The Terroir of the Covenant: Architectural Contracts as Cultural Manifestos

This article examines the divergent cultural ontologies of the architectural contract across four global regions—the United States, Switzerland, Japan, and China—and analyzes how these professional frameworks collided in the construction of the M+ Museum in Hong Kong. By contrasting the litigious defensiveness of the American model with the collaborative "mutual respect" of the Swiss tradition, the study posits that the building contract is not merely a legal tool but a primary architectural material that dictates the structural and ideological integrity of a project.