ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the notion of the performative in architecture. It looks how the changing of form is related to the discussions about the performative, and it also traces the reasons for the increased interest in notions. The chapter shows that the performative, apart from the technical specifications of the building, refers to these three major aspects of a building: the effect of a building, the process of its making, and the event taking place within it. It examines the notion of performativity within architecture, and, in particular, its relation to the notion of form, and the current debates dissolving it. The performative is a theme broadly discussed in the field of philosophy, linguistics and cultural studies but has also been introduced in various other disciplines as well. The theorist on feminism and cultural studies, Judith Butler, examined the performative as the 'stylised repetition of acts through time' that define the identity of a gender.
