A Stanislavskian and Barthesian deconstructive analysis of Thinking Architecture of Peter Zumthor: The case of Therme Vals


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YILMAZ E., Akbulut M. T.

Frontiers of Architectural Research, 2025 (AHCI) identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Basım Tarihi: 2025
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1016/j.foar.2025.06.007
  • Dergi Adı: Frontiers of Architectural Research
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Arts and Humanities Citation Index (AHCI), Scopus, Index Islamicus, Directory of Open Access Journals
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: Konstantin Stanislavski, Narrative analysis, Narratology, Peter Zumthor, Roland Barthes, Therme Vals
  • Açık Arşiv Koleksiyonu: AVESİS Açık Erişim Koleksiyonu
  • Yıldız Teknik Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

In 21st-century architectural literature, Therme Vals stands out for its spatialization of theory and art. This study is based on the thesis that Therme Vals is structured under the influence of Roland Barthes' five codes and Konstantin Stanislavski's The Method of Physical Actions (1934–1938). In this context, Peter Zumthor's narratives about the atmosphere chapters in Thinking Architecture are analyzed with strategies based on Barthes' textual decoding in S/Z, and Stanislavskian perspectives in these narratives are revealed. The trilogy of space-action-text, as a diagrammatic representation of discourses, forms the theoretical foundations of the methodology. Through qualitative research within the framework of structural narrative analysis, this study deconstructs Barthes' principles of semantic plurality and Stanislavski's The Method of Physical Actions (1934–1938) through the architectural codes of the Therme Vals and atmosphere chapters. The analysis of 17 semantic units yielded 190 poductive terms, of which 59 are unique and 131 are repetitive, as well as principles of clustered effects. The results support Zumthor's view in Thinking Architecture that architecture operates not as a narrative but as a text open to multiple interpretations.