Form, Function and Gestalt

Sullivan’s famous axiom, “form follows function,” became the touchstone for many modernist architects. That is, the purpose of a building should be the starting point for its design. But the purpose of a building may well change over time which suggests that what then matters is the original design's capacity to adapt to changing functional uses. The idea that good building design should be adaptable to future uses may also reflect gestalt theory and the observation that everything occurs in some context, or, in gestalt terms, there is a relationship between the designed thing ("figure") and the environment in which it occurs ("ground"). And perhaps more so when, in the digital age, the notion of form follows function has been challenged, if not dismissed resulting in design that has become more sophisticated increasingly relating design to our physical behavior, rather than objects. Gestalt theory, then, whereby we are constantly shaped and influenced by the situations we live through, may help further understanding of ideation.