The Four Elements of Architecture - Gottfried Semper

Gottfried’s The Four Elements, seems to have been split up into four distinct elements:

• The Hearth
• The roof
• The Enclosure
• The Mound

Two points that really struck me were the Hearth, and the Enclosure. This Paper will explain why.

Firstly, Gottfried believed the Hearth  was the first element created, and everything should be designed around it, as it was the first component man was introduced to. “Around the hearth the first groups alliances formed; around it the first rude religious concepts were put into the customs of a cult” , says Gottfried. The meaning of this quote to me, was that instead of adding on to the Hearth, we need to work with it, just as nature does and from there a great architectural evolution will be formed.  Gottfried also goes on to elaborate on how the characteristics of a material should not be what makes a structure great, but rather the form and character of it, something that I strongly agree with.

 

Secondly, Gottfried’s explanation for the  Enclosure was also a very interesting read because  many primitive techniques such as weaving and water fitting derived from enclosure. This eventually lead to the weaving of mats and covers, instead of tree branches.  The wildest tribes were familiar with wickerwork, and this eventually made its way around to Egypt and even china, and it was interesting to see how Egyptians blurred the line for the meaning of enclosure, as they used decoration on walls to show to tell a story, or mark an important piece of territory.

References:

http://designtheory.fiu.edu/readings/semper_selections.pdf