Architecture and Complexity

In an age when Rationalism, inherited from the 17th century, is being debated, criticized, and deemed overly simplistic, various disciplines have introduced a new way of thinking.

How does architecture address the complexity of reality?

The critique of Rationalism in architecture developed in the first part of this book allows us to move beyond all simplistic views regarding the city and architecture. Today, architecture cannot be conceived without the city, nor can the city be conceived without its inhabitants.

In the second part, the works of Louis Kahn, Luis Barragán, Henri Gaudin, Vittorio Gregotti, John Hejduk, Peter Eisenman, Bernard Tchumi, Christian de Portzamparc, and Renzo Piano exemplify how the idea of complexity is shaped in architecture. For those who still consider architecture a fruitful enigma.

Architect ALAIN FAREL is a lecturer at the École d’Architecture de Paris-Val-de-Seine.