Great works of architecture have unique experiential and expressive qualities. Sometimes, these qualities are found as common attributes and features across an individual architect’s body of work or a historical epoch.
These works have comprehensible ways of conceptualization, composition or construction which gives them consistency and coherence like a language. Thus, the lexicon of attributes and features across the body of architectural work can be summarized as architectural language or style.
Though self-referential, any language with its vocabulary and grammar is situated in a context. Similarly, any architectural language must be seen in reference to its physical, socio-cultural, historical, economic and environmental contexts. These factors influence, shape or transform architectural attributes and features in varying degrees.
Unlike language’s explicit communicative abilities, architectural language relies on both direct experience and expressive potential of allegories to construct and convey meanings.
This series of DRPs aims to decode various dimensions of architectural language of architects or historical epoch and try to unravel relationships with their contexts and their expressive qualities.
