H- Typology vs. Topological Space

1) Rafael Moneo, “On Typology”, Oppositions 14, MIT press, 1978, 22-45.

William

Is a discussion of type compatible with a topological worldview? The functionalist rejection of type seems more in keeping with the singular emergence of temporary stability, but type as a “framework within which change operates” meshes well Kwinter’s use of chreod. Can type exist dynamically?

Negin

• How Typology in architecture becomes a way of denying the past and a way of looking at the future as it mentioned in page 27? I think the meaning of Type and Typology are changed from past to now. right?

Rob-
On page 40, it is stated, “…perhaps at the very point when the idea of type became clearly articulated in architectural theory… that the reality of its existence, its traditional operation in history, became fully impossible?  Did not the historical awareness of the fact of type in architectural theory forever bar the unity of its practice… is not the theoretical recognition of a fact the symptom of its loss?”  It seems as if the author is saying that because we know that type exists, we can no longer utilize type.  This argument seems unclear.  Just because we know something exists and understand it should not mean that it becomes unusable.  It makes sense to think that old types no longer work due to “changes in technique and society” but could new types just be developed?  By the end of the last paragraph, it seems as if the author is really redefining type rather than saying it is just a thing of the past that can simply help us understand history.  I agree more with this approach.

Yuan

1. The property of uniqueness result in the attempt of architects to escape from type, but finally goes back to types because of the property of instrument. They never escaped from this topic. Since “type” is the way we think and the way we talk, why architects always try to stand opposite to it?

2. How to explain”In architecture objects allow us to speak about both the singleness and their shared feature” Does this relates to the Ashby’s diagram of overlapping system?

Yi

Typology seems to be a media to reflect both historical, cultural information and people’s living style, what is the key issue in architectural design to satisfy current need and also reflect historical background, as well as be flexible enough to respond to predictable future changes in nature or social structure?

When an architectural object is linked with a certain typology, there is always logic behind it. Today, with the digital aided design tool like the parametric design, it seems that sometimes the logic is generated by computer programs rather than reality or practice need? What are the criteria for evaluating architectural work in digital age?

2) Sanford Kwinter, “Landscapes of Change: Boccioni’s Stati d’animo as a General Theory of Models”, Assemblage, v.19, MIT Press, 1992.

William

When (how?) do we press “pause?” Static images, like Boccioni’s paintings, are capable of describing only a specific instant. How important is epigenetic history (past dynamic variations of control space) to understanding the current state? Are the conditions for formal actualization dependent only on instantaneous epigenetic state?

Rob-

1.      Could anything be considered absolute?  Or is everything just “structurally stable moments” (Page 59)?

2.      Catastrophe is an interesting word choice in this writing.  It is understandable once one thinks of it since small changes can result in dramatic results, but at first it seems like a very dramatic way of writing.

3.      Could the ideas presented here relate back to self-regulating systems?

Yi

How does the ambiguity of figure and field in Boccioni and other artists’ painting influent modern architecture design?How to reflect the dynamic factors of the buildings’ environment and context through the buildings’ form?