Selected Bibliography Architecture - Form Space and Order | Page 87

G R ID FO RM

A grid is a system of two or more intersecting sets of
regularly spaced parallel lines. It generates a geometric
pattern of regularly spaced points at the intersections of the
grid lines and regularly shaped fields defined by the grid lines
themselves.
The most common grid is based on the geometry of the square.
Because of the equality of its dimensions and its bilateral symmetry, a square grid is essentially nonhierarchical and bidirectional. It can be used to break the scale of a surface down into
measurable units and give it an even texture. It can be used to
wrap several surfaces of a form and unify them with its repetitive and pervasive geometry.
The square grid, when projected into the third dimension,
generates a spatial network of reference points and lines.
Within this modular framework, any number of forms and
spaces can be visually organized.

Conceptual Diagram, Gunma Prefectural Museum of Fine Arts, Japan, 1974, Arata Isozaki

Nakagin Capsule Building, Tokyo, 1972, Kisho Kurokawa

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