'Extreme Conditions' and their Impositions

I am not normally one to voice my opinion in the debate of modernism v. postmodernism as I often think what is most important about these two (any many other architectural movements) is to deeply understand it. Know its meaning, where it came from, the theory behind the decisions of design and most importantly its weaknesses. With this approach I have found that there are many different applications of theory in art and architecture depending on the context, client and culture. What I am going to do next is to write not-in-favor of postmodernism when thinking of the extreme conditions of the movement.

When thinking about the seemingly never-ending era of postmodernism in architecture I often think back to the previous movement we are coming from - modern architecture - and why we pushed so hard to escape it. Was it a trend? Can architecture be a trend or are we just making it one? Did we push it out because it wasn't fitting our needs or because we were not fitting into it? If it wasn't for Erza Pound screaming “Make it New” and the theory of historical recycling would we still be exploring form over function with the absence of subject? 

 

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I understand that postmodernism is giving the individual the freedom to reach reality but does the designer/architect have the right to ‘impose’ their reality on public space? I cannot say I believe that the designer has no right, but I do think there is a limit, or scale (subjective - objective). When design reaches and goes beyond that limit is when some part of the community/user/client-enhancing program is sacrificed for the form. The image is more important than the space, and that is where I draw the line with postmodern architecture, when it gets into the ‘extreme conditions’.

With modernism one may argue the same for the other end of the scale with neoplasticism. Yes, some things may be tacked on, for lack of a better word, to reach the designers' want for abstraction but it is not sacrificing the function by doing so. What would the Schröder House look like with today’s construction and building technology?