Architecture as the Built Form of Theory

Abstract

Three buildings are cited in this paper, which have become the materialized expressions of certain architectural theories; the Scröder House by Gerrit Rietveld, The Jubilee Church by Richard Meier and the Superlofts project by Marc Koehler Architects. The chosen exemplars belong to different instances in recent history -the former to the early twentieth, the second to the late twentieth and the last one to the twenty-first centuries- and they seem to reflect the state of mind and intention of their architects as well as the general spirit of the architectural milieus of their times. Understanding the buildings themselves and the theories behind them would provide an insight about how the theoretical discourse in the field of architecture has evolved in decades and how architects have responded to this evolution in regard to their contributions to architectural theory.