The Dynamics of Architectural Form

Book excerpt: The power of the visual effects exerted by architecture, in our own time and in the past, has been largely neglected in recent discussion, with its focus on practical utility and other economic and social factors. Such an account of the human needs met by architecture remains sadly incomplete unless the expressive visual qualities of buildings are recognized as among their foremost effects. A fresh approach is overdue—an attempt to analyze these psychological qualities with the principles of visual perception. Such an attempt is made in this new volume by Rudolf Arnheim, who has been known, since the publication of his Art and Visual Perception, as an authority on the psychological interpretation of the visual arts. As he now turns his experienced eye to the visual aspects of buildings, he amplifies his theories with new features specific to the medium of the architect. Arnheim explores the unexpected perceptual consequences of architecture with his customary clarity and precision. Of particular interest is his thorough analysis of order and disorder in design, the nature of visual symbolism, and the relations between practical function and perceptual expression. Arheim's ability to deal with theoretical principles in a concrete and easily accessible way assures him the attention of the general reader whose concern with the arts leads to the aesthetic and psychological aspects of the broader environment. At the same time, Arnheim's strikingly original approach will stimulate professionals and students concerned with the theory and practice of modern and historical architecture.