The Neo-Modern Architecture
Neo-Modern Architecture and How it Differs From Post-Modern Architecture
Neo-modernism, as a philosophical and an architectural current, evolved as a critical response to postmodernism. The postmodern movement described by Agnes Heller as “neither conservative, nor revolutionary, nor progressive”. Instead of “excessive pluralism”, postodernism promoted a return to formal orderliness and designing by rules. At the same time, neo-modernism adopted some premises resulting from postmodernist criticism of the modern movement. Neo-modern according to Jenk’s was born in 1977, when Peter Einsemen publish his writing entitled Post-Functionalism in a journal entitled Opposition. This movement was born because the Deconstrutivism, an idea initiated by Jacques Derrida, where it is seen as a distinctive strategy in philosophical and literary approaches. Deconstructivism tends to refutes prior intellectual, linguistic, and literary regulations by questioning the basic structure on which they were founded.
The difference between Neo-Modern and Post-Modern is the use of the architecture language to construct the architecture. Post-Modern architecture tends to cultivate the outer shell by using the ornamentation elements of the past style in order to construct the architecture; by create meaning of the building based on semantic language. The use of the ornamentation elements often make it seem to be unimportant; with the play of element giving many ‘signs’ here and there the resulting architecture seems meaningless. Meanwhile, Neo-Modern refers more to space and questions the nature of what architecture is like, not displaying ornamentation but tectonics in buildings. In order to construct the architecture, the Neo-Modern architecture use the language of architecture to deconstruct the architecture itself and create new meaning based on the result of decosntructionl; to put it simple, it deconstruct the element to know and identify the nature of the element and re-assembly it to create new meaning.
Neo-Modern Architecture and How it Differs From Post-Modern Architecture
There is a significant different in the use of architecture language between Post-Modern and Neo-Modern architecture. From the previous explanation, it can be seen that the way and the purpose of architecture language use to construct an architecture is different. There is three approach resulted in the Neo-Modern architecture, there is: Logocentrism — where the presence of structure (structure means the network of relations that man perceives after observing reality and the law that govern these relations) involves a center. This “center” (sometimes called the “transcendental signified”) is an absolute, self-contained entity. According to this relation, the center can be changed to a margin and vice versa. This process is explained by using the term “supplement”, which involves supplementing and substituting. The second approach is Phonocentrism — where writing is become a phenomenon that they centralized the meaning (the signified) and marginalized the signifier; writing was considered inferior to speech. In this perspective, Derrida (1967) says: “Writing, the letter, the sensible inscription, has always been considered by Western tradition as the body and matter external to the spirit, to breath, to speech, and to the logos” (Derrida, 1967). Derrida attempted to deconstruct phonocentrism using the concept of ‘différance. Différance is a French word that was coined by Derrida and merges the French word “differ”, which means deferment, with the word “difference”, which means distinction. This concept is perhaps the most important and the most controversial of deconstruction. Derrida wanted to dismantle phonocentrism by asserting the importance of writing and the role it plays in clarifying the meaning of a word and increasing the effectiveness of the written word in philosophy and fiction. In addition, Derrida attempted to prove that the meaning of a word is realized through the distinction of two signifiers. The last is The centrality of language — where According to Saussure (2002), a sign is the unification of a sound image, the signifier, with a concept, the signified. The meaning of the word, the referent, is an arbitrary link between the signifier and the signified. Deconstruction attempts to dismantle the concept of sign and to refute the pair signifier/signified that is rooted in the Western metaphysical tradition. The concept that presumes the presence of a relation between the signifier and the significant ceases to exist. In contrast, the sign is deconstructed.
Personal Take to Neo-Modern Architecture
From my point of view, the Neo-Modern Architecture is an interesting movement and it create a new essential approach in viewing the architecture. This new way of viewing architecture could help us to have a better understanding about the architecture itself, but at some point it would lead us to the confusion when ‘dive’ into this way of designing. I can say that it is for sure worth to try thought.
Reference
Hoteit, A. (2015). Deconstructivism: Translation from philosophy to architecture. Canadian Social Science, 11(7), 117–129.
Ciarkowski, B. (2016). Non-modern modernity? Neomodern architecture. Art Inquiry, (18), 87–97.