What architects do with philosophy: Three case studies of the late-twentieth century

Abstract

Why do architects seek out philosophy, and how do they do so? <br />An enormous variety of replies to this question have emerged throughout architecture and philosophy’s long history together, especially during the late-twentieth century when their interactions reached the most prolific, intense, radical, innovative, and transformative moment yet. This article analyzes three famous case studies from this period of philosophers’ thinking that influenced architects’ work: Martin Heidegger’s role in several of Kenneth Frampton’s texts, Michel Foucault’s discreet yet ineludible presence in a Rem Koolhaas design, and Jacques Derrida’s collaboration with Peter Eisenman. With their distinct approaches, aims, and outputs, each instance offers unique insights into the immense potentials, as well as the chronic problems, of the relationship between architecture and philosophy, which remains deeply ingrained in both design practice and theoretical discourse to this day.