Restructuring Experience - Deconstructivism

The Architectural theory of Deconstructivism, as defined by Peter Eisenman, is a method of “deconstruction” in architecture and traditional forms (Eisenman, P. 1999). It was a movement emerging from the late 1980s to the early 1990s, aiming to challenge conventional understanding of spatial experience (Eisenman, P. 1999). Deconstructivist Architecture often adopts abstract forms and fragmentation to create a sense of displacement and uncertainty within space (Eisenman, P. 1999).

I decided to adopt a Deconstructivist approach when designing my Digital Archive Observatory as it held a lot of similarities in the way that deconstructivism is an exposure of conflict and a shift from Contemporary Architecture (Wigley, M. 1993). Likewise, the virtual world acts as a displacement of contemporary life, creating a new “spatial” experience that only exists within the virtual (Lamb J., Carvalho L., Gallagher M. 2022).

As Deconstructivism embraces a broad range of design strategies (Jencks, C. 1997) – I started to research how the nature of the Digital could act as a deconstructivist method of design. Peter Eisenman highlights the potential of Digitisation in architectural design – suggesting that the shift from analogue to digital has introduced a new level of depth within drawings and representation (Eisenman, P. 2004).

Unlike analogue drawings - which are direct channels of visual communication between viewer and architect, referred to as an “index” by Eisenman, it is proposes that digital architectural drawings have an underlying codex of information which is defined by rules and relationships between signs or icons (Eisenman, P. 2004).

This discovery of the codex has also introduced a new method of viewing space – Eisenman regards the codex as a path of new possibility in designing architecture, and that there is an opportunity to create spaces that move away from the conventional indexical way of seeing space (Eisenman, P. 2004). Eisenman believed that this new way of representation could offer forms of architecture that are more adaptable to the evolving needs of society – i.e., PostDigital Education (Eisenman, P. 2004) (Knox, J. 2020).