16 Program
Program The program is very significant when approaching the formal design of a building or other structure. In its most basic form, the program is the list of requirements for a building’s design based on various factors, including the client, cultural context, the use of the space, the environment, and so much more. The program is what will help define the building’s geometries in all aspects of its design. For example, a client may want a tall living room with floor to ceiling windows, which will define the form of both the windows and the rest of the house due to the size of said windows. Georgia’s Governor’s mansion was designed in 1968 in a style similar to those of Antebellum plantation homes. This was due to the current Governor at the time, Lester Maddox, a staunch segregationist who wanted the “glory days” of Georgia represented in its executive residence. This created a specific list of requirements for the building’s design and forms that aligned with that style. The continuous plane exercise in the bottom right required a program where a single sheet of bristol board had to be used and altered using cutting and folding, but it still had to be one continuous piece. These were the project’s requirements and thus its program to devise its form. (continued on page 18)
From top to bottom:
Georgia’s Governor’s mansion district of Atlanta Georgia. Des Thomas Bradbury. Photo from G of the Governor.
A continuous plane exercise I d and folding techniques.
