Last year I read the book 101 Things I learned in Architecture School. It’s a good book. Good enough, I thought I’d share 26 Things I learned from “101 Things I Learned in Architecture School”. Meta. A lot of this will, of course, be applied to web design.
6. We move through negative spaces and dwell in positive spaces.
This is probably the best argument I’ve heard for “why to use whitespace” I’ve ever heard. Negative/unused space makes the spaces with structure and/or content more impactful because we’ll dwell and feel more comfortable in the positive/filled-in areas.
This also explains why everyone ends up in my kitchen when friends come over.
8. “Architecture is the thoughtful making of space.” — Louis Kahn
A simple quote, but a wonderful sentiment. I wonder if you could come up with a web based axiom for this like “CSS architecture is the thoughtful making of cascading styles.”
17. The more specific a design idea is, the greater it’s appeal is likely to be.
There’s something about being so “for everyone” that your idea becomes watered down and unappealing. I struggle with this a bit from a code perspective, because in code I’m often trying to come up with generic abstractions. But there’s an entire catalog of Apple designs that shows how a luxury technology designed for rich coastal elites can have mass appeal.
18. Any design decision should be justified in at least two ways.
One of my favorite designers Shigeru Miyamoto has a similar rule of thumb (that I can’t find) that any character action should serve two functions. Like how Mario’s jump is also his attack. Link’s shield is also his targeting. Good decisions achieve multiple purposes, not a singular purpose.
21. Any architect knows something about everything. An engineer knows everything about one thing.
I like this dichotomy a lot. Better than dismissive terms like “generalist”.
26. Good designers are fast on their feet.
This aligns with my experience.
37. Any aesthetic quality is usually enhanced by the presence of a counterpoint.
The example given here is straight lines make curvy lines more curvy. It seems true, even if it’s not. This point makes me think a lot about web design and what elements you could combine beyond dark site header and white site. What counterpoints can you create in your design?
39. A static composition appears to be at rest.
Okay. Makes sense.
40. A dynamic composition encourages the eye to explore.
Ah. Now we’re getting somewhere. A wavy line or orb-like body makes you consider where it starts and ends. A sloped roof jutting upwards makes you follow the line up. In web design we make the eyes explore by flying shit in and out of the page. Shapes alone could probably do the trick. A lot to learn here.
41. Moves and counterpoints.
The two together! Static and dynamic. Some yin and yang. Some smooth and rough. Some straight and curvy. Juxtapose! Putting static objects and dynamic objects together instantly creates some contrast and counterpoints. Visual interest.
45. Three levels of knowing.
Simplicity, complexity, informed simplicity.
46. Create architectural richness through informed simplicity or an interaction of simples rather than through unnecessarily busy agglomerations.
Ok, first of all, don’t judge my code. Second of all, I love the term informed simplicity. It’s not simple because it’s simplistic, it’s simple because I prefer simple and believe it’s better than “unnecessarily busy agglomerations.”
51. Beauty is due more to harmonious relationships among the elements of a composition rather than to the elements themselves.
Think of that! Beauty is more about harmony in how and where something exists as opposed to some innate quality.
57. An effective oral presentation of a studio project begins with the general and proceeds toward the specific.
If you want a free outline for your next conference talk, here you go. Or even your next internal demo. This is pretty incredible and it starts hinting at the idea that a lot of what we do is about bringing humans along the way with us.
60. Traditional architecture employs a tripartite, or base-middle-top, format.
So do websites! <header>, <main>, and <footer>.
61. “Less is more.” — Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
Still good advice.
67. A good graphic presentation meets the Ten-Foot Test.
Again, a public speaking masterclass. All visuals should be legible from 10 feet away. Practice your talks away from your desk.
68. Design in section!
Don’t design from room to room (e.g. component to component, page to page), visualize how the floor plan/idea fits within the cross-section of the whole building/product.
69. Random Unsubstantiated Hypothesis
A floor plan demonstrates the organizational logic of a building; a section embodies its emotional experience.
That’s the whole page, but it speaks volumes. Piggybacking off the previous point and point #51, viewing projects cross-sectionally will tell you a lot more about the experience than viewing through vertical silos.
72. Design with models!
How do you test and evaluate design ideas under consideration? Well… the answer is: Prototypes! Architectual models are wonderful tools.
75. Draw the box it came in.
A neat isometric drawing tip. Instead of drawing a car or couch, draw the box it came in as a placeholder and then narrow down from there. Useful and practical concept to start with a vague shape of the object and fill in details later.
77. No design system is or should be perfect.
Damn. Going straight for the jugular.
84. Two points of view on architecture.
“Architecture is an exercise in truth.” and “Architecture an exercise in narrative.” I believe both.
92. “Always design a thing by considering it in its next larger context — a chair in a room, a room in a house, a house in an environment, an environment in a city plan.” — Eliel Saarinen
In web parlance, design components by considering them next to another component, inside another component, inside a modal, as the sole component on the page, something the user interacts with on twelve pages in a row!
93. The primary mechanisms by which the government regulates the design of buildings are zoning laws, building codes, and accessibility laws.
Interesting to see how meta contracts (HOAs, rental agreements, etc) also exist as a layer above what the government regulates.
It’s also worth noting that through legal regulation, Architecture has come a long way in making accessible products the default. The web needs this.
100. Give it a name.
Naming is hard in Computer Science so avoid it and let robots do it for us. But seriously, there’s power in a common name that everyone can reference.
And that’s it! That’s all I learned. You should read 101 Things I Learned in Architecture School 🎉