From the past to the present

What makes Architecture unique from all the different arts is the need for building construction thinking.

Nervi made an experiment where he looked at architectural works from two different aspects: from a Builder’s point of view and from a non-technicians point of view.

After the dual investigation he came to the conclusion that a building may be perfect technically and not be aesthetically pleasing, but an architectural work that is aesthetically pleasing is always accomplished on it’s technical side. This is because if we make a technically perfect work, the rules followed and it’s correctness make it aesthetically pleasing.

Building technology has to make use of the solid materials, define spaces on their particular functions and protect the structure from external elements.

The most important part of building correctly are:

Stability- a building has to have resistance to external forces. For example in places with a lot of earthquakes building construction changes to adapt to the needed conditions.

Durability- different materials are used to support different conditions so durability can be achieved.

A functional structure and economic efficiency are the result of the proper proportioning of the sizes and relationships of spaces.

If we compare architectural projects from the past up until very recently, the technological refinement and addition of ornament have improved massively, but that doesn’t mean that they haven’t been acknowledged in the past as well. For example, if we see the columns of the buildings, they are built for technical means, but the refinement and decoration of them in the top and bottom shows us that even if it has been improved drastically, people even in the ancient Greek period had the aesthetic sense and were conscious of this fact.

To sum this up, the relation between building construction and technology has always been there and there are many building that show this. They go together and to have a successfully constructed building we have to express and achieve both of them.