ALE REVIEW: Theory of Architecture QUESTIONS - Episode 3 - Architect Licensure Exam

This video is prepared to have a sample question in regards to the Theory of Architecture. Importance of Theory The importance of theory in clarifying the confusion of ideas cannot be over-emphasized. Practice always implies theory. Good practice depends on the correct understanding of theory. If the theory of architecture is properly studied and followed in practice, the present confusion will greatly be reduced. The theory of architecture does not mean the whole body of scientific and technical knowledge that concerns the profession of architecture, but it means the basic principles which distinguish the work of an architect from the work of any other professional men loosely allied with the field of architecture. It mainly deals with the fundamental nature of architecture and includes the analytical study of the evolution of architectural forms. The theory of architecture may also include the theories and ideas of various architects and authors starting from Viruvius and Manasara to Frank Lloyd Wright and Le Corbusier. The various ideas do not however change the basic concepts of an architectural activity. For instance, as Frank Lloyd Wright puts it, “the circumference of architecture is shifting but the centre remains unchanged”. The theory of architecture is the centre of the architectural activity, and the circumference refers to the scope of practice, and the range of ideals aimed at. Some architects do not believe in the existence of a consistent theory. They rely on their intuitions to solve their own problems. But the genius can only arrive at successful solutions that way. For the average practitioners, the basis has to be clearly defined, otherwise they are inclined to theorise their own practice and indicate what they practise is architecture. This creates further confusion in the minds of the public. It is, therefore imperative for the good of the architectural profession to emphasize the theoretic base of architecture and advocate its importance in practice. The systematic study of the Theory of Architecture has been recommended by the professional institutes of the most foreign countries, such as, Great Britain, and the U.S.A. According to the Special Committee of Architectural Education of the Royal Institute of British Architects which has published its Report recently, “The theory of architecture has come to mean in effect architectural aesthetic. As such it embraces both what may be called the philosophy of the art and its formal manifestations. It is concerned with the fundamental nature of architecture, with its aims and principles and with the standards of criticism that may be applied to it: and it includes within its province the analytical study of architectural form. In its fullest extension it covers the whole field of civic design”. The importance of architectural theory in a systematic course of training will, the Committee assumes, be generally accepted. It is essentially a liberal study capable of affording a valuable intellectual discipline. Intelligently directed, it can clarify the understanding of students, give them confidence and certainty of purpose and develop their critical judgment, whilst at the same time familiarising them with the elements of architectural form, simple and complex, and with the full range of architectural composition. Credit: https://architexturez.net/doc/az-cf-1...