| Abstract: | In recent years, the increasingly diminished structure and role of architecture in society has seemed to represent, at least in part, the failure of modern thought to sustain a sufficiently robust conceptualization of cultural phenomena in general, and architecture in particular. This article addresses two fundamental questions: (1) what is the nature of this theoretical cul-de-sac in which architecture now finds itself? and (2) is there a way forward that will resuscitate the stature and mission of architecture? The first question is addressed through the analysis of how the exclusively “subjectivist” philosophical tradition of modern thought has led to an impoverished understanding of architecture. The second question leads to the suggestion that a truly “culturalist” perspective would serve to sustain a more responsible and powerful role for architecture. |
