Rationalism

by James Steele

European Rationalism is founded upon an intellectual tradition which was born in classical philosophy, refined in the French Enlightenment, and survived intact until the Second World War, before it came to be severely threatened during the 1980s. In that consumer-oriented decade the rationalist, Cartesian defining statement 'Cogito Ergo Sum' - or 'I think, therefore, I am' - appeared finally to have been subsumed into situational ethics justified by 'if it feels (or looks) good, it can't be wrong'. Trust in reason rather than experience in the search for truth, so carefully channeled into architecture by the Abbe Laugier and JNL Durand during the Enlightenment and introduced into the Modern Movement through the Beaux-Arts system and modernist pioneers such as Le Corbusier, appeared to be too restrictive for post-war generations grown increasingly accustomed to hedonistic consumerism, instant gratification and visual and experiential sensationalism. Contemporary rationalists in the Benelux countries, Italy, Germany and northern Spain, where most of the movement's contemporary protagonists are concentrated, have begun to compromise to survive. The nature and extent of the compromise in each instance is a compelling theoretical micrometer, a way of measuring what these practitioners believe must remain immutable in the theory, and what is so significant in the winds of change that it must be adopted in order to perpetuate the basic philosophy.

The Luxembourg-born architect brothers Leon and Rob Krier, who are both high-profile leaders of the rationalist position and have done much to further its objectives, give a strong indication of what those immutable, bedrock principles are, particularly as related to the concept of typology and urban experience. In his book Urban Space, published in 1979, Rob Krier undertook the Herculean task of codifying all the perpetual urban conditions that he believes bear continuing, such as arcades, corners, courtyards, entrances and stairs; these he categorized, drawing all the common variations in the process. To understand the importance of such categorization to Kriers and all other contemporary rationalists, it is necessary to recall that typology as a fundamental principle of Rationalism was established through a critical historical escalation of ideas. Abbe Laugier, in his Essai sur l'architecture, published in 1753, speculated on the essential elements needed in the 'primitive hut'-such as roof, column, door and window-which can be seen as the tectonic equivalents to Descartes' primary, rational thesis. These were extended by Durand into historical period, function, and most importantly, form. Such categorization, promoted through Durand's teaching at the Ecole Polytechnique in Paris, was aimed at solving the formal problems presented to architects by new building types, new materials, and changing social needs.


Steele, James, ARCHITECTURE TODAY, Phaidon, London, 2001.