Interpreting design integrity as Gesamtkunstwerk: A cross-scalar morphological analysis

İngilizce (OpenAlex)

This study aims to interpret the cross-scalar integrity between architects’ exterior, interior, and furniture designs through the lens of the “Gesamtkunstwerk” concept. The research sample, a comparative multiple-case study, consists of five cases: Charles Rennie Mackintosh (Hill House), Antoni Gaudí (Casa Batlló), Frank Lloyd Wright (Robie House), Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (Barcelona Pavilion), and Alvar Aalto (Paimio Sanatorium). Data from document analysis were analyzed via a morphological method using five parameters: Geometry and Formal Language; Materiality and Making Process; Structural Logic and Tectonic Expression; Spatial Role and Bodily Affordance; and Design Philosophy and Representation. The findings demonstrate that each architect achieves cross-scalar integrity through a unique morphological strategy (e.g., dialectical contrast, organic metamorphosis). The results reveal Gesamtkunstwerk not as a static concept, but a living principle reinterpreted by each architect. This study thus offers an interdisciplinary analysis model to the field.