Rules and the production of built space: an investigation on compliant nomotropism

State-enforced norms regarding the production of built space play a central role in determining architectural and urban quality. When addressing to this issue, researchers concentrate on social, historical, political and technical aspects of architectural regulations, but their role is not often investigated in morphological terms. This research concentrates on two normative case studies regarding the assessment of the ‘quantity of buildable space’, which are extrapolated from Italian laws and local regulations and tested using the architectural project as a heuristic tool to understand their effects on architectural design. Two questions are addressed: (1) how can a rule have effects, such as hinder or promote specific (architectural) forms without addressing them directly, and (2) what are the mechanisms that allow these effects to take place? The study argues that building regulations, even in apparently neutral aspects, such as the definition of indexes, can result in perverse effects, namely effects that are neither intended nor planned, and that can encourage or hamper specific forms. It concludes with the assertion that regulations regarding architecture should be subject to a deep analysis to envisage possible distortions, using the design process as a method of assessment, in order to understand whether their influence on design choices can or not be acceptable or desirable.