Decoding the designer identities of architects: Peter Zumthor and Kengo Kuma

The personal creation motive that emerges in line with the knowledge accumulated by the person over the years is the designer identity. While this identity is reflected on the work created, it allows the work to be unique and distinguished from others. In this context, literature information is given about the basic design elements that make up the design, basic design criteria and Gestalt principles that help in visual perception. The aim of this thesis is to reveal the designer identity of Peter Zumthor and Kengo Kuma, who have an important role in the architectural profession and are pioneering architects in their field, to question and compare their design ideas. The sample group belonging to the architects and formed by purposive sampling method was analyzed according to the architectural project data and the analysis model in the book Precedents in Architecture. As a result of the studies, the architects' design creation criteria and designer identities were revealed. In line with the results obtained, the similarities of the two architects and the aesthetic perspectives that differentiate them from each other were evaluated comparatively. In the conclusion section, all analyses are evaluated and the importance of the thesis for future studies is given.