Relationships between architectural and structural form

INTRODUCTION This chapter is the first of seven that imagine visiting a building and progressively exploring in greater detail the roles structure plays in various areas and aspects of its architecture. As such it observes and reflects on architectural issues arising essentially outside the building. From a location some distance away, the form or massing of the building, rather than any exterior detail, dominates visually and invites an exploration of the relationships between architectural and structural form. But before considering the diversity of relationships between these forms that designers can exploit for the sake of architectural enrichment, the meaning of several terms require clarification.