Non@Cambridge

Theory is Dead?

Proposal
Non Arkaraprasertkul
SMArchS-HTC (MIT)

The debates between theory and its dialectical relationship with the design have influenced provocative thoughts of architecture throughout the decade. From the age of industrialization onward until the late 20th century, tension of modernity, rooted in rapid changes of the society, had inevitably tied architecture with theory. Without the existence of the idea of theory, one could not even speculate that theory has run its course. Theory allows people in that time the possibility to posit and intelligently discuss such propositions however untenable they may be. However, the turn of the century marked the significant conjunction of the thoughts. Several vanguard architects seek their way out of the theoretical regime by regarding design an autonomous role that intuitively grow from great minds of the designers, rather than taken theory as a point of departure for any further developmental process of design. The recent debates in an apparent decrement of the presence of architectural theory, raising an alternative approach by these enthusiastic young minds, have become very critical in the current architecture studies. Whether there is still a place of theory in schools of architecture, such MIT, and the influence of theory upon contemporary architectural practice is still an important topic for the profession, the question is on the basis of “is theory relevant for today’s architecture or it is an enemy of innovation?”

posted by Non@Cambridge @ 4:51 PM