Figure of Knowledge : Conditioning Architectural Theory, 1960s-1990s

It is a major challenge to write the history of post-WWII architectural theory without boiling it down to a few defining paradigms. An impressive anthologising effort during the 1990s charted architectural theory mostly via the various theoretical frameworks employed, such as critical theory, critical regionalism, deconstructivism, and pragmatism.

Yet the intellectual contours of what constitutes architectural theory have been constantly in flux. It is therefore paramount to ask what kind of knowledge has become important in the recent history of architectural theory and how the resulting figure of knowledge sets the conditions for the actual arguments made.

The contributions in this volume focus on institutional, geographical, rhetorical, and other conditioning factors. They thus screen the unspoken rules of engagement that postwar architectural theory ascribed to.

Contributors: Matthew Allen (University of Toronto), Karen Burns (University of Melbourne), Ole W. Fischer (University of Utah), Philip Goad (University of Melbourne), Hilde Heynen (KU Leuven), Rajesh Heynickx (KU Leuven), Paul Holmquist (Louisiana State University), Sandra Kaji-O'Grady (University of Queensland), Peter Lang (Royal Institute of Art, Stockholm), André Loeckx (KU Leuven), Sebastiaan Loosen (KU Leuven), Louis Martin (Université du Québec à Montréal), Joan Ockman (University of Pennsylvania), Carmen Popescu (ENSAB, Rennes), Ricardo Ruivo (Architectural Association, London), Andrew Toland (University of Technology Sydney).

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Sebastiaan Loosen obtained his PhD in Architectural Theory at KU Leuven, Department of Architecture.

Rajesh Heynickx is professor of Intellectual History at KU Leuven, Department of Architecture.

Hilde Heynen is professor of Architectural Theory at KU Leuven, Department of Architecture, and former President of the European Architectural History Network.