Architecture… the adaptation of form to resist force.

Ruskin’s definition reduces architecture to a structural and ethical minimum: a building becomes “architecture” when its form is consciously shaped in response to forces—weight, thrust, wind, time—rather than being mere enclosure or decoration. The phrase implies that beauty is not an applied skin but grows out of intelligible construction: proportion, massing, and detail should express how the work stands up and endures. In Ruskin’s broader critical outlook, this also carries a moral undertone: truthful form acknowledges real conditions and constraints, while dishonest form disguises them. The definition therefore links aesthetics to mechanics and integrity, suggesting that enduring architectural value lies in visible, meaningful resistance.