ignoring it. In short, all architecture is contingent, but not all architecture is a result of this embrace.
Collaboration
It takes a cooperative group of people to produce a building. They must come together and work together towards a common goal, and there is no “I” in T-E-A-M. Architecture is a collaborative effort, not something that is generated by a singular human as is the case with a furniture maker or sculptor. Buildings are simply far too complex and require far too much knowledge to be held by any one individual.
Hedonistic Architecture
Not to be confused with BIG founder, Bjarke Ingels’ approach to architecture known as “Hedonistic Sustainability”, Hedonistic Architecture are those buildings and spaces devoted to human’s pursuit of pleasure and sensual self-indulgence including, but not limited to, nightclubs, brothels, opium dens, gentlemen's clubs, sex clubs, massage parlours.
Interior Architecture
Interior architecture is the design of a building or shelter from inside out. It can refer to the initial design and plan used for a building's interior, to that interior's later redesign made to accommodate a changed purpose, or to the significant revision of an original design for the adaptive reuse of the shell of the building concerned. Interior architecture also refers to the process by which the interiors of buildings are designed to address all aspects of human use.
IMAGINARIES
Apocalyptic Architecture
Apocalyptic architecture, sometimes referred to as post-apocalyptic or avant-apocalyptic, explores the design of structures meant to withstand or adapt to catastrophic events and the aftermath. It often blends survivalism with innovation, creating resilient and often futuristic structures. This type of architecture considers not only protection from a disaster but also the long-term implications of scarcity and the need for resilience in the post-catastrophe environment.
Promethean Architecture
This is an architectural ideal promoted in Ayan Rand’s book The Fountainhead whereby an architect is a genius and master builder that has full creative control over his creations and has the right to take out of the world anything he puts into it, the client and users be damned. This phenomenon has not been in practice for over 100 years for a wide variety of reasons, but is regularly used to sell architecture to the uninitiated. It is a principle myth in the cult of architecture.
Modernism
The modern movement in architecture failed to deliver upon its promise of social redemption. According to Bruno Latour, “We have never been modern in the sense of the Constitution (of the modern project). No one has ever been modern. Modernity has never begun.” Like “Utopia”, Modernism is one of many imaginaries.
Artificially Intelligent (AI) Architecture
AI in architecture refers to the application of artificial intelligence to automate, assist, and enhance various aspects of the architectural design process. This includes using AI for tasks like concept generation, visualization, optimization, and even construction.
Visionary Architecture
“Visionary architecture”, often referred to as “Paper Architecture”, is a design that only exists on paper or displays idealistic or impractical qualities. The term originated from an exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in 1960. Visionary architects are also known as paper architects because their improbable works exist only as drawings, collages, or models. Their designs show unique, creative concepts that are unrealistic or impossible except in the design environment.
Copyright 2025 by Christopher Alker
No doubt inspired by the work of Rem Koolhaas’ Harvard studio “Project on the City” and OMA’s “Elements of Architecture” for the 2014 Venice Biennale, the Universal Principles of Architecture is a valiant effort to catalog and display in a digestible format a lexicon of architectural ideas that have permeated architectural discourse over the years for aspiring, pedagogical, and/or practicing architects. And, in their own words, the term “universal” is used to “focus on pluralism, inclusivity, and accessibility” rather than “...the conventional Eurocentric connotations of an idea that has to be accepted by everyone everywhere…” While they will be hard pressed to separate the term from its modernist connotations in the world of architecture, I am most concerned by those principles not found sandwiched between the aesthetically pleasing hardcovers.
While WAI’s book is comprehensive, it is not exhaustive. But how could it be?
The WAI Think Tank is the brainchild of founders Nathalie Frankowski & Cruz Garcia, which took shape immediately following their time as university students. They are designers, artists, curators, educators, authors, and theorists. Their output is impressive to say the least. However, let’s be clear, they are not registered architects with decades of practice and built projects under their belts. Their work is visionary and informative, but not physical, at least not building-wise. While they have dozens of lectures, essays, and theoretical building projects between the two of them, they have not been involved in the long-winded, and sometimes frustrating, process of collaborating with clients, users, and specialists to move from ideas to built form under the guns of time & money.
For some, this will be seen as a criticism. It is not; it is simply a fact.
Real-world experience and a license to practice architecture subject to liability tempers our approach as building designers. We often feel forced to specialize and relinquish control to reduce our exposure. And we exercise more caution when it comes to physical structures which are very expensive, hard to build, harder to sell, and subject to countless rules & regulations in the form of building codes, local laws, and zoning resolutions. This is a governor that limits our imaginations. We cannot think as freely or be as unencumbered as WAI. But we do build, and, with that, comes a specific type of knowledge and perspective.
It is often said that our best quality is also our worst quality; our greatest strength is also our greatest weakness. WAI’s lack of real-world experience limits their ability to identify several “universal” principles of architecture in the same way that real-world experience limits seasoned practitioners like myself in imagining much of what they have in their text.
Unlike sudoku or chess, architecture is not a closed system with set rules and a finite number of actions or “solutions.” Architecture is a “wicked problem” that is contextual and constantly adapting to its environment in every sense of the word. WAI was smart enough to know that their 100 principles are not “the” 100 principles, but simply 100 they penned to get the ball rolling. They are, in their own words, “...a few of a potentially longer and growing list of ideas that may be as diverse as there are people to think, dream, and practice architecture.”
I offer up my own additions to their powerful document with a little help from AI, Wikipedia, social media, and various architectural publications. To paraphrase Rick Rubin, this is not a competition; this is a collaboration.
I can only hope that my addition will help others see WAI’s list as open-ended and be encouraged to contribute like I have. The more stones we turn over the faster we will find ourselves on the same page. The page necessary to move architecture forward from both ends of the spectrum; academia & practice.
ARCHETYPES
Typology
Typology is the comparative study of physical or other characteristics of the built environment into distinct types. These types have evolved over time through use. They are points of reference in navigating the built environment around us. And in many cases, these typologies and the expectations of users who are familiar with them, keep architects from reinventing the wheel at every turn. Sometimes a bathroom simply looks & works like a bathroom.
Tiny House
A tiny house is a compact residential building, typically under 400 square feet (37 square meters), designed for efficient use of space and a simpler lifestyle. The focus is on minimizing material possessions and maximizing the living experience within a smaller footprint. Tiny homes have been promoted as offering lower-cost and sometimes eco-friendly features within the housing market. The structures have found niches in areas of those trying to downsize, short-term rentals, disaster relief housing, homeless relief housing, and art.
Bridge Buildings
According to Hannah Feniak, Architizer’s Managing Editor, “Bridges are both physical and metaphorical. They can be material structures that connect two or more otherwise separate places, but when used as a verb, humans can bridge ideas or abstract concepts, reconciling or connecting multiple viewpoints or things…Buildings designed as inhabitable bridges give way to technical innovations and advanced design strategies with cultural implications. At their core, these bridge-buildings are rooted in the ethos of integration and engagement, merging the built environment with the natural landscape, interior with exterior, and function with form…bridge-buildings create connections across environments and our collective imaginations, pushing the envelope of cultural and institutional typologies and programs.”
Light Touch
Architecture that strives to be as light as possible (both visually and contact-wise with the earth) was popularized by the likes of Australian Pritzker Prize winning architect, Glenn Murcutt whose work was described by the Pritzker jury as a “testament that aesthetics and ecology can work together to bring harmony to man’s intrusion in the environment”.
FARchitecture
In higher density cities, the value of real estate is so high that it is inconceivable for profit-seeking developers to leave a single square foot of buildable area on the table. As such, the floor area ratio (F.A.R.) of any given lot is maximized within the invisible envelope shaped for light & air to that permitted by the zoning district. This is the reason for so many buildings shaped like wedding cakes; it’s not some architect’s brilliant idea that has been riffed upon ad nauseum afterall.
Starchitecture
Starchitecture, a portmanteau of "star" and "architecture," refers to buildings designed by celebrity architects, often characterized by their iconic and eye-catching designs. These buildings are designed to stand out and are frequently used by cities to enhance their image and attract tourists. Starchitecture is a trend that emerged in the late 20th century and has been associated with global urban competitiveness and a desire for cities to distinguish themselves. Today, the work of these Starchitects is regularly used to give large residential developments a competitive edge in the marketplace. Tom Wolfe coined the brilliant term ‘kerbflash’ to describe their creations which serve the needs of their developer clients in search of visual equity, but may be less well-adapted to the needs of real people. It's a good thing those able to afford these extravagant units rarely live in them.
Pixelated Architecture
A pixel is one of the small dots or squares that make up a digital image on a screen. The resolution of a computer monitor or TV screen is in reference to the number of pixels. The more pixels there are, the more the image looks real or accurate. While pixels are two dimensional, architects have conceptually extruded these squares into three dimensional volumes to serve as building “blocks” for the creation of dynamic forms that visually reference pixelation in three dimensions.
Monochrome
“Monochrome” is a design technique that involves using a single tone or color to create spaces that offer unique experiences to their inhabitants. The most common way to utilize this technique in architectural design is by selecting a color that is applied to all of the finishes while paying attention to the choice of textures and materials, the subtle details that create contrast, the interplay of light and shadow, scale, transitions, furniture, and interior design. The architects, Peter Eisenman, Michael Graves, Charles Gwathmey, John Hejduk, and Richard Meier were once referred to as "the Whites" whose buildings were mostly white, taking their lead from modernist architect Le Corbusier. More recently all black structures by contemporary architects are in vogue.
Pop Architecture
According to American architecture critic and writer on architecture, Ada Louise Huxtable, “Pop Architecture is the true democratization of the art of architecture in that it represents not just mass consumption but mass taste. Its standards are set not by those with an informed and knowledgeable judgment, but by those with little knowledge or judgment at all. It is the indisputable creation of the lower rather than of the upper classes. As such, it is a significant first: probably the only architectural style in history to be formed at the bottom, rather than at the top.”
Memorial Architecture
Memorial architecture, not to be confused with “spiritual architecture”, is one of the oldest forms of architecture encompassing the design of structures, spaces, and landscapes that serve to commemorate individuals, events, or collective memories. These can range from simple grave markers to elaborate public memorials, and their design often reflects the nature of what is being remembered. Representations include everything from the Great Pyramids of Giza to Maya Lin’s Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, DC.
Glass House
Beginning with The Crystal Palace, a cast iron and plate glass structure, originally built in Hyde Park, London, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851, the idea of a glass house has seen thousands of permutations large and small over the years. This includes everything from Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House to I.M. Pei’s glazed pyramid in front of the Louvre in Paris to Peter Bohlin’s Apple store cubes.
Hostile Architecture
Hostile architecture, also known as defensive or exclusionary design, is an urban design strategy that uses elements of the built environment to restrict or discourage certain behaviors or the presence of certain people in public spaces. It aims to prevent activities like loitering, sleeping, skateboarding, or using public spaces in ways deemed undesirable by property owners or law enforcement.
Landscrapers
A "landscraper" refers to a building that grows horizontally across a large area of land rather than vertically into the sky like a skyscraper or a “Super Tall”. It is essentially a megastructure with a very large horizontal footprint.
Franchise Architecture
“Franchise Architecture” refers to not only a business model whereby architects can take advantage of an established brand umbrella to operate under, but to a particular iconography of commercial buildings seen around the world that use architecture as an extension of a corporate brand like McDonalds, Pizza Hut, or Starbucks. These structures are ubiquitous, and are the building blocks of the “generic city”.
Cookie Cutter Architecture
"Cookie cutter architecture" refers to the design and construction of buildings, particularly residential housing, where a limited number of standardized designs are repeated across a large area, resulting in a lack of architectural diversity. These developments often feature identical or very similar houses using bulk materials and assembly-line techniques, leading to affordability and speed of construction. We can thank Mr. William J. Levitt.
The Wall
A wall is a vertical structure that surrounds or divides an area. It can serve various purposes, including enclosing spaces, providing shelter, offering protection, made of a variety of materials, and acting as a barrier or partition. From the Great Wall of China to the Berlin Wall, walls are powerful devices for setting boundaries both physically and emotionally. They are elements of architecture that can both form space and deny access to it.
Parking
There are approximately 1.644 billion vehicles on Earth. This includes passenger cars, light commercial vehicles, and some trucks and buses. And, when they are not in motion on the roads and freeways that facilitate and strangle our cities, they are parked. Vehicles are heavy, they take up space, and their storage has serious impacts on how we shape urban environments. Of the 14,603 US incorporated places classified as “cities”, less than 1% meet the target density of 10,000 persons per square mile for public transit to support frequent and reliable service. It is no wonder why motorized vehicles in the US are so ubiquitous.
Scaffolding
Scaffolding is relatively inexpensive, temporary, and a means to an end. It is inseparable from the creation of buildings and many traits architects have sought to impregnate their buildings with. It is modular, structurally expressive, provides shelter from the elements, and is iconic. When buildings are erected or merely cleaned, the added scaffolding appears as a protective exoskeleton, and telegraphs the massing of the building. In numerous countries throughout the world, most notably in Asia, scaffolding is made from strong and flexible bamboo rather than steel. The great wall of China itself was erected using bamboo scaffolding.
Corporate Architecture
“Corporate Architecture” is defined as a modern term for the architectural features of a corporation’s building. These features are thought to communicate certain aspects of the business or the identity of the organisation as a whole. The design of these buildings is created to tell the corporation’s story and are a physical manifestation of their business culture. According to sociologist Robert Gutman, “A corporate headquarters is now a “giant architectural logo,” making the company conspicuous in the urban landscape.” p. 18
METHODS
Translation
In architecture, "translation" refers to a multifaceted process of interpretation and transference, both between different languages and across disciplines. It encompasses not only the literal transfer of architectural ideas or designs from one context to another, but also the interpretation and adaptation of these ideas to new situations. The essence of architecture as practice is translating between design information and the built artefact.
Resale Value
Resale value is the price an asset (apartment, building, etc.) is expected to yield when resold after being used. It's a crucial factor for consumers when deciding on a purchase and/or on the production of a piece of architecture, as it affects the long-term cost of ownership. Factors like the choice of finishes, fixtures, equipment, bedroom count, and tubs versus showers influence resale value. The choice to make spaces as non-conforming to any specific user’s taste renders genericism and banality its own artform.
Value Engineering
“Value engineering” (VE) is a systematic and organized approach to identifying and improving the value of a project by minimizing costs while maintaining or enhancing functionality. It's essentially a process of optimizing project elements by considering all factors, including cost, upkeep, and aesthetic value, to achieve the best possible outcome for the client. The goal is to maximize the function or performance of a project while minimizing its cost.
Outside In
Unlike interior architecture and/or the user-oriented approach to design, working on a project from the outside in is the default for residential developments. This method starts with zoning and setbacks to set the envelope limits of the building that will maximize the floor area ratio for the sake of real estate value. It is then rendered and used to obtain buy-in from the local community and political leaders. With entitlements in place, the program is shoe-horned into the fixed form at rapid speed.
Deconstructivism
According to Arch Daily, “Deconstructivism is, in fact, not a new architecture style, nor is it an avant-garde movement against architecture or society. It does not follow “rules” or acquire specific aesthetics, nor is it a rebellion against a social dilemma. It is the unleashing of infinite possibilities of playing around with forms and volumes…The term first appeared in the 1980s, as an idea developed by French philosopher Jacques Derrida. Derrida, a friend of Peter Eisenman, developed the idea of fragmenting a building and exploring the asymmetry of geometry (inspired by Russian Constructivism), while maintaining the core functionality of the space (inspired by Modernism).”
Architorture
"Architorture" is a term used in the architecture field to describe the brutal mix of physical and mental exhaustion faced by students and professionals. It encompasses the relentless work ethic, long hours, and demanding deadlines that are often associated with the profession. Number 18 of Bruce Mao’s “Incomplete Manifesto For Growth” is “STAY UP LATE. Strange things happen when you’ve gone too far, been up too long, worked too hard, and you’re separated from the rest of the world.”
Transparency
A group of 11 architects who taught at the University of Texas School of Architecture in Austin from 1951 to 1958 known as the Texas Rangers developed an innovative curriculum that discouraged the sculpting and shaping of a building's mass in favor of the visualization and organization of architectural space. This approach was penned in an essay by 2 of the 11, Colin Rowe & Robert Slutsky, titled “Transparency”. In it they distinguish between literal and phenomenal transparency as a modernist approach to design.
Shopping
Shopping is an activity where people seek and buy goods they want or need, with money. People in a capitalistic society are by and large consumers. Despite the significant increase in online shopping, the phenomenon is still a dominant force in both shaping our urban environment and the actions by which we curate our work and lives. According to Project on the City II: The Harvard Guide to Shopping, “Shopping is arguably the last remaining form of public activity.” And, according to Rem Koolhaas, “...architects don’t look at shopping.”
Photoshopping
Photoshopping, or digitally editing images, involves using software like Adobe Photoshop or other image editing tools to alter or enhance digital images. This can include actions like retouching, removing blemishes, changing backgrounds, or creating composite images. This method is a powerful tool for envisioning unimaginable things in unimaginable places in record time.
Customization
Buildings are custom built prototypes made by hand that never go into production. According to archiSCENE, “The advent of cutting-edge technologies has significantly fueled the customization trend, rendering what was once a laborious, expensive process into a more accessible and streamlined endeavor. Digital design tools, 3D printing, and advanced manufacturing techniques have democratized the design process, allowing for a higher degree of personalization at a fraction of the previous costs and time.”
Rendering
Rendering is the process of generating a photorealistic or non-photorealistic image from input data such as 3D models. The word "rendering" (in one of its senses) originally meant the task performed by an artist when depicting a real or imaginary thing (the finished artwork is also called a "rendering"). Today, to "render" commonly means to generate an image or video from a precise description (often created by an artist) using a computer program.
Slats, ribs, and perforations
Borrowing from elements of Scandinavian architecture & design, these are three commonly used elements used to expedite the effect of modern design without an exhaustive investigation and/or bespoke customization.
Off-the-Shelf
Not to be confused with a “Kit-of Parts”, which may refer to a custom modular system, “Off the Shelf” is the construction of buildings whose lion’s share of elements are from consumer products found at the Lowe’s Home Improvement or Home Depot. This is architecture broken into elements, commodified, and sold as consumer products.
Form Follows Funding
Stewart Brand, in his book How Buildings Learn: What Happens After They're Built, says “A building is not primarily a building; it is primarily a property, and as such, subject to the whims of the market. Commerce drives all before it, especially in cities. Wherever land value is measured in square feet, buildings are as fungible as cash.” And, Matthew Soules, in his book Icebergs, Zombies, and the Ultra Thin: Architecture and Capitalism in the Twenty-First Century, takes it further saying “Architecture is not the result of finance capitalism but rather is finance capitalism.”
Cut, Copy, & Paste
Maas, co-founder of Dutch architecture studio MVRDV, told Dezeen that architects and designers are suffering from "a kind of syndrome surrounding originality..They're required to be original, and if you somehow source something, it counteracts to your originality quota and could harm your career, because clients are in the search of originality…That's kind of stupid." So, his own think tank The Why (not WAI) Factory (t?f) produced Copy Paste: The Bad Ass Architectural Copy Guide. And Kirby Ferguson, the creator of the docuseries “Everything is a Remix” says that The Basic Elements of Creativity are "Copy, Transform , & Combine”. Oscar Wilde once said, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness.” Pablo Picasso is often credited with the quote “Good artists copy; great artists steal.” And Bowie told James Murphy, “You can’t steal from a thief darling.”
Banality
Iconic architecture typically strives to stand out and contrast itself relative to its surroundings. However, in some contexts there is nothing but iconography. In order to stand out, banality is a tool for creating the desired contrast. This is a powerful technique for making a building stand out amongst an architectural petting zoo in places like new Chinese cities or Dubai where "starchitecture" is the norm.
New Materiality
"New Materiality" in architecture refers to the emerging trend of exploring and utilizing new materials, technologies, and approaches to design, particularly in the context of digital fabrication and digital science. This involves looking beyond traditional materials and embracing innovative materials that can enhance functionality, aesthetics, and sustainability.
CONDITIONS
Tourism
Tourism is the act of traveling for pleasure or business purposes, and the commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. It encompasses various activities like sightseeing, camping, and exploring new cultures, and is a significant economic driver. Tourism has been a force in both justifying and sustaining architecture around the world.
The Codes
Building codes are a set of regulations, often enforced by law, that establish minimum standards for the design, construction, and maintenance of buildings and structures. They are designed to protect public health, safety, and welfare, ensuring that buildings are safe, structurally sound, and comply with certain regulations. The earliest known building codes can be traced back to ancient civilizations, with the Code of Hammurabi (circa 1772 BC) as one of the oldest known written legal codes and included provisions related to construction. From the ancient Babylonian code to present day, many of the codes have evolved as a result of human tragedy on behalf of great floods, fires, and disease.
Demolition
When buildings reach the end of their useful life, they are typically demolished and hauled to landfills. Building implosions or ‘wrecking-ball’ style demolitions are relatively inexpensive and offer a quick method of clearing sites for new structures. On the other hand, these methods create substantial amounts of waste. In Japan, homes are often demolished and rebuilt after only 20-30 years due to low-quality construction, rapid depreciation, and a culture of prioritizing newness. This is a practice referred to as "scrap and build". Where land is at a premium and replacement costs are less than renovation costs, demolition is the tabula rasa prerequisite for architecture.
Deconstruction
“Deconstruction”, also known as “construction in reverse”, is the selective dismantlement of building components, specifically for reuse, repurposing, recycling, and waste management. The process of dismantling structures is an ancient activity that has been revived by the growing fields of sustainable and green building. The practice requires a substantially higher degree of hands-on labor than does traditional demolition, which makes it more expensive and less common. Components within old buildings may still be valuable, sometimes more valuable than at the time the building was constructed. Deconstruction is a method of harvesting what is commonly considered “waste” and reclaiming it into useful building material. Most modern buildings are difficult to deconstruct due to the designs of such buildings.
Insurance
Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to protect against the risk of a contingent or uncertain loss. As insurance is required by property owners to safeguard against loss, it is a colossal force that dictates how buildings are built depending upon the context. This includes size, shape, height, density, light, air, materiality, occupancy, and egress.
Vernacular Architecture
Vernacular Architecture is a form of building that evolved over hundreds of years by the trial and error process of users seeking shelter with the local climate and nearby accessible materials as the primary inputs determining construction techniques and forms. This work was documented by Austrian-American architect Bernard Rudofsky Architecture Without Architects: A Short Introduction to Non-Pedigreed Architecture and featured at New York City’s MoMA in 1964. According to Stewart Brand, “The heart of vernacular design is about form, not style. Style is time’s fool. Form is time’s student.”
Pre-Occupancy
Pre-occupancy architecture focuses on evaluating and understanding how a building will function and impact its users before it's actually occupied. It involves assessing design decisions and potential performance issues using various methods like surveys, interviews, simulations, mockups, and virtual reality to gain insights before construction has begun.
Commissioning
In the context of construction, commissioning is a systematic and documented process used to verify that a building and its systems are installed and operate according to the owner's project requirements. It ensures that the building functions as intended, meets performance standards, and is ready for occupancy.
Do It Yourself (DIY)
"Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and semi-raw materials and parts to produce, transform, or reconstruct material possessions, including those drawn from the natural environment".DIY behavior can be triggered by various motivations previously categorized as marketplace motivations (economic benefits, lack of product availability, lack of product quality, need for customization), and identity enhancement (craftsmanship, empowerment, community seeking, uniqueness).
Shearing Layers
“Shearing Layers” is a concept coined by British architect Frank Duffy, which was later elaborated by Stewart Brand in his book, How Buildings Learn: What Happens After They're Built, and refers to buildings as composed of several layers that change over time at different rates. This is how builders typically think of buildings, but is foreign to many architects who think of buildings as sculptural objects. The six layers are: site, structure, skin, services, space plan, & stuff.
Passive Architecture
“Passive Architecture” consists of low-energy buildings designed to exploit passive solar technologies and establish a comfortable indoor temperature with a low-energy requirement for heating or cooling. Whenever possible the form of the building is leveraged to manage the environmental conditions of the building’s location, much like Vernacular Architecture.
Architectural Pastiche
Pastiche architecture is the deliberate imitation or combination of styles, elements, and characteristics from previous historical periods or architectural movements to create a new design. It can be seen as a broad concept with a wide range of applications, from sophisticated revivals to more playful homages, and is sometimes viewed negatively as inauthentic reproductions, though others see it as a creative and important aspect of architectural design. Architectural pastiche is widely used as a tool in suburban America to nod to the past in a particular context to create a sense of place, but whose efforts are on a tight budget and the success of the results debatable.
Architectural Nudity
"Architecture of Nudity" is a concept most prominently explored in Yuval Zohar's book, Towards a Nude Architecture, which examines Japanese onsen culture. The term describes the poetic interaction between buildings, nature, and the naked human body, focusing on the historical, spiritual, and social significance of communal bathing. It highlights how architecture serves as a space for connection, healing, and the shedding of social status through communal nakedness.
Manuel Castells' concept of the "architecture of nudity" refers to the anodyne, interchangeable, and non-representational qualities of architecture in the "space of flows". It describes the type of architecture linked to the globalized network society, such as airports, train stations, shopping malls, and certain contemporary buildings by "starchitects". This is not entirely separate from Koolhaas’ Junkspace.
Junkspace
According to Koolhaas, it is the disorienting, featureless, and sprawling environment that emerges from the "modernization" of capitalism, particularly in spaces like shopping malls, airports, and hotels. This environment, characterized by a lack of order, meaning, and identity, is not a product of modern architecture but rather its residue. Junkspace is seen as a consequence of the Enlightenment's rational program, its apotheosis or meltdown, where individual components, though intelligently designed, result in a low-grade purgatory.
RELATIONSHIPS
Fitness & Performance
ARCHITECTURE MUST FIT (Witold Rybczynski, Paul Shepheard, Robert Geddes, Nicola Di Battista, & Rob Wellington Quigley)
ARCHITECTURE MUST PERFORM (Joshua Prince Ramus & Christopher Sharples)
ARCHITECTURE MUST BE FIT IN ORDER TO PERFORM (Christopher Alker)
ARCHITECTURE IS A PERFORMANCE ART (Paul Shepheard & Thomas Fisher)
Densification
Densification refers to the process of making something more dense, whether it's increasing the number of buildings within a city, compacting soil, or solidifying a material. In the context of urban planning, densification often means adding more buildings or housing units in a given area, which can have both positive and negative impacts. If the ability for cities to be walkable, lively, and sustainable hinges on density, then densification of humans via its architecture is key.
Spectacle Architecture
“Spectacle Architecture” includes those structures designed for large numbers of humans to gather collectively but view individually cultural events like sports games or music concerts. The structure facilitates the live viewing of the event by each individual, often for the purpose of profit, as is the case with stadiums, theaters, and concert venues.
Skin the Diagram
While “Diagramming” is an effective method to conceptualize a design, many firms have gone to the extreme of building the diagram itself and simply wrapping it with an envelope. As such, the diagram dictates not only the spatial program, but the final shape of the building. One of the most accessible examples of this method being the Seattle Public Library by OMA in 2004.
Future Proofing
Buildings take time to conceive and construct. So, as soon as buildings are done being built they are obsolete. This includes their technology, their equipment, and often their use. Making modifications to a building after it has been constructed is both expensive and difficult. This includes capital improvements between “Postoccupancy” & “End of service”. Baking in flexibility to allow for upgrades at a later date without requiring major surgery is a priority for owner-operators and any serious minded architect seeking to create buildings with longer lives much to the benefit of our planet. The most sustainable building is an existing one.
Alteration & Adaptation
Buildings are lived in structures that become complete through their use, and architecture can never fully control the actions of its users. And through this use, the users recognize the need to alter and adapt it to better serve their needs, changing technologies, and/or circumstances. Alteration & adaptation through capital improvement projects are the way to force the evolution of the architecture.
Architect-Developer
An "architect-developer" is an individual or firm that combines architectural design expertise with real estate development capabilities, often taking on a more hands-on role in the entire building process, from initial concept to construction and even ownership. Essentially, they design and build, sometimes even finance and own the property. This is an attempt to reclaim the once held “Master Builder” status of the middle ages, the origin of the term “architect.”
Metropolitan Architecture
A type of architecture postulated by Rem Koolhaas in his retroactive manifesto, Delirious New York, whereby buildings are a collection of disparate programs in hopes of creating new and interesting interactions between users. It was later poked fun at by now New York OMA partner, Shohei Shigematsu who referred to large-scale mixed program buildings in the hands of developers as “bento boxes” in his TEDx talk from 2010.
(Contingent) Architecture
This is a redundant term alluded to by British architect, Jeremy Till, in his book, Architecture Depends, whereby architecture is the result of embracing architecture’s contingency, i.e. “colossal forces” affecting architecture, rather than willfully ignoring it. In short, all architecture is contingent, but not all architecture is a result of this embrace.
Collaboration
It takes a cooperative group of people to produce a building. They must come together and work together towards a common goal, and there is no “I” in T-E-A-M. Architecture is a collaborative effort, not something that is generated by a singular human as is the case with a furniture maker or sculptor. Buildings are simply far too complex and require far too much knowledge to be held by any one individual.
Hedonistic Architecture
Not to be confused with BIG founder, Bjarke Ingels’ approach to architecture known as “Hedonistic Sustainability”, Hedonistic Architecture are those buildings and spaces devoted to human’s pursuit of pleasure and sensual self-indulgence including, but not limited to, nightclubs, brothels, opium dens, gentlemen's clubs, sex clubs, massage parlours.
Interior Architecture
Interior architecture is the design of a building or shelter from inside out. It can refer to the initial design and plan used for a building's interior, to that interior's later redesign made to accommodate a changed purpose, or to the significant revision of an original design for the adaptive reuse of the shell of the building concerned. Interior architecture also refers to the process by which the interiors of buildings are designed to address all aspects of human use.
IMAGINARIES
Apocalyptic Architecture
Apocalyptic architecture, sometimes referred to as post-apocalyptic or avant-apocalyptic, explores the design of structures meant to withstand or adapt to catastrophic events and the aftermath. It often blends survivalism with innovation, creating resilient and often futuristic structures. This type of architecture considers not only protection from a disaster but also the long-term implications of scarcity and the need for resilience in the post-catastrophe environment.
Promethean Architecture
This is an architectural ideal promoted in Ayan Rand’s book The Fountainhead whereby an architect is a genius and master builder that has full creative control over his creations and has the right to take out of the world anything he puts into it, the client and users be damned. This phenomenon has not been in practice for over 100 years for a wide variety of reasons, but is regularly used to sell architecture to the uninitiated. It is a principle myth in the cult of architecture.
Modernism
The modern movement in architecture failed to deliver upon its promise of social redemption. According to Bruno Latour, “We have never been modern in the sense of the Constitution (of the modern project). No one has ever been modern. Modernity has never begun.” Like “Utopia”, Modernism is one of many imaginaries.
Artificially Intelligent (AI) Architecture
AI in architecture refers to the application of artificial intelligence to automate, assist, and enhance various aspects of the architectural design process. This includes using AI for tasks like concept generation, visualization, optimization, and even construction.
Visionary Architecture
“Visionary architecture”, often referred to as “Paper Architecture”, is a design that only exists on paper or displays idealistic or impractical qualities. The term originated from an exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in 1960. Visionary architects are also known as paper architects because their improbable works exist only as drawings, collages, or models. Their designs show unique, creative concepts that are unrealistic or impossible except in the design environment.
Copyright 2025 by Christopher Alker