DECONSTRUCTING DECONSTRUCTION : A TRACE INTO THE WORKS OF BERNARD TSCHUMI

Abstract

Deconstruction in architecture has been subject to much debate and criticism in today’s context. Many have glanced past it as just a passing phase of architecture – a mere style trend. This was perhaps due to the exhibition held in the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, in 1988, curated by Mark Wigley and Philip Johnson, where they attempted to catagorised a group of seven architects under the label of “Deconstructivist Architecture” – which introduced “deconstructivism” into the architectural arena. Although, this exhibition shed positive light onto this “new” architecture, it brewed a wide spread misconception of what “deconstruction” really means. The following of such radical architecture portrayed in the exhibition was as shortlived as was its claim to fame. Today, the mere mention of the term “deconstructivism” entails a negative connotation and is quickly dismissed by many for being a style of the past, and even as anti-architecture. This paper is an investigation of what “deconstruction” really means both in philosophy and in the architectural realm. An in-depth study of the works of Bernard Tschumi – one of the architects “labeled” under the deconstructivist umbrella by MoMA – is discussed, focusing mainly on his take that deconstruction lies not in the formal expression but rather as a catalyst for the basis of his architectural strategies. This dissertation is aimed at criticizing the very critique against deconstructivism for its shortsightedness. In delving deeper into what lies behind what is regarded as ‘alien’ architecture, we are able to gain better insight into its workings. Debunking the criticisms, and ultimately, illustrating the potential in this approach to architecture that seems to be buried in the past.