Landscape design and architecture adhere to the similar principles of form making. These have been affiliated with nature through history, sharing dialogues of philosophy. As theoretical premise, an investigation at the relationship between form and programme in the Western world (from Antiquity to the 21st Century). The conclu¬sion was that there is a relationship between form and programme, that different periods in history have drawn varying conclusions regarding this relationship. My conclusion views the idea as the most important aim of architecture, that the relationship between form and programme influences/guides/shapes the idea through the design process. The urban framework aims to preserve, to link and enhance open space in the Pretoria Central Business District. The theoretical investigation and framework directed the need for a site that would allow me to convey my own conclusion regarding the relationship, ingrained with the idea of preserving and linking open space in the focus area of Pretoria. The Union Buildings as selected site, orientated around its natural landscape, is layered with different interventions representative of relationships between form and programme, presenting the opportunity to explore my premise. The site is dominated by biota or nature, allowing the assessment of the terrain in terms of how landscape (more specifically plants) as a programme influences architectural form. Interventions focused on the Vredehuis complex (sited on the Union Buildings grounds) function as the focus of the argument. The site is classified as a botanic garden. The programme of botany is informed by the site history; residential (1880-1914), botanic gardens (1914-1975), nursery (1915-1950), greenhouse (1918-1975) and entomology/plant pathology division (1914-2007). A further investigation of plants informs the function and programme of the design. / Mini Dissertation (MArch(Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Architecture / unrestricted

People are becoming more aware of the relationships between the built environment and their physical and psychological well-being. This has encouraged numerous studies in the field of environment and behavior, and effects of architecture, urban design and architectural form on human response. In the realm of architectural form, some professionals, from "signature" architects to environmental and organic designers, are strong advocates of free-flowing curvilinear forms. They assume that the use of curvilinear forms is sympathetic to the body, mind and spirit, although there is little empirical research to confirm this claim. There is also little research on the topic of signature / star architects and their design methods. The purpose of this multi-method study was to investigate the emotional effects of curvilinear forms in interior architectural settings. The research involved qualitative and quantitative methodologies. In the qualitative phase, twelve signature architects, known for their use of curvilinear forms, were interviewed to examine the reasons and processes by which they applied curvature in their work. They were also asked to talk about their design process. In the quantitative phase, two modified interior residential views were ranked on their emotional load by 230 non-architect and 75 architect students in card-sorting tasks. In each view, architectural forms gradually changed from fully rectilinear to fully curvilinear. The data from both phases of the research was analyzed. The dissertation concludes by discussing (a) factors that separate signature architects from others (b) how signature architects design (c) how and why designers utilize curvature in the built environment, and (d) different emotional responses of designers and non-designers in response to curvature in architectural settings. In general, quantitative data indicates that non-architects show significant positive response to curvilinear architectural forms. Nonarchitects found curvilinear forms to be pleasant, elevating and reducing stress. The strongest relationship was recorded between curvature and feminine qualities of architectural space, which was shared by both architects and non-architects.

Adaptive reuse architecture is a multi-layered concept that tackles history, materials, memories, and structural concerns since it handles reusing an existing building and adapting a new function. Highlighting and preserving the characteristics of the old structure or revealing its muddied elements are important considerations for this architecture through its different categories of adaptive reuse methods. In this notion, daylight becomes a critical element to indicate the architectural design thinking of the past and emphasize it with interventions. The thesis aims to explore the impact of daylight transformation on the interior in adaptive reuse architecture by evaluating the architectural intentions and interventions. It is an investigation through literature review, analysis of reference projects, a case study and an experiment for a real case project Ångdomen, a flexible study room at KTH Main Library. Based on the theoretical investigation and the experiment conducted in the thesis, it is determined that daylight can be used as a tool to highlight the old building’s value in adaptive reuse projects through their transformations and impact the spatial perception. Most of the responses to the survey and the subjective observations conclude that daylight impacts spatial perception through the openings of architecture even when it doesn’t provide high brightness values.

Dans une perspective strictement structurale, cherchant à étendre et généraliser le calque linguistique à la majorité des champs épistémologiques, une nouvelle science –la sémiologie– est née. Considérant les conventions et systèmes langagiers circulant dans la vie sociale des signes, ladite science n’a pas hésité à comparer les systèmes sémiotiques-forme architecturale et paysage de la ville à des structures discursives ou encore des « textes ». L’intégration du système de signes-forme architecturale dans le paysage de la ville se définit conséquemment comme une « dialogie » entre lesdits systèmes sémiotiques, une « intertextualité » s’effectuant sur la base de codes variés, enchevêtrés. En se basant sur les fondements peirciens du signe, nous proposons (selon une méthodologie décompositive desdits systèmes de signes) d’élucider le sens de cette dialogie dans les stratégies contemporaines du « Branding urbain » où ladite « intertextualité » se transforme en « interimagibilité » (ou « intericonicité ») prenant la ville de Toronto et l’extension du musée royal de l’Ontario (ROM) un corpus remarquable manifestant ladite métamorphose. / In a structural perspective, looking to extend the loan translation to the epistemological fields, semiology was born. Considering conventions and linguistic system of the social life as «signs», both architectural form and cityscape were compared to «discursive structures» or «texts». Consequently, the integration of the architectural form in the cityscape will be defined as a «dialogy» based on entangled codes. With the reference to the peircien’s conception of the sign, we suggest, through a decompositive methodology, to find the meaning of this «dialogy» in the actual strategy of «city Branding» where «intertextuality» is being converted «interimagibility» (or «intericonicity») taking the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) as corpus of this remarquable metamorphosis.

Dans une perspective strictement structurale, cherchant à étendre et généraliser le calque linguistique à la majorité des champs épistémologiques, une nouvelle science –la sémiologie– est née. Considérant les conventions et systèmes langagiers circulant dans la vie sociale des signes, ladite science n’a pas hésité à comparer les systèmes sémiotiques-forme architecturale et paysage de la ville à des structures discursives ou encore des « textes ». L’intégration du système de signes-forme architecturale dans le paysage de la ville se définit conséquemment comme une « dialogie » entre lesdits systèmes sémiotiques, une « intertextualité » s’effectuant sur la base de codes variés, enchevêtrés. En se basant sur les fondements peirciens du signe, nous proposons (selon une méthodologie décompositive desdits systèmes de signes) d’élucider le sens de cette dialogie dans les stratégies contemporaines du « Branding urbain » où ladite « intertextualité » se transforme en « interimagibilité » (ou « intericonicité ») prenant la ville de Toronto et l’extension du musée royal de l’Ontario (ROM) un corpus remarquable manifestant ladite métamorphose. / In a structural perspective, looking to extend the loan translation to the epistemological fields, semiology was born. Considering conventions and linguistic system of the social life as «signs», both architectural form and cityscape were compared to «discursive structures» or «texts». Consequently, the integration of the architectural form in the cityscape will be defined as a «dialogy» based on entangled codes. With the reference to the peircien’s conception of the sign, we suggest, through a decompositive methodology, to find the meaning of this «dialogy» in the actual strategy of «city Branding» where «intertextuality» is being converted «interimagibility» (or «intericonicity») taking the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) as corpus of this remarquable metamorphosis.

Konformen har tidigare under arkitekturhistorien ofta använts för att skapa rum enligt en cellulär logik. Projektet ämnar ompröva användandet av konformen för att organisera rum, i det här fallet applicerat på en konsthall i Solna, genom att gå utanför enbart ett repetitivt arrangemang av vertikala koniska moduler för att uppnå en variation av skalor och riktningar som spänner från stora horisontella koniska rum till mer intima småskaliga vertikala rumsbildningar. Rummen skapas genom en adderande process där koner genomskärs med varandra och med plana element som adderas i operationen. Detta tillåter på så sätt en samexistens av två olika rumsliga logiker vilket leder till en komplex och tillåtande arkitektur som kan svara mot behoven i programmet och som även lyfter fram och förstärker formen hos byggnaden. Projektet utforskar även möjligheterna med att använda konen i egenskap av att vara en enkelkrökt yta och dess betydelse för digital modellering, ritningar och konstruktion. / The cone in architecture has often been used to shape and generate space with a cellular structural logic. This project reconsiders the use of the cone for organizing space, in this case applied on an Art Centre in Solna, going beyond the mere repetitive logic of conic modules, to allow for a variety of scales and directions, ranging from large span horizontal conic spaces to more intimate smaller scaled vertical conic rooms. The spaces are created through an additive process of intersecting cones with planar elements added into the operation, thus allowing the coexistence of two spatial logics, leading towards a manifold and allowing architecture that can handle the requirements of the program and that reinforces the perception of the shape. The project also explores the possibilities of the cone as a single curved unfoldable surface and it’s implications on digital model making, drawing and physical construction.