Architectural Record: In 2004, you highlighted theoretical questions facing architecture in a much discussed essay, “Criticality and its Discontents,” for Harvard Design Magazine. You pointed out how earlier theoretical investigations, under such rubrics as structuralism, poststructuralism, and deconstruction were being questioned. What was the problem with high theory of the 1970s, 80s and 90s?
That was a time when studies in areas such as psychology, literature, and feminism got refracted through the lens of architectural theory. But it eventually led to an impatience with dwelling on critical and theoretical concerns—as opposed to considerations having to do with architectural practice. I feared that the new generation’s emphasis on pragmatic, open-ended architectural concerns could lead to a certain amorality in outlook.
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