Constructional detail vs. autonomous detail: evaluating the notion of architectural detail with respect to spatial construction

Abstract

Very significant to the production of architecture is the notion of 'space', which injects a quality that creates meaning and expression to the final product. But an architectural product is also a collection of parts; joining these parts together becomes a critical aspect of materializing an architectural outcome, both in terms of its structural and environmental performance as well as with respect to its spatial performance. Jointing of parts, in turn, require the application of ‘details’ to make sure that the expected performances of the final product are achieved without possible failures. Architectural detail can generally be understood as a small-scale architectural design, which itself is a part of a whole architectural outcome. Some scholars say that a minute architectural detail can convey the entire design concept of the building; others claim architectural detail as an ornamental component of a building. Regardless of these different viewpoints, architectural details provide a critical constructional component to the final architectural product. Architectural detail joins each layer of building elements, parts and systems together, thereby acting as a connecting device. However, the hypothesis that this research is based on argues that, other than being a constructional connector, architectural details signify the meanings and qualities of the ‘spaces’, which the final architectural product is supposed to accommodate and celebrate. Judging by the building stock that has been produced in Sri Lanka in recent times, the emphasis given to the act of detailing in architecture is apparently minimal, both in the practice as well as in the discourse. Particularly in the practice, it has become a habit to use a library of commonly used details, irrespective of the typology or context of architecture. On one hand, climatic, cultural and economic factors are forgotten in the process of detailing, thereby compromising the expected performances of buildings and, on the other hand, there is very little regard on understanding details in the construction of architectural languages, and the subsequent formation of spatial meanings and expressions. In evaluating the aforementioned position with respect to architectural detailing, this paper explores two types of intellectual and pragmatic standpoints: (1) Details as constructional representatives, and (2) Details as autonomous interventions. By assessing these two standpoints on ‘architectural detail’ through case study investigations, the research explores the role that a detail could play in the construction of spatial meanings and expressions, as much as they are responsible to the construction of the building as a whole. At the conclusion of this empirical study, verifications will be offered to prove how architectural details could bring up a language and a spatial identity in terms of both construction and experience of buildings.