Deciphering The Built Language: Complexity and Contradictions in the Built Works of Robert Venturi and Peter Eisenman

Abstract

Architecture is unique in a way as it combines concept/idea with experience, use, and physicality. This very interweaving of hybrid concepts introduces complexity and contradiction in architecture. However, the negative connotation associated with these terms and the tension it exerts has resulted in their elimination in architecture. Robert Venturi in 1966 highlights that every domain has cognized complexity and contradiction, except architecture. The concept of which is present since the time of Vitruvius but not acknowledged. The paper thus brings to light Peter Eisenman’s theory with the writings of Robert Venturi, arguing that Eisenman’s architecture theory also establishes a critical exploration of the theme of complexity and contradiction. Both Peter Eisenman and Robert Venturi fit the bill as they were at the center of an era that reads, questions, and reshapes the conventional interpretations, and were embroiled in the dilemma of dissolving modernism in their own style. The aim of such an organization is twofold: on one hand, to interpret both the architect’s work through the lens of complexity and contradiction, and on the other, to bring in different perspectives and approaches to have an interesting mix. The paper aims at re-establishing the emphasis on the role of architecture to be expressive given the theme of complexity and contradiction.