Pierre von Meiss writes in the book Elements of Architecture about identity.
“Architecture” , writes Von Meiss, “ is playing an important role in reducing or strengthening our sense of identity.” He refers to Rapoport when he list two kinds of manifestations of identity
Important is for the architect to discover the principal means by which this communication of identity can be ensured.
Von Meiss gives three possible strategies to create architecture that reflects the identity of an initiated group (A.):
In reality design processes often imply both a contribution to public identity and a space for private identity. This is a challenge for the architect. How to treat this double aspect of identity. Von Meiss addresses here the lack of private identity in mass-housing. The real estate market tries to solve this lack of identity by meaningless ‘ready made advertising images’, such as false traditional Swiss houses.
Remarkable is one of the possibilities that Von Meiss mentions: houses should not immediately suggest a precise use. Disadvantages can sometimes provoke ingenious solutions by the owners. ‘Too high’ ceilings, blind spots, or useless empty spaces for example. These conflicting situations gives the occupant the possibility to transform them into advantages so he can imprint his identity. Von Meiss suggests the architect not to create something quite complete. There should be a balance between order and disorder to resolve the double aspect of how “to interpret a collective identity and offer the space to active appropriation by an individual or a small group.”
Von Meiss concludes with a remark that identity next to the condition of utility and construction should be accepted in order to create a decent space for ‘manoeuvre and artistic creativity’.
Meiss, P. v. (1998). Elements of Architecture; Original edition: De la Forme au Lieu 1986, Presses Polytechniques romandes, Lausanne, Switzerland. London: E & FN Spon.
Rapoport, A. (1981). Identity and Environment: a cross-cultural perspective in J.S. Duncan, Housing and Identity: Cross-Cultural Perspectives. London: Croom-Helm.