When you look out your car window as you drive down the highway, you can’t help but notice hundreds of houses, apartment buildings, offices, and high rises which you didn’t see being built, but are there now. Most people also never think about the process that these buildings undergo from a vision, to planning, and making sure that the immediate environment and landscape can sustain such structures. This is what architecture is all about and so in this article Brian Setencich will be discussing 10 architectural philosophies that can be applied to almost anything.

By definition, architecture is exactly what we described in the introduction, the planning, design, and the construction of buildings and other structures. So what philosophies do architects use and how can they be used in other areas of life?

Good design is less design:

Think back to the quote, “less is more.” In architecture this is true, and it is also true when you want to get a patent for something. The less features it contains, the less you’re copying others, and the more likely you are to receive the patent.

Good design should evolve, constantly:

Just like the Apple IOS software, good design should either evolve with the times and culture, or be able to be accepted in the future as well as today.

Good design “pleases”:

Just look at the iPhone or Mac, that is great design. It is pleasing to the sight as well as to the touch. Another example of good design are super cars like Lamborghini or Ferrari.

Design can be cultural:

Certain cities, areas, and neighborhoods affect the architectural design and must be taken into consideration. All we have to do is look at Japanese architecture and compare it to U.S. or Mexican architecture. The differences are obvious and vary by culture.

Less is More – Simplicity

As we mentioned earlier, less is more and the more simple something is, the better designed it is. People want things to be easier and faster so poor design would have so much that it would be confusing and not very pleasing to look at.

Deconstructionism:

Architects are always looking to push the barriers and so they use what is called deconstructionism. This term is used when something is deconstructed to see and understand its most basic elements and to figure out a way to improve, delete, or change them.

Form+Function:

Great architecture is a combination of form and function. The form is the way it looks, and the function is what the building was constructed for.

The WOW factor:

In order to be a good designer there must be a wow factor. This is true in other areas as well. Just look at the Olympics. Every year there is something to say “wow” to and you better believe that the designers spent a lot of time figuring out what that wow factor would be.

Empathy and focus:

In order to design better, we must put ourselves in others’ shoes and empathize. This means understanding the possible emotions, memories, or states that a certain design can induce to another person.

Function over form:

We discussed form and function as one, but this final philosophy lets you know that function should always come before form, and the form must be used to best serve the function. This means that if there’s no room to put a terrarium, it should be included, even though it would look awesome.

In conclusion in this article we discussed the topic of architecture with a focus on some of its philosophies and how they can be applied to other areas of life. Remember, good design oftentimes means less design, unless a simple design would not be able to conform to the function of the structure.