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List of contents
Part I: Setting the Stage
1. Introduction
Read me first!
Why read this book?
What is architecture?
Organization, order, composition
Utility, function, purpose
Measure & matter
Design & method
Strategies & tactics
The structure of the narrative
The sequence of the chapters
The role of precedents
The point of departure
Glossary of terms
- Details 1 - Order & Measure
From the divine to the secular
- Demonstration 1.1
Organizational figures
- Demonstration 1.2
The courtyard schema
- Demonstration 1.3
Courtyards as objects
- Demonstration 1.4
Additional courtyard schemata
2. Sorting through ideasDiagrams as method
Diagram types
Diagramming & design education
Learning diagrammatic form
Gestalt sub–categories
The diagram & visual order
Our purpose
Glossary of terms
- Details 2 Indigenous diagrams
- Demonstration 2.1 Diagrams & contexts
- Demonstration 2.2 Plan as diagram
3. Order FirstOn order
On measure
Dividing the square
Rules of engagement
Positive & negative space
Order & the orthogonal
Glossary of terms
- Details 3 - Order, Orientation, Orthogonal The gridded city
- Demonstration 3.1 Gestalt defined
- Demonstration 3.2 Gestalt readings of basic form
Part II: The First Project Set4. Design & drawing fundamentalsOn drawing
Relevance to design
Deriving order in drawing
Exercises in relational geometry
Defined & implied space
Analyzing the composition
Three variant compositions
Observing contrast, repetition, alignment & proximity
The variations considered
General observations
Motif, pattern & theme
Defined fields
Sorting through results
Implied fields
Adding fields
Combining fields
Summary
Glossary of terms
- Details 4 - The Courtyard Figure–ground & solid–void
- Demonstration 4.1.1 Figures & field in variation
- Demonstration 4.1.2 Variation & elaborations
- Demonstration 4.1.3 Variation & elaborations
- Demonstration 4.2 Further variations
- Demonstration 4.3 Contrast, repetition, alignment & proximity
The second project set5. Building on proportionObject on a field
A figure in the relational field
Looking at the groups
Selecting & analyzing an aggregate composition
Adding to the quadrants
Two elements
Refining the figures
Observing the new figures
Observing the new group
Glossary of terms
- Details 5 - Figures & Fields Objects & space
- Demonstration 5.1 Regulating lines dividing space
- Demonstration 5.2 Figures & their construction
- Demonstration 5.3 Field, grain & path
6. Conventionos in DesignDrawing in the third dimension
Adding fields & overhead planes
Turning the grid
Reading the section
A final model
Glossary of terms
- Details 6 - Axis & Path Lines, planes & volumes
Part III: The third project set7. Starting in three dimensionsDesign on a grid
The site
Three figures
Spatial models
Volume, form & space: an example
Visualizing connection with constructed axes
The gestural nexus
Spatial hierarchy: field grain & path
Clarifying plan elements
The new grid
Strategy set
Tactical definitions & variations
A final remark
Glossary of terms
- Details 7 - Spatial Systems Frames, planes & cells
- Demonstration 7.1 Axial volumes
- Demonstration 7.2 Additional composition models
8. Models & diagramsMore complex approaches to strategies
Strategy definitions
Tactical themes & variations
Tactics expanded – procedure & results
Three–dimensional diagrams
Combined diagram models
Planning the final model
Fragments models
The final model
Conclusion
Glossary of terms
- Details 8 - Treshold & Boundary Containment & connection
- Demonstration 8.1 Axial volumes
- Demonstration 8.2.1 Alternate tactical diagrams
- Demonstration 8.2.2 Additional hybrid tactical diagrams
- Demonstration 8.3 Demonstration model
- Demonstration 8.4 Demonstration drawings
- Demonstration 8.5.1 Assembly images
- Demonstration 8.5.2 Alternate model #1
- Demonstration 8.5.3 Alternate model #2
Part IV: Precedents9. Precedent diagrams in two dimensionsIntroduction
Two concepts
Two expressions
Two dimensions
Two projects
House with Three Courts
The Danteum
Glossary of terms
- Details 9 - What an Architect Sees Margaret Esherick house
10. Precedent diagrams in three dimensionosIntroduction
Representing the third dimension
Phillips Exeter Academy Library
Unity Temple
Diagram as generator
Glossary of terms
- Details 10 - The Language of ColorColor as a subject
Glossary of color terms
Part V: Resources - Master glossary of terms
- Index
About the author
Jeffrey Balmer and Michael T. Swisher are associate professors of architecture at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
Summary
In the second edition of Diagramming the Big Idea, Jeffrey Balmer and Michael T. Swisher illustrate how you can create and use diagrams to clarify your understanding of both particular projects and organizing principles and ideas.
Additional text
‘Balmer and Swisher’s objective is to explore the orthogonal geometric frameworks essential to architectural design. It drives their teaching and was rigorously expounded in the first edition of Diagramming the Big Idea. It is expressed so much more clearly in this second edition. Explanatory text has been considerately revised and expanded. The number of examples and case studies has been increased. Interpretation of the many diagrams has been enhanced by the subtle use of colour. The clarion call remains powerful: architecture is a serious intellectual discipline.’Simon Unwin, Emeritus Professor of Architecture, University of Dundee, Scotland
‘Diagramming the Big Idea was a tremendous help to me when first learning to teach beginning design. The book is full of useful techniques and processes that distill the basics of teaching architecture. The book continues to help me focus and target my teaching on foundational principles of the discipline.’Sallie Hambright-Belue, Assistant Professor Clemson University, School of Architecture, USA
