HISTORY AND THEORY OF ARCHITECTURE

FOUR MORAL PIECES

Adrian Labaut Hernandez
“The notion of the perfect whole, the ultimate solution in which all good things coexist, seems to me not merely unobtainable--that is a truism--but
conceptually incoherent. ......Some among the great goods cannot live together. That is a conceptual truth. We are doomed to choose, and every
choice may entail an irreparable loss.”

Isaiah Berlin, The Proper Study of Mankind

Salvador Dali, Paranoid Critical Method
James Stirling, Queen’s College, St. Clements, Peter Eisenman, FIN d’OU T HOU S, 1983 Carlo Scarpa, the Brion Cementery, Constant , New Babylon Nord, 1959
Oxford, England, 1966-1971 San Vito d’Altivole, Treviso, 1978
Peter Behrens, German Pavilion at the International Exhibition of Modern Friedrich Nietzsche, “Thus Spoke Zarathustra: a Book for all and
Decorative Arts in Turin, Italy, 1902. none”, 1883; Cover by Peter Behrens.
Raoul Heinrichs Francé, “Plants as inventors”, Stuttgart, 1920 Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe, Farnsworth House, Plano, Illinois, USA,
Amédée Ozenfant, Paul Dermée and Charles-Édouard Jeanneret: “L’Esprit Nouveau”, Guillaume Apollinaire: “L’esprit nouveau et les poètes”, 1918.
1920.
Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (Le Corbusier): Pavillon de l’Esprit Nouveau, Paris, France, 1924.
Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe, Seagram Building, New York, USA, 1958. James Corner Field Operations and Diller Scofidio + Renfro, High Line, New York, 2004-2009.
“But certainly for the present age, which prefers the sign to the thing signified, the copy to the original, representation to reality, the
appearance to the essence... illusion only is sacred, truth profane. Nay, sacredness is held to be enhanced in proportion as truth
decreases and illusion increases, so that the highest degree of illusion comes to the highest degree of sacredness”

Feuerbach, Preface to the second edition of The Essence of

Christianity
 Pa l a c e o f t h e S ov i e t s , B o r i s I o f a n , S ov i e t U n i o n , 1 9 3 1 .

“It is hard to accept the fact that they will actually erect that odd thing which recently has flooded all of the journals.”
Le Corbusier writing to Viktor Vesnin.
S h i g e r u B a n , C a rd b o a rd C a t h e d r a l , N e w Z e a l a n d , 2 0 1 3 .
“There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about,
and that is not being talked about.”

Oscar Wilde
D a n i e l L i b e s k i n d , Ro m e F i l m Fe s t i v a l , O c t o b e r 2 3 , 2 0 1 6
 CONTENT I M AG E

O M A , Tr è s G r a n d e B i b l i o t h è q u e, Pa r i s , Fr a n c e, 1 9 8 9 B I G A rc h i t e c t s , Th e S p i r a l , N e w Yo r k , Fr a n c e, U S A , 2 0 1 6
S a n t i a g o C a l a t r av a , O c u l u s , Wo r l d Tr a d e C e n t e r Tr a n s p o r t a t i o n H u b n , N e w Yo r k , U S A , 2 0 1 6 .

“ E ve r y t h i n g t h a t l o o k s g o o d i s g o o d , a n d w h a t e ve r t h a t i s g o o d w i l l l o o k g o o d . ”
 Abstract Spatiality Practical Spatiality

H o u s e I V, Pe t e r E i s e n m a n , Fa l l s Vi l l a g e, C o n n e c t i c u t , 1 9 7 1 B r u d e r K l a u s F i e l d C h a p e l , Pe t e r Z u m t h o r, M e c h e r n i c h ,
G e r m a ny, 2 0 0 7
Photograhpy by Hélène Binet.
RADICAL
This term used to refer to
paradigm shifts and other
important changes in think-
ing and practice that contrib-
uted to human progress. But
today, it is associated with
‘extreme.’
NEW
Advertising and media hype
have used this word to death.
ORIGINAL
Today, it continues in the
guise of architectural pop-
ulism and social realism,
where low art, such as squat-
ter architecture, is elevated
to high, and presented as
avant-garde.
PRINCIPLES
Today, principles only get in
the way of architects who
want to do as they are told
by their clients, or be free to
adopt new styles and modes.
PROGRESS
Considered a hopelessly
old-fashioned idea, progress
means that things get better,
that they somehow advance,
reach a higher level.
EXPERIMENTAL
There is little architecture,
or design, that truly experi-
ments, that is, plays with the
unknown.
CRITICAL
This word has two meanings
for architecture, both of
which have to do with time.
There are critical moments
in architecture, when pro-
found ideas are at stake,
and the outcome of debates
about them will impact the
future of architectural
ideals and practices.
At present, there are no
great debates on which
the course of architectural
thinking seems to hinge.
And no ideals.
HOUSING
This word refers to large-
scale developments, usually
sponsored by governments,
that provide living units
massed into large building
groups.
GENIUS
Like the word ‘new,’ genius
appears to have lost its
meaning. If everyone will
be famous for fifteen min-
utes, then everyone will be
a genius for about the same
period of time.
FUTURE
Once upon a time, the fu-
ture was where wondrous
and terrible things were
going to happen, where the
present would be trans-
formed, for better or worse,
and in a sense reach frui-
tion. Perhaps the future has
become just another place
we already know, or hope we
know.
 A r ch i t e c t u r e w i t h o u t “ a r ch i t e c t s ”

A re d e m p t i o n f r o m c e r t a i n u s e l e s s j u s t i f i c a t i o n s a n d c o n c ep t s t h a t f i l l t h e
p re s e n t . N e w A rc h i t e c t u re m u s t b e a l i b e r a t i o n f r o m f a s h i o n , a n d t h e l i b e r a t i o n a t
t h e s a m e t i m e o f f r o m t h e A rc h i t e c t s t h e m s e l ve s w h o c a n n o t - o r d o n t w a n t t o -
get rid from it.
A c o u n t e r- w ave, a re t u r n t o t h e s u b s t a n t i a l q u a l i t i e s o f a rc h i t e c t u re, a n d a n
opposition against the simplification and trivialization of it.
A body of matter filled with meaning.
 A r ch i t e c t u r e i s a p r o c e s s w i t h o u t o p p o s i t i o n s a n d c o n s u l t a t i o n s . Th e i d e a o f a s -
s u m i n g t h a t a c o m m i s s i o n o r c o o p e r a t i ve w i l l d e c i d e t h r o u g h a p r o c e s s o f
i n t e rc h a n g e a n d d i s c u s s i o n i t t o t a l l y a b s u rd , a n d s u p p o s e s a u n n e c e s s a r y c o n -
tamination and disturbance in achieving the complete solution.

A r ch i t e c t u r e g r o w s f r o m c o m p e t i t i o n .

E a c h A r ch i t e c t u r e p r o j e c t n e e d s t o c o n t r i b u t e t o t h e c r i t i c a l n a t u re o f t h e
d i s c i p l i n e, a n d ex p a n d i t t h r o u g h i t s v a l u e.

Th e p r o c e s s o f c re a t i o n o f A r ch i t e c t u r e s h o u l d n e ve r b e g u i d e d b y p o l i t i c a l o r
f o rc e s t e r m s a n d i t s h o u l d a l w a y s c o n t r i b u t e t o t h e t h e o r y a n d t h e p r a c t i c e a t t h e
s a m e t i m e.