Iconic Architecture

Abstract

This thesis is about understanding architecture, and how forms of iconic buildings are generated. First of all, what is architecture? Architecture is a complex discipline that puzzled many architects and theorists through human history. It was born from the simple necessity for shelter and made it into the art scene by our complex mind. Living in a cause-effect world, our ancestors built their huts only when this was visualized in their minds. At this end, execution is a result of mental conception, and this conception requires a process developed through intensive thinking. Thus, seeking to understand the design process and formalization in architecture, architectural design is a complex iterative process that does not occur in a vacuum. It does not only require creative thinking and inner talent that fuels the design but must also satisfy intended functions governed by the external world. Can we control the design process? Can we identify and control the process of formalization in architecture? How do architects express physically their creative thinking? Can we build a toolbox that will serve as a recipe for the design process and architectural creation? Is it possible to set up an objective theory that will shape our ideas before the physical world?