This study is an analysis on Minimalistic features that appear in Herzog & de Meuron's works, focusing on the facade design. To pursue this study, preliminary studies on Minimalism both in Art and in Architecture were conducted in order to obtain gene...
This study is an analysis on Minimalistic features that appear in Herzog & de Meuron's works, focusing on the facade design. To pursue this study, preliminary studies on Minimalism both in Art and in Architecture were conducted in order to obtain general characteristics of Minimalism. Based on the knowledge obtained from the preliminary studies, analysis on Herzog & de Meuron's works were conducted. Twelve works were selected for the analysis. The criteria for the selection were realization of the project and the size: in order to get a close look at the facade detail the project had to be materialized and small enough. The first step of this study was to examine the architects' backgrounds including their native country, philosophical background, and etc. The second step was to conduct analysis on the facade design and, in several cases, construction detail of the twelve selected works. The conclusion was that Herzog & de Meuron had been inventing and developing their own language inherently architectural and preceded by Structural Rationalism, and this unique language differentiated them from other Minimalism architects. They use common materials, articulate them, and manipulate them in a tectonic way. Consequently, through this materiality, they were found to search for "concreteness," not abstractness.