Architecture (minus context and purpose)

 

 Critical architecture can be summed up as the intentional suspension of normative concepts and practice for a more abstracted and experimental approach to form, or “pure architecture”. I loved the intimate connection to philosophy at the time, specifically Foucault’s philosophy of language. It was much easier for me to understand the goals of critical architecture by comparing it to the boundaries created in language that inevitably dictate thought and action. The only way to truly create anything new, is to completely strip it of cultural and historical context. 

    I had some qualms with the use of the word “pure” because it suggests the possibility of reaching architecture that is untouched by both outside influences and the subjective experiences of the architect. I feel like true objectivity in any field is impossible. The post-critical approach addresses this by leaving space for program and context to creep into design. So the design process can strive for “purity” but does not rigidly reject the outside world which seems more realistic to me.