stylism&vastu

Khajuraho monument, Chhatarpur District, India

Jagannath, Puri, India

Jagannath, Puri, India

Wake County Justice Building, Raleigh, North Carolina

Good architecture throws up a lot of questions.
Not always what we would expect.


"Vastu shastra (vāstu śāstra) is a traditional Hindu system of architecture which literally translates to "science of architecture." These are texts found on the Indian subcontinent that describe principles of design, layout, measurements, ground preparation, space arrangement and spatial geometry." 

"The Sanskrit word vastu means a dwelling or house with a corresponding plot of land.^[14] The vrddhi, vāstu, takes the meaning of "the site or foundation of a house, site, ground, building or dwelling-place, habitation, homestead, house". The underlying root is vas "to dwell, live, stay, reside".^[15] The term shastra may loosely be translated as "doctrine, teaching". Vastu-Sastras (literally, science of dwelling) are ancient Sanskrit manuals of architecture. These contain Vastu-Vidya (literally, knowledge of dwelling)." 

 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vastu_shastra

The importance of the concepts of

Architecture as conduit for Harmony

 and the polarity of that with 

Asymmetry in architecture 

typical Romanesque design

standard Victoriana design

Tyntesfield Lodge, Wraxhall, Somerset: Victorian Gothic Revival

This blog is intended as part of a short series about Discovering the Roots of Brutalism. 

Brutalism is concrete. Concrete is Brutalism. At the core of 'what it is about' - the Industrial revolution and post-industrial era of the 20th Century from WW2 bunkers to post-war prefabs.

Brutalism relates to and embraces many other styles from 1890s Victoriana through 1920s art deco to 1960s bauhaus. And yet it remains very much its own thing. Despite Brutalism being a rigidly direct and structured minimalist style, the irregularity of asymmetry which relates it to mathematical angled organic flow-lines of Deco and the bolt-on extensions of Victorian Gothic (without all the excess flowery decorative flair) is integral to it.

Next: Stylism & Civic

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