The Role of Asymmetry
in Building Design
by Gordon F. Tully
Last month's column, the first installment
in a series on the basics of house
design, focused on reading and
understanding architectural plans. One
question that emerged from that discussion
is: Why are plans so much more
descriptive of our world than other types
of sections? The answer: Simply because
we humans and the world in which we
live are asymmetrical in ways that make
plans and maps tell most of the story
about our environment.
Our Asymmetrical Environment
The first asymmetry is a natural one
caused by the force of gravity. If we ignore
the sun's north-south asymmetry (and
most houses do, regrettably), our everyday
world is basically symmetrical