Understanding Meaningful Environments: Architectural Precedents and the Question of Identity in Creative Design

Understanding Meaningful Environments: Architectural Precedents and the Question of Identity in Creative Design intends to put forward a discussion on the use of precedents and the production of innovative designs as well as to discuss the relationship between precedents and identity in a world undergoing a rapid process of globalization. This publication provides insights into how the strategy of making use of design precedents as a source of knowledge rather than initiating a project from tabula rasa leads to efficient, effective, and/or innovative results, based, in particular, on the work of Le Corbusier and Santiago Calatrava. In the sense that architects’ ideologies and intentions did not form a main position in this account, one may say that it is not a value-added approach. However, in this publication, this other side of the use of precedents is explored, i.e. recollection and intention, because in addition to innovations, the critical use of precedents seems to help in the production of buildings/places that embody a critical notion of identity. The goal of this study is to provide a reflection on the themes mentioned, as well as to briefly discuss methods for precedent analysis.