Revisiting facades: A note on symmetry as an aesthetic principle

Abstract

The article deals with the shifting roles of façades in western architecture and different uses of symmetry. It has been argued that façades were given adequate expression during the Classical period; however, with the advent of the Modern era, façades lost their previous importance because of new ideologies and aesthetics favouring a free design of façades, resulting in adoption of large glass screens instead of traditional expressions of a building’s character by the use of symmetry, decorative details, rhythmic patterns, etc. Accordingly, contemporary cities lost some of their ‘facial’ qualities. Mechanistic attitudes toward city building and imperative demands to reconstruct the façade contributed to contemporary cities losing their character; in the meantime, monotony, mechanical repetition and blank surfaces often prevailed. Attempts to change attitudes towards the aesthetic qualities of modern façades, with the help of phenomenology as well as introduction of pattern language and other attitudes, did little to change the state of the art. Though there were critics and theorists who urged changing attitudes towards the somewhat tyrannical aesthetics of the Modern Movement, they had little effect on common architectural practice until lately when new, scientifically informed concepts began to emerge. The effects of views either ignoring the role of symmetry, or ignoring the need to escape the tyranny of its monotony, are herein discussed. It is suggested to reconsider the role of symmetry in façades of contemporary structures while rethinking the legacy of the 20th century’s architectural designs