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Archi tectureforLi fe
AsgerJorn
Potlatch#15(22December1954)
TranslatedbyGerardoDens
WearepublishinginthisissuevariousexcerptsfromAsgerJorn'sbook"Image
andForm,"whichconcernsarchitectureanditsfuture,anissuethatwehave
repeatedlyraisedinthesepages.(Seeparticularly"NextPlanet"inissue#4
and"Skyscrapersbytheroots"inissue#5ofPotlatch).
WehavetranslatedtherecentItalianeditionsenttousbyAsgerJorn,itselfa
translationfromDanish.
Utilityandfunctionwillalwaysbethestartingpointforanyformalcriticismitis
simplyaquestionoftransformingFunctionalism'sprogram.
...Functionalistsignorethepsychologicalfunctionof
surroundings...Theappearancesofthebuildingsandofthe
objectsthatweuseandthatformourenvironmenthaveafunction
thatisseparatefromtheirpracticaluse.
...becauseoftheirconceptsofstandardization,Functionalist
Rationalistsbelievedthatitwaspossibletoattainideal,definitive
formsofthedifferentobjectsusefultopeople.Developmentsto
datehaveshownthatthisstaticconceptionwasmistaken.We
mustarriveatadynamicconceptionofforms,wemustfacethe
factthatallhumanformsareinaconstantstateoftransformation
wheretheRationalistswentwrongwasinnotunderstandingthat
theonlywayofavoidingtheanarchyofchangeistobecome
awareofthelawsgoverningtransformationandtoputthemto
use.
...Itisimportanttounderstandthatthisconservatismofformsis
thoroughlyillogicalbecauseitisnottheresultofnotknowingwhat
anobject'sdefinitiveformis,butratherofthefactthatpeopleare
upsetwhentheydonotfindsomeelementofdejavuinan
unfamiliarphenomenon...Theradicalismofformsisaresultof
thefactthatpeoplearesaddenedwhentheydonotfindsome
unexpectedelementintheknown.Onemightfindthisradicalism
illogical,asdotheadvocatesofstandardization,butwemustnot
losesightofthefactthatdiscoveryisonlymadepossiblebythis
needofman's.
Architectureisalwaystheultimateachievementofintellectualand
artisticevolution,thematerializationofaneconomicstage.
Architectureisthefinalpointintheachievementofanyartistic
endeavorbecausethecreationofarchitectureimpliesthe
constructionofanenvironmentandtheestablishmentofawayof
life.