Giuseppe Gallo is the creative director of Mirabilia, a communication design studio based in Palermo, and a PhD Candidate in Architecture at the University of Palermo, where he's studying the evolution of computational architecture.
“I have a strong interest in computational methods for architecture and in interaction design” explains Giuseppe. “At the end of 2015, I published a series of posters on the use of Patterns in architecture inspired by the works of architectural firm Mecanoo.
Given the good response, I then decided to propose by my own initiative a new series inspired by the architecture of Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG).
I created this series of nine posters to stimulate reflection on the use of Syntax in architecture.
For each of them I was inspired by the architecture of BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group, where syntax between individual elements arises from responses to functional problems, characterizing or generating new formal solutions".
Serpentine Pavilion 2016 – London, UK
Kistefos Museum – Scandinavia
Amager Resource Center – Copenhagen, Denmark
VM House – Copenhagen, Denmark (with JDS Architects)
VIA 57 WEST – New York, USA
The Spiral – New York, USA
Wilson Secondary School – Arlington, USA
Kimball Art Center – Park City, USA
1200 INTREPID – Philadelphia, USA
Why a series of Posters on Syntax in Architecture?
The widespread use of digital tools has changed the architectural profession. A mature use of technology is influencing the language of "post digital" architecture.
Charles Morris argues that in every language the study of semiotics is discernible in three different fields: Semantics, Pragmatics and Syntax:
- Semantics is the study of relations between the system of signs and their meanings.
- Pragmatics is the study of the relations of signs to interpreters, and in architecture the relationship between the sign and the behavior it engenders.
- Syntax (syntactics) is then defined as the study of the formal relations between signs; this field of analysis makes the study of signs possible, with particular reference to their relations with each other, by excluding from the survey both their meanings and functions.
The language of architecture has evolved along with the human race and in accordance with its needs, giving more weight at different times to each of these three aspects.
Today's computational architecture and collaborative tools make architectural design an even more polyphonic effort. Architecture also has complex requirements which need to be met with a broader approach and this affects the evolution of architectural syntax, which will further be changed by applications of AI and robotics.
Why did you choose Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG)?
Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) is one of the most important firms in the contemporary architectural scene: a group of more than 300 professionals working on different scale projects worldwide, with offices in Copenhagen, New York and London. This studio is famous for its approach to design that steers clear of formalism or pure pragmatism, focusing rather on solutions to real problems through "programmatic alchemy".
Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) projects and philosophy have had wide spread success in recent years. Working on these posters gave me the opportunity to understand how their approach affects the finished architecture and in particular more about the syntax of their projects.
Indeed syntax is one of the formal aspects that, in my opinion, characterizes many of Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG)’s works compared to the work of previous generations of architects. Their projects generate a syntactic evolution transpired by the will to find new solutions for environmental, social, economic and technological problems.
The whole collection can be downloaded for free in high-resolution pdf for print HERE
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