From sign to inscription

Abstract

This paper extends the author's work on inscriptions as a new theory of contemporary architecture. Using the concept of unary trait from Lacanian theory, the paper analyses two works of architecture. First, from the late 1970s, Peter Eisenman's project for the Cannaregio district of Venice is read as borrowing the form of the grid from Le Corbusier, enacting Lacan's unary trait. Eisenman's treatment of the grid is interpreted as evidence of poststructuralist thinking in architecture. Second, Atelier Deshaus's Riverside Passage in Shanghai is read as using the demolished fragments and existing retaining wall of a former coal storage wharf as architectural symptom. The architects' treatment of the wall and remnants from the demolition is, again, interpreted as evidence of poststructuralist thinking in recent architecture.