diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index c4d88f1869de228cc78670820d28b7e6b5890b29..fbee9ee01356644753b548d96f227bca8d135342 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -49,11 +49,7 @@ if (NOT is_multi_config)
                 CACHE STRING "Choose the type of build." FORCE
                 )
     elseif (NOT CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE IN_LIST allowed_build_types)
-      message(WARNING "Unknown build type '${CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE}'. "
-        "Defaulting to '${default_build_type}'")
-      set(CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE "${default_build_type}"
-        CACHE STRING "Choose the type of build." FORCE
-        )
+      message(WARNING "Unknown build type '${CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE}'.")
     endif ()
 endif ()