Bjarke Ingels Group Syntax Poster series

In architecture, syntax is the formal relationship between the individual elements that together define the architectural artefact. A theme I have explored as an architect and graphic designer through the design of nine posters based on nine architectures by Bjarke Ingels Group - BIG.

Year: 2018

Type: Graphic design

Status: Completed

Featured on: ArchDaily, Designboom, Archilovers, Architect, World Architecture, Architetti.com, A As Architecture, We and the Color

The widespread use of digital tools has transformed the profession of architecture and the mature use of technology is influencing its language. Charles Morris argues that in any language, the study of semiotics can be seen in three different areas: semantics, pragmatics, and syntax:

Semantics is the study of the relationships between the system of signs and their meanings.
Pragmatics deals with the relationships between signs and interpreters, and in architecture, the relationship between the sign and the behaviour it elicits.
Syntax is then defined as the study of the formal relationships between signs. This area of analysis enables the study of signs, especially their relationships to each other, by excluding both their meanings and their functions from the study.

The language of architecture has evolved with humanity and its needs, with each of these three aspects given greater weight at different times. Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) projects and philosophy have had great success in recent years. Working on these posters allowed me to understand how their approach affects the finished architecture and, in particular, to learn more about the syntax of their projects. Indeed, syntax is one of the formal aspects that I think characterises much of the work of the Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) compared to the work of previous generations of architects.