Design Elements

Form/Massing

Form and massing are the primary elements of architecture; they are composition in three dimensions.  Shape, size, and orientation all define the form and massing of a volume.  The form can be simple, as a cube (Patriots Peace Memorial, above), or complex. It can be additive or subtractive, regular or irregular, stable or dynamic, centralized, linear, or radial, unique or repetitive, formal or informal.  As in all of architecture, the form and massing should represent the values of the people the building represents.

"Architecture is frozen music" Goethe