The Analysis of the Architectural Languages of Herzog & de Meuron via Regionalism, Materials, and Patterns

Abstract

In contemporary architecture, architects have been pursuing architectural languages to express various experiences and impressions visually, psychologically, and physically. The analysis of the architectural language of Herzog and de Meuron aims to divide their language into elements that can show architectural characteristics such as materials, patterns, and forms. The objective of this paper is to understand the flow and trend of contemporary architecture through the analysis of examples of works applying their experimental architectural language. As a methodology, there is a synchronous analysis of the architectural characteristics of German-speaking architects in Switzerland and their works. Diachronically, the era of Herzog and de Meuron's architecture spanned the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. The result showed that first, in terms of materials, ordinary materials that we use daily, such as concrete, glass, and wood, were used to express the building more richly and energetically. However, they did not experiment with new things but sought to find hidden inner qualities in these familiar materials. Second, they used a pattern language with formative meaning by applying various studies and experiments. Natural images, not sensuous and stimulating, were planned to fit the regional and spatial purpose. Third, in terms of form, it can be seen that they thoroughly considered the external environment and influence, functionality, harmonious arrangement, and variability.