Nearly every work of architecture can be characterized by specific approaches to forming and centering. An awareness of these "underpinnings" would facilitate a more informed approach to architectural design problems, as well as a deeper understanding of the central issues (and flaws) embodied by completed works of architecture. But the addressing of such topics has generally remained multifarious and diverse: more in the nature of a collection of independent issues than an overarching analytical argument. In this book, fresh looks at such issues are assembled and recast into a fully integrated narrative, based on two foundational and complementary aspects of architectural design: those that give shape and those that give focus-forming and centering. The author uses an equally weighted interplay of discussion and diagram, with over 450 illustrations throughout the book. In addition, the text includes many links to further information online in the form of narratives, photographs, delineations, and contextual views.