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Architectural discourse from the illustrated *French Dictionary of Architecture* (1856) by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc

Architectural theory is the act of thinking, discussing, or most importantly writing about architecture. Architectural theory is taught in most architecture schools and is practiced by the world's leading architects. Some forms that architecture theory takes are the lecture or dialogue, the treatise or book, and the paper project or competition entry. Architectural theory is often didactic, and theorists tend to stay close to or work from within schools. It has existed in some form since antiquity, and as publishing became more common, architectural theory gained an increased richness. Books, magazines, and journals published an unprecedented amount of works by architects and critics in the Twentieth century. As a result, styles and movements formed and dissolved much more quickly than the relatively enduring modes in earlier history. It is to be expected that the use of the internet will further the discourse on architecture in the Twenty first century.

History

Antiquity

There is little information or evidence about major architectural theory in the Antiquity, until the first century BC, with the work of Vitruvius. This does not mean, however, that such works didn't exist. Many works never survived Antiquity, and the burning of the Alexandria Library show us a very good example of this.

Vitruvius and "De Architectura"

See also Vitruvius

See also De architectura

(born ca. 80/70 BC?; died ca. 25 BC) was a Roman writer, architect and engineer, active in the 1st century BC. He was the most prominent architectural theorist in the Roman Empire known today, having written De architectura, known today as The Ten Books of Architecture, a treatise written of Latin and Greek on architecture, dedicated to the emperor Augustus. It is the only surviving major book on architecture from classical antiquity.

Probably written between 27 and 23 BC, it is the only contemporary source on classical architecture to have survived. Divided into ten sections or "books", it covers almost every aspect of Roman architecture, from town planning, materials, decorations, temples, water supplies, etc.

The famous orders of architecture that we can see in every classical architecture are rigorously defined in the books. It also gathers three fundamental laws that Architecture must obey, in order to be so considered: firmitas, utilitas, venustas: firmness, commodity (in the sense of functionality), and delight.

The rediscovery of Vitruvius' work had a profound influence on architects of the Renaissance, prompting the rise of the Renaissance style. Renaissance architects, such as Niccoli, Brunelleschi and Leon Battista Alberti, found in "De Architectura" their rationale for raising their branch of knowledge to a scientific discipline instead of an artisanal discipline.

Middle Ages

Throughout the Middle Ages, architectural knowledge was passed by transcription, word of mouth and technically in master builders' lodges.^[1]Due to the laborious nature of transcription, few examples of architectural theory were penned in this time period. Most works that from this period were theological, and were transcriptions of the bible, so the architectural theories were the notes on structures included therein. The Abbot Suger's Liber de rebus in administratione sua gestis, was the only architectural document that emerged with gothic architecture.

Renaissance

Enlightenment

Nineteenth century

A vibrant strain of Neoclassicism, inherited from Marc-Antoine Laugier's seminal Essai, provided the foundation for two generations of international activity around the core themes of classicism, primitivism and a "return to Nature."

Reaction against the dominance of neo-classical architecture came to the fore in the 1820s with Augustus Pugin providing a moral and theoretical basis for Gothic Revival architecture, and in the 1840s John Ruskin developed this ethos.

Towards the end of the century, there occured a blossoming of theoretical activity. In England, Ruskin's ideals underpinned the emergence of the Arts and Crafts movement exemplified by the writings of William Morris. This in turn formed the basis for Art Nouveau in the UK, exemplified by the work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, and influenced the Vienna Secession. On the Continent, the theories of Viollet-le-Duc and Gottfried Semper provided the springboard for enormous vitality of thought dedicated to architectural innovation and the renovation of the notion of style. Semper in particular developed an international following, in Germany, England, Switzerland, Austria, Bohemia, France, Italy and the United States. The generation born during the middle-third of the nineteenth century was largely enthralled with the opportunities presented by Semper's combination of a breathtaking historical scope and a methodological granularity. In contrast to more recent, and thus "modern," thematically self-organized theoretical activities, this generation did not coalesce into a "movement." They did, however, seem to converge on Semper's use of the concept of Realismus, and they are thus labelled proponents of architectural realism. Among the most active Architectural Realists were: Georg Heuser, Rudolf Redtenbacher, Constantin Lipsius, Hans Auer, Paul Sédille, Lawrence Harvey, Otto Wagner and Richard Streiter.

Twentieth century

Ebenezer Howard founded the garden city movement which formed communities in the Arts and Crafts style at Letchworth and Welwyn Garden City and popularised the style as domestic architecture. In Vienna, Adolf Loos wrote Ornament and Crime, and while his own style can be seen as part of the transition to Art Deco, his demand for "the elimination of ornament" joined "form follows function" as a principle of the modern architecture movement which came to dominate the 20th Century. Walter Gropius, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier provided the theoretical basis for the international style with aims of using industrialised architecture to reshape society. Frank Lloyd Wright, while modernist in rejecting historic revivalism, was idiosyncratic in his theory, which he conveyed in copious writing. Wright did not subscribe to the tenets of the International Style, but evolved what he hoped would be an American, in contrast to a European, progressive course. Wright's style, however, was highly personal, involving his private views of man and nature. He created no major "school" or theoretical movement. Wright was more poetic and firmly maintained the nineteenth century view of the creative artist as unique genius. This limited the relevance of his theoretical propositions. Towards the end of the century postmodern architecture reacted against the austerity of High Modern (International Style) principles, viewed as narrowly normative and doctrinaire.

Contemporary

In contemporary architectural discourse theory has become more concerned with its position within culture generally, which is why university courses on architecture theory may often spend just as much time discussing philosophy and cultural studies as buildings: this emerged with the notion - stemming from literary studies - that theory also entailed critique; and that architecture is a critical activity. This, however, then pushes architecture towards the notion of avant-gardism for its own sake - in many ways repeating the 19th century 'art for art's sake' outlook. Since 2000 this has materialised in architecture through concerns with the rapid rise of urbanism and globalization, but also a pragmatic understanding that the city can no longer be a homogenous totality. Interests in fragmentation and architecture as transient objects further such thinking (e.g. the concern for employing high technology). And yet this can also be tied into general concerns such as ecology, media, and economism.

Some architectural theorists

Historical

Modern

Postmodern

Contemporary

Notes

^ Evers, Theones p. 13

Bibliography

Evers,Bernd and Christoph Thoenes, et al (2003). Architectural Theory from the Renaissance to the Present. Taschen.
Vitruvius, Translation: Morris Hicky Morgan (1960). The Ten Books On Architecture. Dover Publications.
Kolb, David. Postmodern Sophistications. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990.

[1] Evers, Theones p. 13

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 ===Middle Ages===
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 Throughout the Middle Ages, architectural knowledge was passed by transcription, word of mouth and technically in master builders' lodges.<ref> Evers, Theones p. 13</ref>Due to the laborious nature of transcription, few examples of architectural theory were penned in this time period. Most works that from this period were theological, and were transcriptions of the bible, so the architectural theories were the notes on structures included therein. The [[Abbot Suger]]'s ''Liber de rebus in administratione sua gestis'', was the only architectural document that emerged with [[gothic architecture]].