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Show description from ad hoc classification to design, Glassie is able to order his field data in a way that recognizes types--the composite statements of similar things--while at the same time exploring the mental system which accounts for them. 21 Given the predominance of form in Western architectural thinking, it is not surprising that the minimal unit in folk bui l ding would be the n geometric entity--the structural underpinj ng of the independent block. The geometric unit--the square, then, is combined with other squares and parts of squares to form the base concepts, the ground plans, which are transformed through design into real houses. From the level of the base concept, Glassie suggests three principal sets of rules that figure in the composition of the house. 22 First, there are the rules that pertain to the orientation of the roof. The axis of the roof is related to the axis of the base concept; it may be either parallel or perpendicular. Second, the three-dimensional volume of the base concept is massed and pierced. This move involves determining the placement of specific components within the symmetrical format. Massing is tripartite, with either a door or chimney occupying the central position on the block. Piercing rules for doors and windows dictate that whether the centering device is a door or a chimney, the flanking units will be identically pierced in order to maintain the prescribed external balance. Finally, the base concept is expanded. Glassie includes rules for doubling the base ·concept upward or to the rear. 11 All buildings," he concludes, "are products of geometric entities ordered into base concepts, extended into space, roofed, massed, and pierced. 1123 In the seminal Folk Housing in Middle Virginia, Glassie applied this generative design model to a set of traditional buildings and was effectively able 93 |
