100 words, two quotes and some notes | iii. age of projective

I am thankful that modernism, post-modernism, post-functionalism and other -isms have paved the way toward a more pragmatic/projective/participative approach. By providing us with examples of what a very rigid framework can lead to when realized in the built world, the old theorists have shown us why all this preoccupation with an exact theoretical position can sometimes be boring and beside the point. I’d rather see buildings get built that work well and deliver performance, than see architects write books formulating some idealized absolutist pseudo-intellectual stance that then leads to unfulfilling buildings on subjective (experiential) and objective (performative) levels.

As my friend Yage reminds me occasionally, “Simplify your life”.

[possibly by cutting out the bullsh*t and unnecessary noise; also by not overthinking as is the case with this blog entry]

“A projective architecture does not make a claim for expertise outside the field of architecture nor, does it limit its field of expertise to an absolute definition of architecture.”

"One might characterize the shift from critical to projective modes of disciplinarity as a process of cooling down or, [...] of moving from a "hot" to a "cool" version of the discipline. [...] While cooling suggests a process of mixing, the hot resists through distinction, and connotes the overly difficult, belabored, worked, complicated. Cool is relaxed, easy."

- Somol and Whiting, Notes around the Doppler Effect and other Moods of Modernism

__________

Note to myself, or an ironically absolutist-simplistic view of my reaction to the themes explored this week:

Bad (but good because they make us realize the potential of the alternative):
absolutist, simplistic, post-functionalist, autonomous, indexical, critical and methodical; hot representation
Good:
emergent, projective, diagrammatic, atmospheric, participative, pragmatic, propositional, interpretive, speculative and transformative; cool performance

It was also interesting to note how Eisenman's work was interpreted as post-critical in one reading and yet inextricably linked to the critical project in the other reading, only affirming my belief that all theoretical problems in architecture, much like in philosophy, are but problems of semantics (as Wittgenstein would say) - in part due to the vagueness of human language and the incoherence arising from partial truths.

Projective Process (Alvenaria Social Housing Competition Entry / fala atelier)

Building as Performance (The Shed at Hudson Yards / Diller Scofidio + Renfro)

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