Elements in architectural composition

Abstract

What is the essence of architecture ? How does one define it ? What is it made from and what does it stand for ? A series of masonry blocks which when built in a particular manner, constitute a wall ? Four walls tied at the corners which when added to a floor and a ceiling define what is known as a room ? A number of rooms with particular functions which depending on their arrangements make up a building ? Or, even more so a number of buildings one next to the other, which when added together form a street, then a village, a town and ultimately a city ? It is no mean feat to define what architecture really is and nonetheless I do not think it is so important at this stage. What shall be attempted in this write-up is to try and search for the most basic elements in architecture such as the floor, the wall and the roof, analyse what these elements stand for and investigate their use in architectural compositions. After all, the space around us has no limit, architecture is the limitation of this space; the role of the architect is to define such limits using architectural elements.