What unites the Chinese pagoda with the Sydney Opera House? Houston astro dome with large-scale Pantheon in Rome? Parthenon Greek, Forbidden City in China, Angkor Wat in Cambodia, temples and pyramids of pre-Columbian civilizations? Perhaps the forms? A more accurate answer is “symmetry”. Each of these examples, despite their temporal and cultural differences, is associated with it.
Symmetry in architecture actually implies a "single concept."
The specific goals of architecture .
In human life, the visual effect plays a very important role, and it manifests itself completely in architecture. Large structures always impressed, there was even a tendency to “intimidate” the contemplative. Symmetry in architecture is an inevitable aspect of the idea of achieving such goals.
Architecture is fundamentally different from other forms of art because of its spatial nature. The true goal of the architect is to organize a space that will become a theater of action.
Symmetry in art and decorative crafts prevails throughout history. Symmetry concepts are applicable in the design of objects of all shapes and sizes. But in painting (in a two-dimensional composition) it is relatively simple, identifying the types of symmetry in three-dimensional objects is more difficult, because our perception of the object changes when we examine it from different angles. In the case of architecture, we can not only go around the object from all sides, but also go through it. This means that architecture provides a unique opportunity not only to see symmetry, but to “test” it, because it consists of two parts: “emptiness” and “hardness”.
Styles of architecture distinguish details. The Greek temple is easily identified by porticoes and pediments. The Gothic temple is characterized by lancet arches and buttresses. These elements make up the “hard” shell of architecture. We feel emptiness or architectural space when passing through a building.
Types of symmetry
How many architectural styles exist, so many types of symmetry.
In general, they are divided into two categories: point groups and spatial groups. Point groups are characterized by their relationship to at least one important landmark. Spatial groups do not have a definite guideline.
Bilateral symmetry in architecture is by far the most common form found in all cultures and in all ages. In it, two halves of the composition mirror each other (an example is the facade of the Pantheon in Rome). It can be present not only on the scale of a single building, but also in urban space: such a technique can be found in the design of Prasa do Comerciu (Trade Square) in Lisbon (large city square, monumental gate, wide shopping street outside the gate are symmetrical with respect to the long horizontal axis that controls the visual perspective).
Rotational and reflective symmetries create a sense of movement and rhythm, focusing on the central point of the architectural space.
Cylindrical symmetry in architecture can be found mainly in towers and columns.
Chiral symmetry is perhaps less known, but often and effectively used in architecture.
The symmetry of similarity is currently attracting great attention and is well known, primarily because of its identification with fractals. Spiral or helical symmetry in architecture can be considered a special kind of similarity symmetry .
Translational symmetry falls into the space group, and after bilateral symmetry - this is the most common type of symmetry in architecture.
For all that, most buildings have more than one kind of symmetry. For example, a Chinese pagoda in which there is both cylindrical and symmetry of similarity.
Architectural space
Now, as for the architectural space. Two concepts are fundamental in the description of "emptiness": the center and the path. In architecture, the center is understood as a point, and the path is an axis. The center is associated with one important place within a large architectural space, for example, the altar in the church. The path (axis) is the movement of the viewer through space.
The axis of symmetry is the main means of expressing architectural design. The more than 1,500-year history of architecture shows that architectural space has evolved over the centuries with a focus on symmetry. In ancient Rome, strict axial symmetry in architecture gave rise to monumental, static spaces that reflect a sense of balance, rather than dynamism.