Straight Lines Versus Vernacular Buildings
The geometry of spaces defines its architecture. Geometries can make a space sacred, casual, spiritual, powerful or even playful. There are million possible geometries that can be designed by us in our Buildings.
You might have noticed that Nature never has any straight lines or perfect geometries. Be it large masses of mountains or fields or water bodies or Minute lives of plants or insects, they do not possess straight lines or right angles what so ever. Nature's each and every geometry is unique and most of them are curved lines.
Largely the concept of perfect geometries,surfaces and straight lines are in the book. They are abstract ideas not really existing in Nature.
The rectilinear style of buildings has been the typical norm of modern construction. We like to live in boxes without sometimes, considering other possibilities.
Traditional vernacular buildings all over the world were not bothered about the right angles or perfect edges. Their main concern was how the building reacted to the elements and how it made them feel. However in modern construction, we are spending a lot of time to acheive human perfection in the buildings that we arise. We are wasting lot of money and time to create perfect angles,edges and surfaces.
Spaces can affect the state of the mind of a person. Graceful curves can bring in serenity and peace of mind to the absorver. The aesthetic quality of curvilinear buildings are multifold and diverse. It adds a sense of mysticity and variety to our spaces, increasing theperception of the user experience.
Brain imaging studies show that Our affection for curvilinear things is hardwired into our brain and we have inherent qualities to see flexible, free flowing spaces as beautiful. This fluid way of building, creating softly merging spaces can evoke varities of emotions. One can feel more natural, intimate and connected with flowing,Oblong, oval or looping spaces than a rectilinear one.
Curvilinear buildings have many structural and climatic advantages that Rectilinear Buildings dont. But thats a topic for a whole other time.
