Selected Bibliography Architecture - Form Space and Order | Page 33

PL ANE

A line extended in a direction other than
its intrinsic direction becomes a plane.
Conceptually, a plane has length and width, but
no depth.

Shape is the primary identifying characteristic
of a plane. It is determined by the contour of
the line forming the edges of a plane. Because
our perception of shape can be distorted by
perspective foreshortening, we see the true
shape of a plane only when we view it frontally.

The supplementary properties of a plane—its
surface color, pattern, and texture—affect its
visual weight and stability.

In the composition of a visual construction, a
plane serves to define the limits or boundaries
of a volume. If architecture as a visual art
deals specifically with the formation of threedimensional volumes of mass and space, then
the plane should be regarded as a key element in
the vocabulary of architectural design.

18 / A R C H I TE C TU R E : F O R M , S PA C E , & O R D E R