Buildings are created anywhere on the earth. The created buildings form a relation with the place and people, whom can experience this relation. In the past each place had its characteristic buildings, but currently the world becomes overwhelmed with more uniformed buildings. Is this the beginning of losing architecture related to the place identity? No, searching for the identity problem and find a solution for this problem can stop the uniformed buildings. This graduation project focuses on the relation between architecture and the experience of the place identity.

In the first part of the graduation project a theoretical essay has been made about the identification aspect. Due to the theory, this identification aspect is related to natural environment, because the natural elements are the primary components of the given. If the natural environment is the way of finding the place identity, people are the one to experience this identity. But how do people experience the relation between the place and the built environment? These questions led to the research question of the essay: “In what way(s) is the natural environment decisive for how people identify themselves with a place?” The research question consists of two phenomenological theoretical parts. The first theory is about the knowledge how people experience architecture, and the second theory is about the relation between architecture and the place. These theories are based on architectural theorists Juhani Pallasmaa and Christian Norberg-Schulz. Finally, the theory is analysed on three case studies, which formed an analytic method for understanding the natural place and led to conclusions about the place identity. Also the design question was introduced: “How can a research institute at Norra Djurgården ensure that the user can identify itself with the place?”