THEORY OF ARCHITECTURE DECONSTRUCTIVISM POST MODERNISM PARAMETRIC DESIGN FUTURISTIC DESIGN CYBERTECTURE PRESENTED BY : KRISHNA JHAWARDECONSTRUCTIVISM Deconstructivism is an architectural style which contradicts the conventional methods of architecture to create a structure, which though aesthetically odd is functionally ‘equivalent to the buildings made by general methods.Find out more about this different and thought provoking method. INTRODUCTION Deconstructivism is a type of architectural style, which unlike conventional architecture, breaks all the rules of construction theory. Developed in late 1980's, deconstructivism was started by a group of architects known as the deconstructivists, ‘who were impressed and influenced by the thinking and principtes of French Philosopher Jacques Derrida, According to the deconstructivism style, a building is designed in parts. The architecture seems as if itis done in bits and pieces, in a haphazard manner, without any importance given to logic or architecture norms. A building constructed by deconstructivism style reflects discordant pieces joined together to form unrelated abstract forms Deconstructivism focuses on changing the conventional rectitinear tines of a normal architectural building into non-rectilinear lines, transforming the external features of the building into distorted shapes and fragmented features, DECONSTRUCTIVISM PHILOSOPHY Initially architecture had two main facets - modernism and post-modernism. These two schools of architectural thoughts ruled almost all form of architectural styles. However, deconstruction, which came later, followed an approach that held the ‘conventional architecture norms upside-down.geometrical shapes, complicating the exterior features and yet attaining the functional and structural characteristics needed by a building, ‘The Philosophy behind this architectural school of thought comes from the French Philosopher Jacques Derrida, who believed that architecture isa kind of language for ‘communication using the linguistic philosophy. According to Derrida, the contradicting ideas such as presence and absence, solid matter and void etc. also occurs in architecture; and just as a building can be constructed using the conventional laws of architecture, non-conventional methods or deconstruction can also be used in a building a functional structure. Deconstructivism is also affected by the architectural style of the Russian constructivism movement that started in the 20” century. Constructivism at this time also followed the same pattern of deconstructivism, which involved assembling abstract forms of irregular and disjointed geometrical shapes. However, constructivism did follow the ornamentation of buildings up to certain extent whereas deconstructivism staunchly refuted it EXAMPLES. Buildings such as Turning Torso in Malmo, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Spain, it’s Stata Center, and the Vitra Design Museum in Weil-am-Rhein are a few structures made from deconstructive architectural style.‘Many modern buildings are also being build by deconstructivism. Also, with the advancement in computer aided designing systems, planning and designing such buildings have become easy. 3-D designs and simulating the post construction effects have helped deconstructivism greatly. The present technological advancement has made designing buildings with such complex shapes extremely easy. ‘Thus, though unconventional is style and odd in laoks, deconstructivism has found its ‘own place in the world of architecture by building structures that are not only functionally and structurally stable but also unique and attractive.POSTMODERN ARCHITECTURE Postmodern: a challenge to (or rejection of) modern truth claims about language, culture, history, and identity, even truth itself; tolerance of contradictions; loss of faith in grand meta-narratives (stories) that try to explain origins, morality, ‘meaning, or destiny, ‘The modernist architectural aesthetic was based on the principle of “form follows function." Instead af designing a structure around some pre-existing meaning or form, the function of the building should have priority. As thase who worshiped in traditional {cross-shaped] churches were always reminded, worship is a matter of being gathered into his cross. The modernist approach to church design would first ascertain the practical functions the building needed to fulfil - accommodate a certain number of worshipers, classrooms for Sunday school, etc. ‘Those wito built the Pruitt-Igoe housing project in St. Louis designed a form to follow the function of solving the housing problems of the urban poor. Designed according to ‘every modernist principle, the praject proved unlivable. In 1972 the city dynamited Pruitt-Igoe, marking the end of modernism in architecture. Disilusioned with the modernist dogma that the present is always the best, architects and the public they serve rediscovered the value and beauty of the past. They started restoring old buildings. Whereas modern architecture is abstract, pastmadern architecture is referential. Modern buildings look typically drab in their concrete and steel, Postmodern high-rises often flaunt bright colors and rich decorative detail. The ‘ornamentation is flagrantly non-functional and often draws from past styles. A contemporary building may include Art Deco touches fram the 1920s or updated classical columns or simplified Victorian bric-a-brac. Postmodern architect Robert Venturi, author of Learning from Las Vegas, celebrates buildings that frankly cater to the whims and fancies of ordinary people (such as the gaudy luxury of Vegas hotels). He sees nothing wrong with buildings that are playful, funny, oF in conventionally bad taste,‘Much postmodernist architecture is like the New York City ATET building (Philip, Johnson, 1978). It pilfers various historical styles and works them into a pastiche (the characteristic post modernist form), void of coherence or meaning. The combination of discordant styles (modernism, baroque, classicism) isa sort of joke. By lifting these incompatible styles out of history and tacking them together, the styles lose their significance. History is reduced to a smorgasbord of styles, to be sampled according to ‘one's taste. The effect is to deconstruct style and relativize history. Some postmodernist architects have set about overtly deconstructing their own ‘designs, mocking both their forms and their functions. James Wine designed a series (of Best Stores that made people driving by do a double take. One of his stores in Milwaukee looked as if it were falling apart. The front wall was apparently peeled away in a pile of bricks, revealing shelves holding plastic replicas of lamps, toasters, and Barbie dolls. A customer would walk past this facade, past the plaster replicas, through the glass doors, and into the store with its shelves of real lamps, posters, and Barbies. With its fake rubble and gaping hole, the store was designed as a parody of itself, not so much a construction as a deconstruction. Contemporary architecture has a curious feature, the confusion of interiors and ‘exteriors. If you walk from the street into a new office building, the first thing you see inside may well be trees! Many buildings today include atriums complete with trees, nature paths, and bright sunlight. Just as the atrium brings the outside inside, many postmodernist buildings bring the inside outside. Structural framework such as beams and ventilation ducts may appear ‘on the surface. An extreme example is the Pompidou Center in Paris (1977). Support beams, tie-rods, and the plumbing appear to be on the outside of the building, painted in bright garish colors. An escalator snakes along the exterior of the building, Its as if the building were turned inside out. The effect is unsettling, like looking at a man but seeing only his insides - his lungs, blood vessels, and red guts. ‘What has been happening in architecture illustrates what has been happening throughout the arts and the culture since the collapse of modernism. The post modern rejection of absolutes, it’ triviality and relativism, and its penchant for self- gratification all undercut Christianity. The temptation fs to capitulate to the new mind-set rather than work to redeem it. But the postmodern age also has room for Christianity in ways that modernism did not. The postmodern openness to the past, its rejection of narrow rationalism, its insistence that art refers to meanings and context