Metaphoric architecture is an architectural movement that developed in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

during the mid-20th century. It is considered by some to be merely an aspect of

postmodernism Postmodernism is an intellectual stance or mode of discourseNuyen, A.T., 1992. The Role of Rhetorical Devices in Postmodernist Discourse. Philosophy & Rhetoric, pp.183–194. characterized by skepticism toward the " grand narratives" of modern ...

whilst others consider it to be a school in its own right and a later development of

expressionist architecture Expressionist architecture was an architectural movement in Europe during the first decades of the 20th century in parallel with the expressionist visual and performing arts that especially developed and dominated in Germany. Brick Expressionis ...

. The style is characterised by the use of analogy and metaphor as the primary inspiration and directive for design. Well known examples of this can be found in the Palm Mosque at the King Saud University in

Riyadh Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the ...

Basil Al Bayati Basil Al Bayati ( ar, باسل البياتي; born 13 May 1946) is an Iraqi-born architect and designer who has lived and practiced for the most part in Europe, in particular, London and who Neil Bingham, in his book 100 Years of Architectural ...

, based upon the form of a palm tree, the

Lotus Temple The Lotus Temple, located in Delhi, India, is a Baháʼí House of Worship that was dedicated in December 1986. Notable for its flowerlike shape, it has become a prominent attraction in the city. Like all other Bahá’í Houses of Worship, t ...

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Hous ...

, by Fariborz Sahba, based on a lotus flower, the

TWA Flight Center The TWA Flight Center, also known as the Trans World Flight Center, is an airport terminal and hotel complex at New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). The original terminal building, or head house, operated as a terminal f ...

building in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, by

Eero Saarinen Eero Saarinen (, ; August 20, 1910 – September 1, 1961) was a Finnish-American architect and industrial designer noted for his wide-ranging array of designs for buildings and monuments. Saarinen is best known for designing the General Motors ...

, inspired by the form of a bird's wing, or the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...

, in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, by

Jørn Utzon Jørn Oberg Utzon, , Hon. FAIA (; 9 April 191829 November 2008) was a Danish architect. He was most notable for designing the Sydney Opera House in Australia, completed in 1973. When it was declared a World Heritage Site on 28 June 2007, Utzo ...

that is derived from the sails of ships in the harbour. Certain architects have also been known to utilise metaphors as a theme throughout their work such as

Le Corbusier Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (6 October 188727 August 1965), known as Le Corbusier ( , , ), was a Swiss-French architect, designer, painter, urban planner, writer, and one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture. He was ...

and the open hand motif. This to him was a sign of "peace and reconciliation. It is open to give and open to receive." Perhaps the most prominent voice of the Metaphoric architectural school at present is Dr.

whose designs have been inspired by trees and plants, snails, whales, insects, dervishes and even myth and literature. He is also the founder of the International School of Metaphoric Architecture in

Málaga Málaga (, ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most pop ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Metaphoric architects

Fariborz Sahba Fariborz Sahba ( fa, فريبرز صهبا, born 1948 Mashhad) is an Iranian-American architect, now living between Canada and the United States. Education Sahba has a master degree from the Faculty of Fine Arts from the University of Tehran ...

Gallery

File:The Palm Mosque at King Saud University, Riyadh by Dr. Basil Al Bayati.jpg, The Palm Mosque at King Saud University, Riyadh File:Jfkairport.jpg, TWA Flight Centre, New York File:Lotus Temple, Bahá'í Place Of Worship, Delhi, India (15110744273).jpg, Lotus Temple, New Delhi File:Sydney Opera House Sails.jpg, Sydney Opera House, Australia File:Onion House Hawaii 19.jpg, The Onion House, Hawaii

References

{{Reflist, 30em, refs= {{cite book, last= Shipman , first=Gertrude , title=Ultimate Handbook Guide to Chandigarh : (India) Travel Guide, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OFbHBAAAQBAJ&pg=PP7, date=5 October 2014, publisher=MicJames, pages=7–, id=GGKEY:32JTRTZ290J {{cite news , url = https://www.nytimes.com/1994/07/20/nyregion/twa-s-hub-is-declared-a-landmark.html?scp=8&sq=%22twa%20flight%20center%22&st=cse , work = New York Times , title = T.W.A's Hub is Declared a Landmark , date = July 1994 , author = David W. Dunlap {{Cite book , last = Bingham , first = Neil , title = 100 Years of Architectural Drawing: 1900-2000 , publisher = Laurence King , year = 2012 , page = 288 , location = London , chapter = 1974-2000 The Dextrous Architectural Drawing , isbn = 978-1780672724 {{cite book , last = Karatani , first = Kojin , title = Architecture as Metaphor , publisher=The MIT Press , year = 1995 , location = , pages = 246 , isbn = 9780262611138 {{cite news , last = Fehervari , first = Geza , publisher = Ahlan Wasahlan magazine , title = Revival in Islamic Architecture , date = September 1983 , edition = Vol. 7, no 6 , pages = 15–17 {{cite book , last = Utzon , first = J , title = Sydney Opera House Utzon design principles , publisher = Sydney Opera House Trust , year = 2002 , location = Sydney , pages = 20 , url = http://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/uploadedFiles/About_Us/The_Building/Content_AboutUs_UtzonDesignPrinciples.pdf , url-status = dead , archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090226042013/http://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/uploadedFiles/About_Us/The_Building/Content_AboutUs_UtzonDesignPrinciples.pdf , archive-date = 2009-02-26 {{Cite book , last = Fez-Barringten , first = Barie , title = Architecture: The Making of Metaphors , publisher = Cambridge Scholars Publishing , year = 2012 , location = Newcastle upon Tyne , isbn = 978-1-4438-3517-6 {{cite encyclopedia , encyclopedia= Encyclopædia Iranica , year= 1989 , article=Bahai temples , first = V. , last = Rafati , author2=Sahba, F. {{cite news , title = Un arquitecto árabe invierte más de un millón de euros en un centro cultural (Arab Architect Invests More than a Million Euros in Cultural Centre) , url = http://www.diariosur.es/malaga-capital/201410/07/arquitecto-arabe-invierte-millon-20141006212624.html Architecture Architectural styles 20th-century architectural styles 21st-century architectural styles Postmodern architecture Organic architecture Expressionist architecture