Parti (architecture)

[1][2] The term comes from 15th century French, in which "parti pris" meant "decision taken.

[5] In architecture school during the 1900s in the United States, one would have understood the term ‘parti’ as the "main idea" for the planimetric layout of a building.

Its roots in the American architectural education system are derived from the Beaux-Arts de Paris.

The word "parti" refers to the concept of ‘parti pris’, and refers to the main ‘idea’ of the organizing principle that is embodied in a design and often expressed by a simple geometric diagram.

[6] The parti [6] of the Lonja del Comercio building in Havana (in plan) is a perfect square and based on the classic 9 square problem that was used, [1] [7][a] among others, by Peter Eisenman to design some of his houses [2] and Andrea Palladio in the design of many of his villas.