Even More Than Architecture, Richard Coyne

1. Coyne writes, “Tschumi reports that on their meeting, Derrida inquired of Tschumi why architects should be interested in his work since ‘deconstruction is anti-form, anti-hierarchy, anti-structure – the opposite of all that architecture stands for,” (185). What does architecture stand for? How can architecture be anti-form, anti-hierarchy, anti-structure? Why would an architect aim to do so? How does Tschumi do this?
2. “Here reading converges with design […] reading becomes active, synthetic, shared, and creative,” (Coyne, 187). What are examples of reading converging with design? What would a design be without reading within it’s process?
3. “Ethnographic study also encouraged participation by the researcher, getting involved, seeing what life is like from the point of view of the subject, and accepting that the presence of the researcher has an effect on the material under study,” (Coyne, 195). When does the design process of architecture become the process of user experience or user-centered design? How do these two differ? Is it important for the two to become one?

An ‘Artificial Science’ of Architecture, Philip Steadman

1. To study the architecture of ancient civilizations, we can only look at what remains of their buildings. What are the implications of this? Do these implications apply to Steadman’s proposition that more can be learned from the architect’s process of design by studying the artifacts directly?
2. “But as Herbet Simon points out, the distinguishing feature of all useful artifacts is that, because they are produced for human purposes, they ‘can be characterized in terms of functions, goals, adaptation’,” (Steadman, 48). How does this relate to biology?
3. “Bon was interested in such effects as architectural cases of allometry, the biological phenomenon  whereby organisms change their shapes as they grow larger, in order to preserve certain ratios essential to their physiological functioning. The ratio of surface to volume is important for example in warm blooded animals, since it affects heat loss or gain through the skin,” (Steadman, 38). This study seems valuable if we are concerned only with architecture as an example as allometry. Which fields of architecture would be most interested in these findings? Is it possible for people to live as simply as animals? If not, what gets in the way of this? Do these reasons ultimately prevent any future of structures becoming as simple as those made by animals? What are the consequences of this?