Meaning in Architecture, now. A Debate.

More than fifty years have passed since the publication of “Meaning in Architecture”, yet the debate on the issue of meaning in architecture continues to evolve and engage the architectural community, even if in subtler, less apparent ways than in the past. Five questions. Five women. Five places. Five sensitivities. Five visions of architecture. This debate looks at the most critical emerging architectural trends, using the peculiar multivalence of meaning to discuss its architectural nature in a rich discussion involving various architects and scholars in five parallel interviews. Delving into the independence (or not) of architecture, the relevance (or not) of the process, the confrontation between shapes and uses, the economic dimension of design and the rise of AI, the debate aims to give a multifaceted interpretation of meanings, or rather, to explore how architectural design is evolving, and why. The answers were blind and even unknown to each other, so to better highlight the different approaches and ideas: to the reader the possibility of side-reading them and adhering to one, all or even none, postulating a distinct personal position.