1350 E NASA PARKWAY SUITE 202
HOUSTON, TEXAS 77058
281.286.3476
contact@SMA.work
© STELLA MARIS ARCHITECTURE LLC │ 2024
Integrity, Consonance, and Clarity is the translation from Latin to English.
These three qualities are the substance and criteria of what makes something Beautiful.
Stella Maris Architecture adopts Beauty, in these three qualities, as the method and passion of its work.
Why Latin?______________ _____________________________________________________________________________________
Latin mottos in Western civilization often signify what is enduring, valuable, and universal.
Beauty as a model of excellence in creative work has its origin in the antiquity of Greek art and philosophy; has endured through the great philosophic revival of the Middle Ages, and to this day stands firm to those who value the heritage of Western civilization.
"to be beautiful, a living creature, and every whole made up of parts, must...present a certain order in its arrangement of parts."
Aristotle, Poetics, 4th Cent. BC
"There are three requirements for beauty. Firstly, integrity or perfection - for if something is impaired, it is ugly. Then there is due proportion or consonance. And also clarity, whence things that are brightly colored are called beautiful."
Saint Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologicae, 13th Cent.
What distinguishes Stella Maris Architecture?_____________________________________________________________________
This firm has adopted a standard of excellence that is enduring, valuable, and universal.
And because of this, this firm has an understanding of how Integrity, Consonance, and Clarity in the architectural process produce what is most beautiful and most excellent specific to each architectural endeavor the firm is privileged to undertake.
Guided by these principles, Stella Maris Architecture will ask the right questions, examine what is most pertinent, and produce what is most appropriate.
How can Beauty operate as a method of work or influence the quality of the work?___________________________________
Consider a proposal to design a military academy as a means to illustrate the criteria of Beauty as a method.
INTEGRITY
Integrity is a comprehensiveness in design and process. Integrity disciplines the method of arriving at the final program and design. If the military academy was absent exercise facilities in its design process and building, that would signify a neglect of Integrity, for such an academy can not be said to be complete without a means of achieving physical fitness for its students.
CONSONANCE
Consonance or Proportion is a harmony between the parts of the building program and an ordination of those parts to the ultimate purpose of the building. Consonance disciplines the rationale in the arrangement of the design.
Therefore, if the same military academy contained a portion designated for the training of ballet, that part would be an intrusion to the efficient functioning of surrounding parts and would be in dissonance to the final purpose of the academy.
CLARITY
Clarity is a radiance of the essence of the building. Clarity in practice is a remarkable concept for a project achieved in removing what is superfluous and emphasizing what is essential.
Concluding the example of the military academy, clarity would be lacking if the language of the building employed forms and colors of another building type such a golf course or day spa.