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In 1995 I submitted my published work, including the text of Aesthetics of built form as a PhD thesis. In the process I added the sort of academic notes expected in a thesis, but omitted from the published work for commercial reasons. The "PhD Notes" for the Preface are included below in the same font and colour as used for this note. Notes for subsequent chapters are provided in separate web pages.

Rationale.

This book was conceived as a brief introduction to the 'aesthetics' of built form for those who have not had time to discover the subject for themselves. It is particularly intended for busy structural engineers. It expresses the viewpoint of an engineer, modified by exposure to those of the architect and professional critic.

My discovery of the subject followed a period of work on the design of power stations. I was mystified by the demands which the architects placed on the structural engineers, by the strength of their convictions, the forcefulness of their arguments, and the unintelligibility of their explanations. Some of my colleagues dismissed it all as 'mere whim' and worse, but I later found the opportunity to delve into the relevant literature and decided that it had much to offer.

PhD Note. 'Aesthetics' was used to keep the title brief. It is mainly 'appreciation of built form'.

Reading in a new discipline is not easy. Nevertheless, I found the effort worthwhile. My interest in the nature of form and space and in the play of light and shadow developed along with my ability to perceive them. My experience of the built environment: walking down a city street or visiting the foyer of a theatre; became fresher and richer. In recent years I have led postgraduate courses in 'appreciation of architecture' for practising engineers who have reported similar results.

PhD Note. As in any discipline, common words have special meanings. With constant reading these gradually became familiar and the fog cleared.

This contradicts the view that technologists are fundamentally incapable of appreciating visual images. A lecturer who taught Visual Arts to engineering students states that when she asked them to express what they felt about a particular building they would often reply, 'Well, it is just a building. Why should I have feelings about it? It is just there and that is all there is to it!' It is not surprising that people who hold this attitude sometimes accuse architects and critics of inventing the feelings they express about built form. However, I suspect that these negative approaches indicate merely an inability to get in touch with one's own feelings, or a lack of an 'appetite' for visual experience. Both of these faculties may be under-developed in technologists because of early discouragement or preoccupation with other matters, but they are very easily activated.

Motivation is a significant factor. It is sometimes maintained that there is no point in discussing aesthetics and architectural matters because they are entirely subjective. While this is true to a certain extent, it is still worthwhile to establish broad concepts and an agreed terminology. This makes it possible to discover what common ground exists and facilitates communication between clients, architects, and engineers when it is necessary to weigh aesthetic values against cost and technical complexity. Postgraduate courses have shown that a knowledge of the basic concepts may provide design engineers with the confidence to play a more active role in project meetings.

Presentation.

It has been necessary to concentrate on presenting facts and opinions about the way in which people respond to built form. It would have been ideal to evaluate the material more carefully and use it to analyse heavy engineering and industrial structures. However, to compress this into a single volume would have been unsatisfactory.

PhD Note. Student engineers were required to complete a one-semester course provided by the Arts Faculty in the hope of civilising them after two years of high school and four years of university concentrated on science and technology.

Many examples of buildings in the classical tradition have been included for a number of reasons. Classicism has been a recurring and important theme in the history of western architecture and it is currently a major source of inspiration to architects. Its buildings figure largely in the literature of the appreciation of architecture and it is convenient to use them to illustrate principles which might be extrapolated to modern forms. The premises of classicist thought contrast strongly with the principles of engineering design and thus throw them into sharp relief. Finally, it is a useful mental exercise to try to understand an outlook and a style which appears at first sight to be incomprehensible or uncongenial. To understand its internal logic and recognize the common humanity of those who subscribe to it may be a potent factor in aesthetic appreciation. (This applies equally to certain styles in the late nineteenth century.)

PhD Note. The interest in Classicism seems to have waned since the time of writing.

I have found it difficult to present an overall picture of the appreciation of built form through the linear medium of the written text. Formal qualities, emotional impact, symbolism, and context are discussed sequentially. The way in which these might interact with each other is considered only towards the end of the book.

The many quotations are cited only by author and year of publication. In a book devoted to the visual image it would have been ideal to include many more illustrations. Unfortunately, that is not economically possible. In some cases where the reader might appreciate it, I have referred to suitable illustrations in other books which should be easily accessible.

The problem of citations has been overcome in this web version by providing a separate web page of Notes to accompany the text of each chapter. Image databanks on the web have allowed me to provide links to photographs of most buildings discussed. This has made it possible to provide more images than was economically possible in the book, and in colour.

[Contents] [References]
[Chapter 1.]

[The art in structural design.] [Papers.] [Work of Jörg Schlaich.] [John Monash's early engineering.]