Floating Mansions, Empirical Inquiry and the Appraisal of Architectural Theories
Jorge Mejia Hernandez (TU Delft - Situated Architecture)
Jasper Cepl (Bauhaus-Universität Weimar)
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Abstract
Taking Rafael Moneo’s introduction to Theoretical Anxiety and Design Strategies In the Work of Eight Contemporary Architects as a starting point, this editorial reflects on the appraisal of architectural theories. To support that reflection, the article uses Moneo’s distinction between reflection and critical discourse on the one hand, and on the other the desire to elaborate systematic theories of architecture. Together, the reasons that motivated the editorial process and key takeaways from the different articles published in this issue of Footprint, suggest that there is indeed use and value in appraising theories of architecture, especially in relation to each other. By comparing theories and their performance, important distinctions can be made. Among them, the article mentions the differences that exist between critical thinking and criticalism, or between theory and what Frederick Crews refers to as ‘theoricism.’
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