In the current economic crisis potentially expensive experimental proposals may be overlooked in favour of buildable, cost-effective ones, as tested methodologies are safer bets. But why would a member of a commissioning body resist supporting a project if cost is not a concern?

Prince Charles was recently involved in halting Richard Rogers’ scheme for Chelsea Barracks by directly contacting the Qatari royal family (the owners of the site) to lobby for an alternate Classical proposal by Quinlan Terry. Prince Charles’ architectural taste appears to privilege how well the style of the proposal relates to the style of the surrounding area, rather than how the scheme relates strategically to its surroundings. Here taste enters the design debate when the origins of an architectural form do not appear to be superficially justifiable. In this case, the very factor that can challenge the Prince’s position is what he has taken issue with—that is context. Not whether a proposal relates to its context, but rather how it is relating… more

For Immanuel Kant, taste is both personal and beyond reasoning. Perhaps this explains Kant’s culinary desires which include peas, turnips, cod, caviar and Göttingen sausages. Through the careful assemblage of ingredients, an individual is able to satisfy their unique palette.

Cooking, much like architecture finds its form through building. Both professions draw upon a plethora of raw materials to assemble their basic elements into entities that evolve and endure in the form of memorable temperatures, textures and tastes.

Given the similarities between architecture and the culinary arts, could taste be the next frontier to be explored by architects? Beyond appealing to a consumer’s visual sensibilities, companies such as Ikea are branding their retail spaces through the creation of unique scents as a means of cementing their identity, perhaps taste is next in line as a novel purveyor of atmospheric potential.