ABSTRACT
An essential underpinning of thematic design is the understanding that all architecture local vernacular, everyday buildings and signature architecture alike - is built on structured combinations of design principles, rules and building systems. The term building system variously describes structure, construction, cladding, environmental controls, utilities or services including communications and security networks, etc. Introducing non-thematic elements into everyday environmental fabric is a significant act: It should be undertaken neither arbitrarily nor capriciously. As regional ways of non-thematic building were appropriated, they became more abstract, disassociated from their original materials. No coherent aesthetic vision can be realized without carefully selecting and combining structural, material and component systems. Depending on the primary structural system, mid-rise building facades may be composed using storefront, curtain wall or structural glass wall systems or individual windows. Designers may decide on either "punched" or "trimmed out" windows, carefully designing individual window sizes and shapes.
