Getting Started

Think about the most beautiful building you've even seen—perhaps the Taj Mahal or Notre Dame. Both structures exhibit a quality that's hard to name. In many ways, both structures are architecturally simple, yet they are also profoundly deep. In each, you can immediately recognize a consistent symmetry. Look harder, and you'll see details that are themselves beautiful and that work together to produce a beauty and functionality that's greater than the individual parts.

Now think about the ugliest building you've even seen—perhaps your local fast food outlet. You'll find a visual cacophony of architectural styles—a touch of modernism combined with a Georgian roof line, all decorated in a jarring fashion, with bold colors that assault the eye. Usually these buildings are pure manipulation, with narrow function and hardly any form.