summary in easy language

ORDER

Introduction: Ideas o f O r d e r

" ... Ranron Fernandez, tell me, i f y o u know, Why, when fir? singing ended a i l d rue turned Toward the town, tell why theglassy lights, Tke lights iirr tiltfishing boats nt airchor there, As rlight descended, tiltir~g in the air, Mastered the night and portioned out the sea, Fixing einblazoned zoiles and fiery poles, Arranging, deepening, enchailtiiig night ..." -WALLACE STEVENS

The title of this book, Ideas of Order, comes from a poem by Wallace Stevens, "The Idea of Order at Key WesY'. Stevens' poem elegantly and compactly addresses issues which in this text are drawn out over three hundred pages. The poem recounts the tale of a woman singing by the shore. The words of her song and the natural rhythms of the sea mimic one another, yet the gulf between language and the grinding water keep them from ever forming a dialogue. Instead, the contrast be- tween the song and the sounds of the wind and sea provides a frame which reveals both with new clarity. When the singing ends, the sea still can- not be grasped as an autonomous, independent entity. Instead, a new frame emerges; the lights of the fishing boats mark out a visual structure which fixes a new order for the sea.

The primary aim of ideas o f Order is to pro- v i d e conceptual a n d historical frames of reference which can be used to 'portion out' the order of architecture, a task that is by no means easy. Most of our training prepares us to deci- pher linguistic and numeric information. We have little training in making sense out of visual and graphic material. Ground rules in visual literacy are presented in this book in an attempt to demystify the study of architecture, a disci- pline which is so fraught with jargon a n d specialized argot that without a primer, the novice may become hopelessly muddled, or worse, indifferent to the built environment. The intent is not to develop an historical or art his- torical argument, but rather to provide insight into the way architects make decisions so that

I D E A S C

the reader may better appreciate the rich- ness of the materlal world.

We do not presume to divine the inten- tions of architects nor to understand the precise reasoning followed in their design processes. Instead, we shall examine objec- tive data: the physical forms of buildings a n d the interrelationships among the whole, the constituent p a r t s and the broader context. Formal analysis of build- ings a n d d r a w i n g s shall act as a springboard for our discussion, although excurses may range into more abstruse theoretical territory. Many complementary and contradictory readings may be prof- fered. That is why the book is called ldeas of Order, rather than The Idea of Order. In Stevens' poem, an interpretation of the sea which emphasizes its auditory structure is supported by the song; another interpreta- tion which emphasizes i t s s p a t i a l characterist~cs is supported by the cadence of lights and fishing boat masts. So too in architecture, multiple orders can be found and ambiguous, overlapping strata do not diminish the interpretations, but rather cre- a t e reverberations among them which strengthen the whole. Apparent disorder may yield a higher kind of order.

As Stevens suggested, order is discern- ible only through contrast and framing; and frames, by their nature, include some things and exclude others. A theoretical scaffold acts as a frame to sharpen critical focus so that the structure of a verbal or graphic idea is more easily discerned.

Meaning is conferred in many ways. In language, the order of words, the choice of

I F O R D E R

vocabulary, the particularities of syntax and tone signify more than the literal deno- tation of a phrase. In architecture the most straightforward function, that of making shelter, carries only a small part of the building's meaning. Architecture is not just about shelter and accommodation; it also conserves rituals and mediates be- tween the condition of humankind and the forces beyond our control.

The first five chapters of the book set forth methods of examining buildmgs and provide tools for formal analysis. Categories, vocabulary and criteria are presented which identify some organizing principles of architectural works. With an understanding of how architectural ideas are structured, it is hoped that the reader will gain insight into why one choice was made and not another, and how different arrange- ments of form can shape their attendant meanings.

The last ten chapters loosely follow an historical time line, although the approach in this book is not historical. Rather, an historical sequence is used as a convenient armature for the discussion of broader ar- chitectural ideas. Our methodology diverges from that of most architectural histories in another way. Architectural his- torians explore temporal chains of relationship. Here, we shall concentrate on the spatial, not the temporal context. Buildings will not be looked at as autono- mous specimens, responsible only to their own logic and limited by their own bound- aries, but as elements in dialogue with a context. A building's design does not end with its walls and roof but extends to en-

I N T R O D

age the entire site. Similarly, the true site f a building does not end at the property nes but includes a larger context of ele- ents in the environment. Within this

xtended context, the building partakes in a equence of events. Repetition, rhythm, uxtaposition, patterns of light and dark- ess, solid and void, large a n d small,

articulate an architectural procession a n d construct a frame of reference in which a building is seen and understood.

The scope of this book concentrates on buildings but i s not limited to buildings alone. Landscapes and cities are looked a t as extensions of architectural ordering sys- tems, for architecture comments upon and makes intelligible the landscape a n d the context. Another poem by Wallace Stevens, "Anecdote of the Jar", deals with the theme of context and the power of architectural interven- tions to define place by calling out difference and thereby instituting hierarchy:

" I placed a jar in Tennessee, And round it was, upon a hill. It made the slovenly wilderness Surrozi~~d the hill .." Sequence, time and memory set architec-

ture apart from other visual arts, such as painting or sculpture. The painters' canvas defines a frame which clearly circumscribes their work from its surrounding environ- ment. The entirety of a painting can be apprehended in an instant. Moreover, the two-dimensionality of painting calls it out as alien and artificial in the three-dimen- sional world we inhabit. Sculptors work in three-dimensions, but their creations a r e usually independent objects which can be

U C T I O N

bought, sold and moved to any site. As ob- jects i n e n v i r o n m e n t s , p a i n t i n g s a n d sculptures engage in a dialogue with their surroundings, but unlike the architect, the sculptor and t h e painter are usually n o t able to control these relationships.

As in poetry and music, no single part of a n architectural work can be considered except in relation t o that which immedi- ately precedes it. To quote an old adage, 'architecture is frozen music'. As such, ar- chitecture is a pure art; architecture is about architecture; its task is to formulate a n internal o r d e r which gives i t signifi- cance, a l t h o u g h i t s m e a n i n g m a y b e inaccessible to the general public. At the same time architecture h a s a public nature. Every architectural act is a civic gesture loaded with political a n d social implica- t i o n s . B u i l d i n g s d o n o t o n l y p r o v i d e shelter for the simple functions of everyday life, but they also act as repositories for the collective history and memory of a culture. An Egyptian pyramid evokes the grandeur of the pharaonic age and the capabilities and values of the society more powerfully than a hieroglyphic inscription or any other written text. Histories are constructed by authors whose viewpoints may color the material, but stones never lie. In examining architectural artifacts we can make fresh as- s e s s m e n t s of a c u l t u r e , f r e e f r o m t h e interposed lens of the historian's vision. Architecture i s a palimpsest, each built layer inscribing its form and meaning o n s u b s e q u e n t interventions, the assembled whole mapping out the trajectory of a civi- lization.