Diagrammi in azione: sinapsi performative e tassonomia critica delle operazioni grafiche in BIG

Cristiana Bartolomei; Caterina Vignoli

doi:10.26375/disegno.18.2026.10

Authors

Cristiana Bartolomei Department of Architecture, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4555-845X
Caterina Vignoli Department of Architecture, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna https://orcid.org/0009-0000-7285-2390

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26375/disegno.18.2026.10

Keywords:

diagram, architectural representation, performative synapse, design storytelling, taxonomy

Abstract

This contribution proposes a critical reading of Bjarke Ingels Group’s diagrams as hybrid devices, which are simultaneously operational, narrative, and communicative. Starting from the theme of the σύναψη, the performative synapse is defined not as a general metaphor, but as an analytical model capable of describing the transition from heterogeneous conditions –context, program, constraints, data, and intentions– to verifiable graphic and spatial transformations. The article distinguishes between representation, drawing, and diagram, problematizing the rhetoric with which BIG presents its own processes and proposing a taxonomy of recurring diagrammatic operations: single gesture, negotiation sequence, and programmatic loop. The cases of The Twist, VIA 57 West, and Villa GUG are reinterpreted through a grid that identifies input, operator, transformation, function, and limits of evidence. What emerges is a notion of the diagram that is reducible neither to pure formal generation nor to simple illustration, but is rather positioned within an intermediate field where drawing builds connections, makes decisions legible, and organizes design knowledge.

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