Principles of Architecture

For the vast majority of people, the word architecture speaks only of what buildings look like from the outside and what the decor is like on the inside. Yet there is far more to architecture than meets the eye.Architecture itself is as old as human society and essentially illustrates the soul of a culture. Technically, the practice of architecture is a complex feat spanning several fields, from visual design and mathematics to physics, materials and mechanical engineering, and physical construction methods. In this volume of the Principles of Science and Technology series, articles are presented to illustrate the complex nature and long history of architecture. Every culture has its own flavor of architecture, from the igloo to the Burj Calipha, spanning tens of thousands of years, ranging in nature from the strictly utilitarian to the highly artistic. One could say that on a fundamental level these are functions ranging from pure survival necessity to creative and even fanciful expressions of visions of a hopeful future for humanity. To bring any of these visions into reality, many things must be considered, such as natural processeswind, flooding, earthquakes, sunlight, temperature variations, and the geology on which a structure is to rest, not to mention the intrinsic mass and occupying loads the structure must support throughout its lifetime. The strengths of the materials from which the structure will be made must also be examined to ensure the safety and longevity of the structure. Mathematics is fundamental to these considerations, as well as to the actual visual appeal of the structure.