Architecture and Art: Elements of Design-2 is the fourth article of a series of articles about the art dimension in architecture. This article analyzes the role of art in the creation of architecture. Its direct influence on the design process of function and form. Here I will show how painters and sculptors designed by reflecting the facades on the plans and vice-versa. Here as well I will show how sculptors created mass by modifying the plans to fit the external form.

Visual art people such as painters, sculptors, architects, and so on use several elements of design in their work. Painters and sculptors rely in their work on various characteristics which include techniques, methods, tools, and rules and these are the base for any artwork. Building an artwork needs elements to create these characters of art.

In the previous article, I analyzed and showed the three first elements of design in art. In this article, I will analyze and discuss the remaining elements of design which are:

Size, Texture, Value, and Color

Size is the fourth element of design. Line, shape, and the space between them may differ in size and measure. Painters and sculptors design using a repeated element in space creating sizes of different measures. The repeat of specific elements of design with different space intervals creates harmony and contrast. See Figure 1 for, an example of size in art.

Using specific elements for example, see Figure 2, the circles and their repetition in various areas in the painting gave a sense of harmony regardless of the color contrast in the areas of application. Circles in the sky, external flooring, and the table furniture. Though the circles are of various sizes and space intervals they all create harmony within the painting.

Texture is the fifth element of design in art. A line or shape has a texture rough, smooth, and so on. All shapes or lines and other elements have harmony and contrast.

Painters and sculptors use texture to add various emotions and sense to the painting. Texture created by painters adds depth by shade and shadow. Texture created by painters can give a feeling of harmony and unity to several objects in the painting regardless of their dissimilarity. Adding to that it might be used to create balance in the painting to shapes created in the painting. See Figure 3, texture is used to give unity to the painting.

Value is the sixth element of design in art. Painters use value to give the object in the painting or the painting dimension, mass, and depth. The value represents the amount of light in color in the painting and object. Value is used also to show different types of atmospheres dull, sharp, rigid, and so on.

In Figure 4, the painter utilized the color value in different atmospheric conditions, specifically in the fog. Some of the colors in the painting are soft while others are pale including blues, purples, and pinks.

Color is the seventh element of design in art. Painters use color to show different shades and tones in their paintings. Color is created when waves of light hit an object’s surface and reflected back to our eyes.

Painters use color in their paintings as one of the main elements of design to add harmony to the painted surfaces. And they use color to show contrast on other occasions. See Figure 5, color harmony in the painting by using red color and its gradients.

Size, value, texture, and color together used by painters to give harmony and contrast to the painting.

Architects use the design element size in architecture to show scale. They design facades and plans by arranging various shapes together and connecting them through spaces. The shape type and its relation to others in a facade or plan create scale. Architects either aim to show massive scale or small scale and it is comprehended by comparing to human scale. See Figure 6, shapes in elevation and their relation to space that create specific scale.

The painter in the villa design of the façade used several shapes. Some of these shapes are combined like the arches. Windows of the façade have different sizes. All these shapes are arranged and spaced to give different scales. Figure 7 shows the plan of the villa.

Texture in architecture appears in many locations. In general, texture appears in the facades and interior spaces of buildings. Architects use texture to add a sense of harmony to the façade. They use texture to show the depth and dimension of surfaces by using rough materials or arrangement of details of several elements of design like lines, and shapes. See Figure 8, texture in the façade of the chapel by using sculptor and other design elements.

Architects limited the use of the value of color in historical buildings to interior spaces and surfaces. Because most buildings in Europe and Asia where painters used various materials from nature. These materials are either stone, marble, granite, or brick of limited colors. The painters/architects added value of color to interior spaces with the use of colored glass, and metallic materials like steel and copper. See Figure 9, the Basilica of Saint-Denis interior.

Painters and architects though limitedly used colors in facades and building materials to add a sense of harmony and contrast to the architecture of the building. Hagia Sophia is an example of the use of copper, clay tiles, stone, and colored glass in the external form of the building architecture.