The Role of Silence in Enhancing the Meaning of Architecture

Abstract

The built forms represent the words in the language of architecture. Forms represent messages that convey expressions that can be expressed and felt through certain properties carried by space, which contribute to moving human thoughts and memories. Thus, we can talk about a hidden aspect in the language of architecture that we can call the language of silence. Silence speaks of the experience of stopping at the loss of words to reveal the presence of emotions and senses, as it is a natural reaction of the human being to a specific situation that requires interpretation. From this point of view, the importance of research on the phenomenon of silence in architecture emerged because of its sublime and spiritual dimensions. Thus, the inclusion of these dimensions in architectural design. This paper examines how silence affects meaning in architecture as a research problem. The research concluded that silence is a form of metaphor, as silence can be symbolic or metaphorical representations of ideas. These concepts cannot be easily communicated through linguistic messages or whose power is more significant when not verbal, which requires silence to depend on its context to convey its meaning.