By the end of the 1980s post-modernism was exhausted. The architectural world of French-speaking (Western) Switzerland gained a new impetus from a young generation of designers who made a principle of their delight in abstraction and their sensitivity towards materiality. Although the architectural landscape of French-speaking Switzerland in this decade was extremely heterogeneous, certain trends can, nevertheless, be identified. These were compiled in 1998s in the slim guide La Romandie existe. Martin Steinmann made a not insignificant contribution to the development of this new tendency with his article «La forme forte» from 1991. It illustrates a turning point in his approach to architectural theory: he moved from semiology to phenomenology, inspired by Concrete Art and Minimal Art. As a result of Steinmann’s influence as a university teacher and theorist, minimalist tendencies became increasingly evident in the architecture of the decade.