Without
this force, the lower parts of a construction would lack all solidity
and spread like a molten mass on the ground. This is especially striking
where the material, instead of spreading outward and downward, seems
to press itself inward and upward. Compare, for example, a shape whose
base-line is smaller than the line of its top with one in which the
reverse holds true. The former gives the impression of lightness and
agility, with a prevailing upward trend, the other an impression of
weight and heaviness, with a prevailing trend towards the ground.
Obviously, the outward and the inward forces are correlative and
complementary: we have already observed that a construction would
collapse without the inward; we can now see that it would disappear
entirely without the outward. Obviously, also, the inward and upward
go together, and the downward and outward.
Even a plain rectangular wall manifests the interplay of these forces.
The horizontal dimension represents the downward and outward force of
the weight; the vertical dimension, the upward forces, which prevent
the wall from collapsing in itself and hold it upright; while the
lateral boundaries give evidence of the inward tension that keeps the
mass together. But the most beautiful expressions of architectural
forces are to be found in the historical styles. In each style there
is a characteristic relationship between the forces, imparting a
distinctive feeling. I shall offer a brief analysis of some of these.
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