Selected Bibliography Architecture - Form Space and Order | Page 51

SH APE

Shape refers to the characteristic outline of
a plane figure or the surface configuration of a
volumetric form. It is the primary means by which
we recognize, identify, and categorize particular
figures and forms. Our perception of shape
depends on the degree of visual contrast that
exists along the contour separating a figure from
its ground or between a form and its field.

Bust of Queen Nefertiti
The pattern of eye movement of a person
viewing the figure, from research by Alfred
L. Yarbus of the Institute for Problems of
Information Transmission in Moscow.

In architecture, we are concerned with the
shapes of:
• floor, wall, and ceiling planes that enclose
space
• door and window openings within a spatial
enclosure
• silhouettes and contours of building forms

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