Sunday, February 15, 2009

Death Cube "K"

Vidler's Warped Space explores modernism in Architecture through sociological, psychological and aesthetic means. Vidler establishes the underlying connection between the human psyche and architecture. This realm seems to be the most potent due to its ability to lend itself to ambiguity, metamorphosis and "pseudo self-diagnosis". It is also fitting that Vidler references Franz Kafka's work.
The notion that architecture has come to a point of cracking the code of modernism leads one to believe that a new architecture is on the rise. To me, Morphosis seems to be on the leading edge of the architectural wave(at this point). They have appeared to have identified the difference between "Modernity" and "Modernism". The question is, what type of architecture does this leave use with? Is it purely psychological architecture, or "Psycho-Architecture"? Or is it just paradoxically sound architecture, which sounds good on paper but looks and feels like crap. What I think this leads to is an architectural theory that proposes the reevaluation and reconstitution of the visual and agreed upon psychological definitions of an architectural era, as a result giving rise to a new form of architecture built on "firm ground".
Vidler states, "few architects have sought to revise the structures of the fundamental building blocks of modernism-the office building, the apartment house, and their ancillary functions". I find this statement to be very true. Although I do not think it is the fault of the architects, because by the time you become an architect its too late. It is the responsibility of the professors to keep the momentum of architectural exploration going, to always challenge the young arch-students. Dead architecture doesn't challenge, it posses. It takes over like rigormortis . Architecture of the past may be close to the answer, but we all know it isn't something you can ever get completely right.

1 comment:

  1. Why do you draw the distinction between psychological architecture and sound architecture? What do you mean by both of the terms, and can you elaborate?

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