Architecture operates largely on the basis of implicit knowledge, whereas science requires explicit, provable methods. Does this mean that architecture is unscientific? Lara Schrijver, Associate Professor of Architecture Theory, has been awarded a grant by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) to find the answer. Her project ‘The Tacit Dimension: Architecture Knowledge and Scientific Research’ draws together an international research network of architects, philosophers, historians and cultural scientists.
It is difficult to ‘measure’ why certain architecture is perceived as good. Why is this? Because it cannot always be explained in purely rational terms. Architecture is often based on intrinsic ideas. The way in which we perceive composition and symmetry, for example, partly depends on cultural background and centuries-old traditions. Schrijver’s aim with ‘The Tacit Dimension’ is to articulate this implicit knowledge – a challenging task, partly because the vocabulary we had for describing the value of a building or design became fragmented in the 20th century. Modernist movements overturned the conventions on beauty in architecture. “And Post-modernism dealt the final blow – suddenly, everything was good”, explains Schrijver. “It is precisely this ultimate relativism against which this project is directed. Not everything is quantifiable, but you can strive to make it something that can be discussed.”
The title of the project, ‘The Tacit Dimension’, is an allusion to the study of the same name by Michael Polanyi in 1968, who argued that “we know more than we can tell”. How does Schrijver propose to shed light on the ‘tacit’ component? By synthesis rather than analysis (unravelling the underlying principles), for example by comparing international architectonic examples in order to identify the values they have in common. This should enable ‘scientists from design disciplines’ to explain their work more accurately. The project will not readily result in scientific criteria, because architecture remains a discipline that is closer to the Arts. But it should become easier to form a judgement on what is good architecture – and what is bad.
In the project ‘The Tacit Dimension’ (NWO funding: €35,500) the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment at TU Delft is collaborating with RWTH Aachen University, the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, the Oslo School of Architecture and Design, Leibniz Universität Hannover and the University of Wuppertal.