A building can be conceptualized in terms of its geometry and force. Between the two concepts of Motion and Rest, architecture mostly tends towards the idea of Rest. However, mechanical form is based on the idea of Motion. Mechanics is often referred to as the geometry of motion and describes the motion of objects with consideration of force and geometry; common domains between architecture and mechanics. The way that mechanical engineers integrate motion into geometry and force can encourage architects to incorporate geometry in an unconventional method.

In architecture and mechanics, most movements have a practical purpose, but movements become poetic when they go beyond the purely practical. The poetry of a movement is not automatically a by-product of its functional or economic optimization. This book is concerned with such moving parts.