Architecture embodies values of the time in which it is built, and mirrors and replicates social relations which form it. In my master’s thesis, I investigate which values influence architectural design, in what ways and through which mechanisms.
In the first part of the thesis, I analyse the concept of values from a sociological perspective – how they are categorised, why they occur and what purpose they serve. In the second part, I apply the concept of values to architecture. By analysing relevant literature and specific architectural projects, I try to identify which values appear in architecture and how to recognise them. The inanimate cannot have its own values, it can only embody them. So whose values does architecture embody? An architectural object is a product of the actions of the living; for example, an architect who designs a space according to their beliefs. It is therefore inevitable that every object embodies values of its designer. Since the process of architectural creation varies greatly according to the scale on which it takes place, I analyse the influence that scale has on the embodiment of values. In the final part of the thesis, I illustrate findings of the theoretical part with architectural graphics, in which I focus on individual values and consider them as a parameter that dictates the design and form of the architectural object.
The aim of the thesis is to identify and analyse the invisible influences that guide contemporary architectural design in the form of an analysis of buildings and systems from which they emerge. By being aware of and recognising the forces that influence design, we can build a world that is attuned to values of the contemporary world and the desired future.
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