The article
expresses Umberto Eco's theory regarding the application of semiotics’
principles to the built environment and architecture.
According
to the author, the accent in designing buildings, regardless of the purpose
they serve, has to fall on increasing their functional role rather than on conferring
them a communicative value. As an argument, he uses the example of the cave
that has the function to provide shelter, this being the first thing people
associate with its image.
However, in
most cases, architecture also has the role of transmitting a strong message,
using the elements a building incorporates as "manipulation
instruments", to attract a great number of visitors inside. This is why it
is very important to distinguish between functional and symbolic in
architecture, Eco identifying the elements that define these notions.
In his
opinion, functionality is related to the immediate, practical purpose the
object or the building serves, while the message, the symbol it transmits is
more complicated and subtle. In spite of this difference, there are cases when
the same design element is used to express both the functional and the
aesthetic value of a building, the Gothic arch being one of the most famous
examples.
In order to
make a clearer distinction between the primary and the secondary functions in
building design, architectural codes were created. The author presents some of
the most important categories of codes in architecture, such as "syntactic
codes", "technical codes" and "semantic codes". Their
characteristics are detailed and illustrated with many examples.
Eco also
dedicates a section of the article to the presentation of the "mass
communication" role architecture plays. In his opinion, the
"discourse" design addresses to all categories of people, being less
subtle and easier to understand than the message transmitted by a work of art. At
the same time, the message sent by architecture has a low level of flexibility,
gently but firmly convincing people to accept the elements it incorporates as
they are.
Eco's
conclusion is that the primary function of a structure has to be
"variable", while its secondary functions must be "open".
