Abstract

Abstract

Today, we as architects have a growing challenge where we must redefine architectural meaning in our heterogenous, diverse, unrelated, yet ever-connected global society. Architecture of a muted intensity is a response directed at challenging the current conditions of our postmodern world with various concepts that together create an emotionally stimulating dialogue between space, individual, and context. The goal is to return to the basic human condition and produce architecture that is universally appealing and engaging, regardless of the background of the individual experiencing it. The postmodern world in which we live today challenges the projection of universal ideologies. As there is no consensus of values and beliefs in our world, few universally accepted truths exist. Architects often tend to rely on metaphors and symbols in their work, though within the present global situation, these are no longer valid justifications for architecture. We must today consciously refuse the projection of extraarchitectural meaning onto the spaces we design and

instead focus on our primal human condition as the basis for architecture. This thesis includes an overview of Swiss culture and values, which contain several themes that align with the goals of the architecture of a muted intensity. In order to accurately express the need for a shift in present architectural discourse, explorations of the concepts of responsibility and honesty, along with their relationships to architecture are required. These concepts, together with a modified definition of nonreferentiality, are the preconditions for a muted intensity in architecture. The key principles exist in physical and phenomenological qualities relating to singularity, essentiality, sensation, atmosphere, and anatomy. The utilization of these elements works to enhance characteristics of the built environment that will result in a more universally engaging architecture. Architecture of a muted intensity is not a critique of the technological, economical, and ecological themes present in today’s architectural discourse, but rather a personal definition and reflection on particular themes that challenge the mundane and strive for the extraordinary.

architecture of a muted intensity:

an architectural response to the postmodern world that results in a stimulating dialogue between space, individual, and context