52 Tropes
Tropes Tropes in architecture are very similar to tropes in literature and use a lot of the same terminology. A Hyperbole in architecture is an over-exaggeration, usually to emphasize some specific point. Take my massing composition where the rocks are arranged in a tall tower to represent the action “scale.” Both the angle of the photo and the arrangement of the rocks emphasize the idea of “scale” due to the height of the forms these things combine to create. On page 53, there is a similar idea with a composition I did with clay to represent the action “stretch.” The clay, which was initially a cube, was pulled apart from the center, leaving just enough to connect the two halves so that it exaggerates the idea of stretching the cube and thus creates a hyperbole. The Mariott Marquis in Atlanta, Georgia, is also an example of hyperbole in architecture. The bulging base of what at the top seems like a simple rectangular skyscraper draws attention to this area with a unique feature on what would otherwise be a plain building. Another literary term common in architecture is metonymy, where something is represented by something else that could be associated with it. For example, the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta is shaped like a boat on the primary side. This boat idea stands in as a representation (continued on page 54)
Clockwise from the top right:
Atlanta’s Mariott Marquis Hotel John Portman. Photo by Connor
A massing composition I create represent the action “Scale.”
The front of the Georgia Aquar Georgia. Designed by PGAV A by Diliff
