Controlled Narratives: Authorship at the Centre Pompidou Part 1 Dissertation 2026 Gabriella Erica Chang Kurniawan Newcastle University | UK To speak, write, or name is to give form to the world around us as an act of classification that inscribes meaning.Controlled Narratives explores how architecture acquires its meaning not only through its physical form, but through the stories told about it. Taking the Centre Pompidou in Paris as its case study, this dissertation argues that representations - more often than not produced by those with institutional authority - shape public understanding of architecture before the building itself is physically encountered. This reflects Henri Lefebvre's spatial triad, which proposes that space is not solely constructed through material form. An acknowledgement of this theory demonstrates the significance of "infraordinary" acts, as described by Georges Perec, in shaping architectural meaning.Building from theories of space and authorship to the museum's role in shaping architectural meaning, the dissertation compares the Centre Pompidou's official and everyday writings. This analysis reveals how the legitimacy of architecture is established, contested through ordinary encounters, yet ultimately internalized as personal judgement.At its core, this dissertation challenges the conventional understanding of architectural authorship by questioning who has the power to define architecture. Architecture should not be viewed as a fixed object whose relevance is determined by institutions or idealized representations. Controlled Narratives serves as a reminder that all who encounter architecture - whether using it, writing about it, reading about it, or simply looking at it - participate alongside architects in producing the building's meaning. Architecture, therefore, remains continually authored through everyday experiences. Tutor(s) Toby Blackman Stella Mygdali