Dynamics of Delight: Architecture and Aesthetics

240 Pages·2003·42.38 MB·English

by  Peter F. Smith

The Dynamics of
Delight
It is only worth examining the experience of aesthetic pleasure if there are
grounds for believing that there are objective truths underpinning the
subjective experience of beauty. The Dynamics of Delight explores the
roots of aesthetic perception within the framework of individual taste and
collective fashion.
Its aim is to offer mental tools for the critical analysis of buildings
and urban configurations with the purpose of enhancing appreciation of the
built environment. It is some of the recent branches of science and
biomathematics which provide a platform for a theory of aesthetics which
transcends the subjective without undermining subjectivity.
Beauty is not arbitrary; there is a logic which informs its infinite
variety of manifestations. It is not enough just to know what we like; the
experience of beauty is that much richer when we know why we like it.
Until recently Peter F. Smithwas the Vice-President of the Royal Institute
of British Architects, with special responsibility for sustainable develop-
ment, and Professor of Architecture at Sheffield Hallam University. Prior to
that he was Head of the Leeds School of Architecture of which he is
Professor Emeritus.

The Dynamics of
Delight
Architecture and Aesthetics
Peter F. Smith
First published 2003 by Routledge
11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2003.
© 2003 Peter F. Smith
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised
in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or
hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Smith, Peter F. (Peter Frederick), 1930–
The dynamics of delight : architecture and aesthetics / Peter F.
Smith
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Architecture–Aesthetics. 2. Architecture—Psychological aspects.
I. Title.
NA2500 .S56 2003
720'.1'9–dc21
2002014811
ISBN 0-203-40189-1 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 0-203-40832-2 (Adobe eReader Format)
ISBN 0–415–30009–6 (hbk)
ISBN 0–415–30010–X (pbk)
Contents
vii Illustration credits
viii Preface
x Acknowledgements
1 Part 1 Amsterdam and the tiger
3 1 Laying the foundations
7 2 The roots of aesthetic perception
13 3 The protean factor
20 4 Exploring harmony
26 5 From harmony to chaos
35 6 From Nature to artefacts
48 7 Intelligent interventions
62 8 Unity versus diversity
69 Part 2 The Parthenon and the sunflower
71 9 The deep structure of proportion
76 10 The numerology of beauty
88 11 Developing the theme
100 12 Beyond the portico and dome
107 13 Contemporary variations
122 14 Architectural metaphor
132 15 Second-order proportion
143 16 The limbic domain
148 17 Bioclimatic opportunities
v
159 Part 3 The dynamics of the city
161 18 The city and dimensions of engagement
166 19 The rewards of chance
173 20 The street
187 21 The square
197 22 Encounters with old gods
211 23 The ethical dimension
216 Appendix Aesthetic performance checklist
220 Index
vi CONTENTS
Illustration credits
Geoffrey Birkett 18
Bill Bordass 131
Roderick Coyne 3
Bill Dunster 141
© Peter Durant/arcblue.com 85, 107
Gustav Fechner (originated in the nineteenth century) 52
Foster and Partners 83, 132–5
Professor Byron Mikellides 55
Marshalls plc 137
Eamonn O’Mahony/Richard Rogers Partnership 2
Pilkington 98
Andrew Putter 97
Richard Rogers Partnership 100
Earl of Scarbrough 43
Peter F. Smith 1, 5, 8, 11–17, 19–42, 44, 46, 48, 50, 51, 53, 54, 56–82,
84, 86–96, 99, 101–6, 108–28, 130, 136, 138–40, 142–60, 162–85
Courtesy of Ian Stewart, from Life’s Other Secret(Springer-Verlag) 47
Courtesy of Ian Stewart, from What Shape is a Snowflake (Weidenfeld and
Nicolson) 6
Courtesy John Stoel, Groniger Museum 129
Victoria and Albert Museum 4
vii
Preface
Of Sir Henry Wotton’s triumvirate of conditions for good architecture ‘firm-
ness, commodity and delight’, the emphasis here is on the last of the three,
hence the title.
Those who enter the danger zone of architectural theory tend to
fall into two camps. First, there are the ones who navigate the currents of
contemporary style and fashion, seeking to identify commonalities which
can justify classification as a discrete style, like post-modernism. They are
constantly on the alert for buildings which might be sowing the seeds of a
new trend.
The second group tends to concentrate on a particular theme.
These are people who chew on the same bone for a large slice of their life-
time. They are notcommitted to a particular time or place. I confess to dis-
playing this tendency. My particular ‘bone’ has been the study of human
reactions to the range of manifestations in architecture and urban form.
From time to time it has been a ‘bone of contention’, especially since my
focus narrowed to trying to expose the roots of aesthetic perception. Four
books have marked the route to the present volume: The Dynamics of
Urbanism, The Syntax of Cities, Architecture and the Human Dimension
and Architecture and the Principle of Harmony. All have tended to approach
the subject from the direction of psychology. Whilst the psychological
agenda figures in this book, I scan more widely for insights into the mystery
of aesthetic pleasure. The unlikely foundations for a science of aesthetics
were laid early in the last century with the development of quantum
mechanics and the uncertainty principle. These paved the way for chaos
theory and fractal geometry. The book suggests how these relate to aes-
thetic values using architecture as the vehicle.
At the time of writing there is almost an obsession with Quality
Assessment, Standards of Performance and Key Performance Indicators.
This has penetrated the sphere of the aesthetic quality of buildings. The
Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) is, accord-
ing to the magazine The Built Environment (15 June 2001), set to create a
mathematical model which will provide the ‘delight factor’ for a given build-
ing. Underpinning this book is the belief that, whilst mathematics impinge
on the subject, the perception of beauty can never be reduced to an
algorithm.
Because this represents what will probably be the conclusion to
a journey of exploration, there will inevitably be echoes of the previous
viii
books. This is because nothing written here invalidates earlier thoughts.
The main difference is that, this time, I have tried to create a more compre-
hensive structure to the theory, drawing evidence from systems in Nature
as well as developments in psychology. I have reached the point of the
‘topping-out’ ceremony.
Peter F. Smith
July 2002
PREFACE ix