11/3/15, 7:00 PMUnified Architectural Theory: An Introduction | ArchDaily

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Unified Architectural Theory: An Introduction

In the following months, we at ArchDaily will be publishing Nikos Salingaros' book, UnifiedArchitectural Theory, in a series of installments, making it digitally, freely available forstudents and architects around the world. In the following paragraphs, Salingaros explainswhy we've decided to impart on this initiative, and also introduces what his book is all about:answering "the old and very disturbing question as to why architects and common peoplehave diametrically opposed preferences for buildings."

ArchDaily and I are initiating a new idea in publishing, one which reflects the revolutionarytrends awaiting book publishing's future. At this moment, my book, Unified ArchitecturalTheory, 2013, is available only in the USA. With the cooperation of ArchDaily and its sistersites in Portuguese and Spanish, it will soon be available, in a variety of languages, toanyone with internet access. Being published one chapter at a time, students andpractitioners will be able to digest the material at their leisure, to print out the pages andassemble them as a "do-it-yourself" book for reference, or for use in a course. For the firsttime, students will have access to this material, in their own time, in their own language, andfor free!

The book itself arose from a lecture course on architecture theory I taught last year.Students were presented with the latest scientific results showing how human beingsrespond to different types of architectural forms and spaces. At the end of the course,everyone was sufficiently knowledgeable in the new methods to be able to evaluate forthemselves which buildings, urban spaces, and interior settings were better suited forhuman beings.

This approach is of course totally different from what is now known as “ArchitecturalTheory.”

"People react according to their biological intuition, judging their environment for its positiveor negative effect on the human body. Architects, on the other hand, are conditioned to

ignore their own bodily signals and to judge the world according to abstract criteria. In manycases, such judgments lead them to build anxiety-inducing structures that are bad for

people’s health and wellbeing." Brutalist building. Image © Andy Spain

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11/3/15, 7:00 PMUnified Architectural Theory: An Introduction | ArchDaily

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The “Theory” offered here is unified precisely because it describes and helps to understandall different styles of architecture. Moreover, it has predictive value. The basis for analysis isan objective one, free from philosophical, ideological, or political bias. I believe that mylanguage (coming from a scientific background) is clear and direct. For this reason, it’s anantidote to much of today’s architectural discourse that is an intellectual game too esotericfor public understanding.

I do not exaggerate in claiming that this book (and the research upon which it is based)finally answers the old and very disturbing question as to why architects and commonpeople have diametrically opposed preferences for buildings. People react according to theirbiological intuition, judging their environment for its positive or negative effect on the humanbody. Architects, on the other hand, are conditioned to ignore their own bodily signals and tojudge the world according to abstract criteria. In many cases, such judgments lead them tobuild anxiety-inducing structures that are bad for people’s health and wellbeing.

There are indeed a large number of architects who are moving in the direction of this bookalready, trying to employ more organic forms and to break out of the glass or concrete box.But, lacking a scientific background, they proceed by visual intuition alone, with only limitedresults.

Here is where this book really helps: by distinguishing between (1) the superficialappearance of organic order and (2) the generation of architectural form according to thesame processes that give rise to biological forms. Those are two entirely distinctmechanisms. All of this is explained in detail in the book.

Image from Unified Architectural Theory, 2013. Image © Nikos Salingaros

Image from Unified Architectural Theory, 2013. Image © Nikos Salingaros

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Cite:Nikos Salingaros. "Unified Architectural Theory: An Introduction" 30 Aug 2013. ArchDaily. Accessed 3 Nov2015. <http://www.archdaily.com/419892/unified-architectural-theory-an-introduction/>

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The ideas in this book were developed by investigating architecture and design using thescientific method; thus, most of these results are entirely original and highly relevant toarchitecture, while at the same time situated strictly outside the common architecturaldiscourse. Most of the design community would otherwise miss them, and that would be agreat pity.

In conclusion, this is a goldmine for young architects who are keen to develop innovativeforms, which moreover provide healthy and attractive living environments. There is a minorprice to pay, however, and that is the unavoidable criticism of those (often highly-regarded)architects who pursue the opposite course of image-driven design. While I do not condemnthem outright, anyone reading this book soon realizes that the image-based approach isbasically defective, and should be abandoned. So this book is bound to ruffle a fewfeathers. In the name of architectural progress -- I invite you to take up the challenge.

Chapters from Nikos Salingaros’ book, Unified Architectural Theory, will appear ininstallments on ArchDaily throughout the year. Stay tuned for the first chapter!

UPDATE: Find Chapter 1 here.

Order the International edition of Unified Architectural Theory here, and the US editionhere.

Image from Unified Architectural Theory, 2013. Image © Nikos Salingaros