Lee, S., 2024.

300 word statement: Architectural Façade Composition: Tectonic & Ornamental Approaches to Urban Conditions

This ongoing research (focused on a long form article in progress) presents new perspectives on the old art and practice of designing well-composed facades in dense urban settings. The aim is to understand how in the light of current technical and aesthetic trends, renewed architectural principles can be established to inform designers and academics about designing public face of buildings.

The work identifies historical, analytical and propositional approaches to the design of urban facades, bringing it up-to-date with current technical trends and post-Grenfell revisions to the industry. It then moves on to integrate current architectural preoccupations of façade design generating primary research from structured discussions with respected architects and their case studies. This is intended to uncover principles for designing facades with tectonic and conceptual clarity, including the practicalities of working with building grids. Finally, the methodology seeks to provide more rigorous public responses to architectural propositions than has hitherto been possible by using computer generated visual preference surveys to gather public opinion.

A recent understanding of the importance of local design codes, together with the UK housing crisis and the challenges of Nimbyism have seen a renewed impetus for aesthetics in architecture. Yet little work has been presented on the practice of façade composition to support these important decisions, being limited to subjective and reactionary agendas. Although façade design has been the subject of numerous publications, they have focused on the technical performance aspects of building envelope design.

The research will have an explicit public and industry engagement aspect and is intended to form the core of a future monograph - a design manual for façade design, applicable to the public and the profession. The new Visual Preference Survey methodology is intended to have wider implications for testing design alternatives in Development Control contexts.