Diagramming: A Visual Language Author(s): Frances Downing and Thomas C. Hubka Source: Perspectives in Vernacular Architecture, Vol.

2 (1986), pp. 44-52 Published by: Vernacular Architecture Forum Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3514315 . Accessed: 23/01/2014 08:09
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5
FRANCES THOMAS DOWNING C. HUBKA AND

Diagramming:A Visual Language

A picture,photograph,or any depictionof the world is often said to be wortha thousandwords. Pictures, however, mayalso be worthtoo manywords,barraging theviewerwithtoo manyideas. In fact,most visual documentation is subjectto multipleinterpretationsdependingon the pointofview,mood, or cultural perspectiveof the viewer.The diagrammatic useful processis particularly forarchitects and architectural historians who mustanalyze thevisual world. Diagramming facilitates theextraction ofdiscrete information or issues froma complex,multifaceted environment. For a All of Saints Street Church can isolate Margaret example, diagram the structural an exceedingly interior complicated bay systemfrom allows the environmental researcher space (Fig. 1). Diagramming to identify and visuallyexplainspecific characteristics ofan artifact,
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an overviewof the whole. building,or experiencewhile retaining Reference to both partand whole withinthe same drawingis one of the qualities thatmakes diagramming such a valuable method foranalyzingthe physicalenvironment. can worktwo ways: as a graphicdesign,and as Diagramming a methodofthinking. a diagramis less a mode ofdirect Graphically, than it an is representation analyticalvisualization.Unlikeverbal a of the however, analysis, diagramretainsvisual characteristics or situation under a As method of object investigation. thinking, diagramming providesa way of visualizingideas and givingform to thought. and separation ofattriThrougha processofextraction researcher to butes, diagramsmake it easier forthe environmental and in them a visual field. As both a ideas medium grasp arrange and a method,diagramming as a strategy mightbe characterized towardvisualizationthat enjoys a distinct advantage over verbal allows the reanalyticalmethods. The process of diagramming searchera flexibility a delicatebalancingact between to perform and understandingthe understandingthe world experientially worldintellectually. Architects skillsconstantly employdiagramming (Fig. 2). Basic to thearchitectural ideas, designprocessis a need tovisualizeinitial recall historical examples, synthesizecomplexsystemsinto manageable wholes, testand comparemultiplesolutions.All of these is part of the processes require diagrams. In fact,diagramming use in design dehighlydeveloped visual language thatarchitects velopment.The same process can also enhancethe studyofmaterialculture. Diagrams can be categorizedby theirprocess or operational and by theircontent.Certainbasic processes are characteristics, common to all diagrams:abstraction, visualization,and intensification. Abstraction and visualizationare the parallelprocessesby which ideas are distilledand given spatial form.Intensification is the process by which diagramsisolate and focus on a particular characteristic or set of characteristics. theseprocessesreTogether,

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architectural design Fig. 2. A typical diagramanalyzinginsideand outside spaces. (Hubka)

MethodsforUnderstanding Buildings/ 45

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duce information to a manageable form, but, unlike drawingsor and serve to magnify emphasize informaphotographs,diagrams The methodofabtionduringthereductive diagrammatic process. can take severalforms. and intensification straction, visualization, Isolation is the process of abstraction by which the diagramis on one of manyphenomena(Fig. 3). used to focusattention is the processby whichdiagramscan be made to acEmphasis centuatea particular attribute or idea. This usuallyinvolvesthe exof or (Fig. 4). aggeration magnification information which or diversepheis the multiple Juxtaposition process by nomena are expressedin one diagram,usuallyallowinga comparativeinterpretation (Fig. 5).

thescreen Fig. 3. A diagramisolating wall in a bungalowplan. (Downing)

diaFig. 4. A "fish-eye" perspective gramemphasizingtheinvitational qualityofa bungalowporch.(Downing)

Fig. 5. A diagramthatcomparesthe withits stark vernacular setting.

vibrant interior ofa Polish synagogue (Hubka)

in Vernacular 46 / Perspectives Architecture, II

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is the process by which diagramsstructure and Systemization in as and hierarchies, comparerelationships, categories, typologies, taxonomies(Fig. 6). is the processby which diagramsgive visual and Spatialization three-dimensional to ideas (Fig. 7). relationships Abstract visualization is the process by which diagramsdepict nonvisualphenomenalike sequence in time,spatialusage, quality of light,or even theoriesand ideas. This methodalso permits the of or expression imaginary magicalinterpretations (Fig. 8). in whicharchitects Five categories have traditionally employed of the hisdiagramsalso providea starting pointforinvestigators toricenvironment.
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Fig. 6. A typological diagramofroof and porchorganization ofbungalows. (Downing)

Fig. 7. An axonometric diagramthat clarifies theform and plan ofa bungalow. (Downing)

theconFig. 8. A diagramexpressing troland excitement gained by rising above thegroundplane. (Downing)

Methods forUnderstanding Buildings/ 47

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Spaceand form: Diagrams may be used to recordand analyze the physicalcontentof architecture cateincludingthe traditional architectural and buildmaterials, goriesofvolume,structure, style, ing systems(Fig. 9). Context: and analyzethephysDiagramsmaybe used to record ical and culturalsettingof buildingsby includingtopography, clias well as the mate, vegetation,and surroundingarchitecture, and attitudes withwhichpeople respondto their enideas, beliefs, vironment (Fig. 10). Usage:Diagramsmaybe used to recordand analyzethe spatial users, difsettingsforhuman activities.They may depictspecific ferent and social organization functions, (Fig. 11). Time:Diagrams may be used to recordand analyze different betweenpermastages of development,includingthe relationship nence and change (Fig. 12).

Fig. 9. An axonometric diagramanaofAll lyzingthe entrance courtyard SaintsMargaret Street Church. (Hubka)

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Fig. 10. A diagramshowingtypical buildingand yardusage fornineNew Englandconteenth-century nectedfarm buildings.FromBig House,Little House,Back House,Barn: TheConnected FarmBuildings ofNewEnofUniversity gland.(Hubka, courtesy Press ofNew England)

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II in Vernacular 48 / Perspectives Architecture,

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Design:Diagrams may be used to recordand analyze the deSimofspatialideas bybuilders,owners,and architects. velopment to an use environmental researcher may diagrams explore ilarly, of the and formulate hypothesesabout a buildingor environment 10). past (Fig.
Fig. 11. A sectionaldiagramshowing realms ofactivity therelationship along a street.(Downing)

change Fig. 12. Diagramsdepicting overtimeamong thebuildingsofa FromBigHouse, New Englandfarm. Little House,Barn:TheConHouse,Back Farm nected ofNew England. Buildings Press of University (Hubka, courtesy ofNew England)

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In orderforscholarsto apply diagrammatic techniquesto the it is useful to of environment the architectural skillfully, analysis understandthe philosophicaland methodological assumptionsbehind the act of diagramming.There are at least threemodels of as a technique. can function knowledgeunderwhichdiagramming the Each containsdifferent how world should about assumptions be understood. Rationalism is a model of knowledgein which an investigator Rationalists tend to of the environment mightuse diagramming. believe thatknowledge is logical and embodied in precedents.A of plaurationalist's scientific procedureinvolvesthe justification to Truth is desible arguments through appeals logicalprecedents. rivedfromdeductiveinferences thatfollowan acceptablepremise and surviveall reasonablechallenges. has relevanceis strucAnothermodel in which diagramming turalism. A structuralist believes thatknowledgeis genericand embodied in taxonomies.Structuralist procedureinvolvesthe successive approximationof categories that interactto exhaust the of a givensubject.Oreventsor characteristics naturally occurring der is inherent when objectsor ideas are sortedintorelatedgroups. a model on which the Americanscientific Finally, community bases most of its exploration is empiricism. knowlTo empiricists, The scientific edge is provableand embodiedin theories. procedure relieson unbiased observations to confirm hypothetically predicted eventsthatare isolatedthrough or statistical controls. experimental In any one ofthesesystems, Rationare tools. potent diagrams utilizediagramsto alists, includingmany architectural historians, explorea selective rangeofarchitectural examplesthatdemonstrate preexistinglaws or patterns.A rationalist employs diagrams to

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Fig. 13. A rationalist diagramusing the "golden section"to explorethe of meaningand physicalproportions classicalarchitecture. (Downing)

in Vernacular 50 / Perspectives II Architecture,

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the abstractideal. Frequentlyresearchers using rational identify to logicattempt emphasizeproportions, rhythms, symmetry, stylisticorders,and otherregulating patterns (Fig. 13). A structuralist utilizesdiagramsto explorea universeofobjects in order to find inherentand systematizing elements. Less conofindividualbuildingsthanwiththe cernedwiththeparticularities elementscommon to many similarbuildings,a structuralist produces diagramsto emphasize taxonomies,categories,and hierarchies (Fig. 14). An empiricist uses diagramsto exploreconcrete instancesderivedfromsensate data. The empiricist selectsinformation thatis scientificrather than abstract. Diagrams generated under this model tend to be place-specific and are more sensuouslyand exthe than are based or diagramsgenerated by rationalist perientially structuralist methods(Fig. 15). tend to mix and Outside the hard sciences, most researchers and methods, models, dependingon their overlap techniques, particulararea of interest. Most architects and architectural historians and educated withinthe Americansystem have been enculturated and mayneed to admitto a fourth model-pragmatism. Pragmatists believe thatknowledgeis, above all, useful. Pragmatism suggests thatthe value of any conceptis determined by the results.Thus, a fluidmixing models of ideal models is not uncommon.Combining of the assumpis a problem,however,ifthe researcher is ignorant tionsimplicit in each model. the process can be a valuable means for Clearly diagrammatic historical environments. analyzing Diagrammaticthinkingand for boundariesbetween a invite drawing healthy disregard therigid academic disciplinesby pushingthe normalintellectual process of a less familiar realm-the mode. into formulation spatial concept in thrive the sort of Whateverthe precise determinants, diagrams that characterizes robustjuxtaposition of intellectual philosophies much of the best recentscholarship. mode ofanalAnotherdistinct advantageof the diagrammatic

Fig. 14. A structuralist diagramexplorof screensfoundin ing a typology bungalows. (Downing)

Methods forUnderstanding Buildings / 51

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oftheanalyzingmindto becomean extension ysisis itspotential a toolforthinking and speculating about theenvironment. The diato is also an device. The construct basic anaability gram egalitarian advanced or technical does not lyticaldiagrams require drawing is not easy,but the hard partis the skills.Of course diagramming and analyzing-nothingnew to those scholarsofmaterial thinking culturewho have been struggling towardan understanding of the builtenvironment.

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II in Vernacular 52 / Perspectives Architecture,

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