Design and order : perceptual experience of built form principles in the planning and making of place / Nigel C Lewis.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Section I. The environment -- Part I. The environment - natural, ecological and historical (Topography) -- Natural sites and places -- Ecological and climatic context and basic protection needs -- Historical and regional development -- Section II. Human behaviour and design -- Part II. Human behaviour (Neuro-physiology) -- The brain, the mind and sensing -- The eyes and the visual system -- The senses -- Part III. Perceptual experience of form (Psychology and phenomenology) -- Aesthetic theories and perception of built form -- Part IV. grammar and syntax of form, and composition -- Architectural ordering, composition, form and beauty -- Part V. Planning and design process, and programme requirements (methodology) -- Design framework, methods and approaches -- Pattern language approach -- Section III. Form, function and fir -- Part VI. Form and fit -- Physical built form in space -- Geometrical layout and organisation - axes, shapes and repeating patterns -- Proportion, symmetry and harmony -- Organisational forms and layout -- Functional purpose and use of space -- Circulation, plan and elevation -- Colour and contrast -- Part VII. Building structure and types -- Structure -- Section IV. Built and Urban form -- Part VIII. 'Good' practice - built form -- Buildings and dwellings -- Part IX. 'Good' practice - urban form -- Urban form.

"This book outlines the fundamental characteristics that are evident in the creation of built form and illustrates how they determine the experience of resultant places. It consolidates the key criteria that need to be taken into consideration in the development of built form or urban spaces. While not a design manual for architects, it does provide a coherent overview of the principles that underpin design, and by consideration and illustration of each of the individual elements, an integrated understanding of both the principles and the perception of design is developed. The designer can then apply or discard these principles in the development of urban designs, with a solid understanding the implications of the decisions they make"-- Provided by publisher.