Building Appearance

The appearance of a building is initially determined by the activities to be accommodated, as these strongly influence the scale and proportion of the overall volumetric com position. The shapes of the individual spaces forming the collective volume are defined by 'boundaries' which become the walls, floors, roofs, etc. These are ultimately required to conform with precise aesthetic and technical criteria, and the materials employed for these purposes are as numerous and varied as the methods which can be adopted for their use. However, the underlying principle remains that both aesthetic and technical criteria are affected by the composition, form, shape, texture, color and position of the materials employed. To this must be added the skill with which they are placed in a building and the cost, since these factors often provide a deciding role.

Aesthetic aims or fashions

In a well-designed building, appearance is the reflection of a balance between aesthetic aims or fashions and the construction method derived from the desire for optimum environmental control, structural stability and logical techniques of instigation. Building designers of an earlier and simpler time than today had available only a comparatively limited choice of technical resources which, through the influences of socio-cultural attitudes, led to particular 'styles' in the appearance of buildings. In contrast, the current range of resources, more complicated performance requirements and widening of cultural influences have created multifarious 'styles'. Some of these evolve from an overwhelming bias towards 'high technology' and the absolute economies of industrial forms. However, if technology is allowed to dominate the aesthetics of a building without compromise, there is a loss of human understanding, scale and proportion and, perhaps, color, form and texture. By way of comparison, some 'styles' endeavor to imitate the psychological appeal associated with the less complicated requirements of the past. Sometimes this may be done on the premise that a building of today, with its highly technological requirements, is beyond our aesthetic comprehension. The technological advantages may be accepted, but they are combined with efforts which deny their visual influences as well as reducing their performance efficiency.

A building design will invariably be unsuccessful if it relies purely on technology for aesthetic appeal, or purely on outmoded conventions of a past era. A skilful building designer, whatever his or her aesthetic leanings, resolves conflicts through detailed understanding and sympathetic consideration of all the performance requirements. None must be ignored or denigrated.

---1 Effect of building function on appearance.

Relationship to other performance requirements

Although appearance is only an aspect of the total aesthetic quality, it’s generally the one on which most first impressions of a building are formed. The majority of users have definitive ideas about what a building should look like and, apart from rules concerning 'correctness', their satisfaction or otherwise may be entirely subjective.

In this respect, therefore, the requirement for 'appearance' to some extent contrasts with other performance requirements, although from a designer's viewpoint it’s the factor which unites them all.

For this reason, reference is made to the effects on appearance arising from decisions about other performance requirements.

This serves in reinforcing the view that appearance and function are inseparable in a building, although the degree to which this may be recognized depends upon the skill of the designer. Even certain forms of 'decorative motif' may be based on a requirement to provide solar shading devices, or perhaps even form the structural tie between two separated flank walls. The appearance of a modern building should not rely on 'functional' or 'decorated functional' aspects alone. Properly controlled and sensitively located non-functional items (in terms of technical performance) - decorations, murals and sculptures - can be incorporated as an essential part of the overall aesthetic achieved by a building.

Some of the basic areas of consideration affecting the appearance of a building, both externally and internally, are as follows:

• The aesthetic objectives of the designer in terms of preferred form, shape, pattern, texture and color, etc.
• The effects of location and siting on the design and construction methods adopted with particular reference to local planning guidelines, building bylaws, regulations and other relevant legislation.
• The design as part of the larger composition of the area - harmony with adjacent buildings and/or specific features, including landscaping.
• The 'viewing distances' applicable to the design.
• The use of a particular structural organization.
• The use of materials that are suitable for particular applications which enhance, modify or even change the appearance of the design as it ages.
• The relationship of window and door openings, and the creation of a rhythm in the design.
• Architectural detailing used to reinforce the character required by the design and location, e.g. the use of particular types of window/door lintel construction, the creation of shade and shadows through location of components.
• The positioning of ductwork, service pipes, etc., and their contribution towards aesthetic character.
• The effects of maintenance on the initial design and subsequent use of a building (It’s important that the aesthetic achieved by the smaller parts of a building is a reflection of the same design philosophy applied to its larger parts. The whole building, internally and externally (including approaches and landscaping), should display a similar character, taste, interest, wealth and aspiration. If sympathetically conceived and constructed, a homogeneous environment is created which is understandable to users, establishes interest, and develops taste for good design and construction generally.

Weathering and maintenance

---2 Effect of weathering on the appearance of a building.

More specific reference must be made about the necessity to anticipate the effects of future weathering and maintenance on the appearance of a building. Well designed and constructed, a building should accommodate the progress of time without causing a lessening of any functional requirement. Furthermore, the inevitable effects of weathering should make a positive rather than a negative contribution to the appearance of a building. This relies on carefully detailed constructional solutions which derive from a thorough understanding of the behavior of materials to be used in a particular manner. --- illustrates a common design 'fault' which has marred the appearance of a building. The impermeable glass and metal frame surface within the opening between brick panels allows water to be caught, then to run over and clean the concrete beam immediately below. A lesser amount of rainwater will flow over the part of the beam occurring below the brick panels because of the greater absorption properties of the bricks. The result is a striped staining of the concrete beam, which changes the appearance of the building in a manner presumably never intended by the designer. The provision of an adequate sill and drip below the opening to prevent the free flow of water over the beam face would have helped to overcome this problem.

Alternatively, a continuous gutter could have been pro vided along the top of the beam, or the beam faced with a material less susceptible to staining.

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