This is the second part of a major theoretical work by Patrik Schumacher; which outlines how the discipline of architecture should be understood as its own distinct system of communication. Autopoeisis comes from the Greek and means literally self-production; it was first adopted in biology in the 1970s to describe the essential characteristics of life as a circular self-organizing system and has since been transposed into a theory of social systems. This new approach offers architecture an arsenal of general comparative concepts. It allows architecture to be understood as a distinct discipline; which can be analyzed in elaborate detail while at the same time offering insightful comparisons with other subject areas; such as art; science and political discourse. On the basis of such comparisons the book insists on the necessity of disciplinary autonomy and argues for a sharp demarcation of design from both art and engineering. Schumacher accordingly argues controversially that design as a discipline has its own sui generis intelligence – with its own internal logic; reach and limitations. Whereas the first volume provides the theoretical groundwork for Schumacher’s ideas – focusing on architecture as an autopoeitic system; with its own theory; history; medium and its unique societal function – the second volume addresses the specific; contemporary challenges and tasks that architecture faces. It formulates these tasks; looking specifically at how architecture is seeking to organize and articulate the complexity of post-fordist network society. The volume explicitly addresses how current architecture can upgrade its design methodology in the face of an increasingly demanding task environment; characterized by both complexity and novelty. Architecture’s specific role within contemporary society is explained and its relationship to politics is clarified. Finally; the new; global style of Parametricism is introduced and theoretically grounded.
#4646489 in eBooks 2008-05-19 2008-05-19File Name: B007XSCXGG
Review
