Avant-garde and Arriere-garde

Avant-garde, by nature, is an idea that strongly facilitates the process of modernization. It is a liberative form, and often opposed to the ideas of the bourgeois culture. This type of architecture can nearly be defined by that of the Enlightenment, and is intrinsically progressive. This strong idea of liberation was further reinforced immediately following World War I, when science, medicine, and industry initiated the move toward urbanization. Frampton argues, however, that the avant-garde movement cannot be sustained in architecture because its utopian ideals have been replaced by rationality and reason.

Frampton continues that architecture can only be sustained and practiced today through an arriere-garde position. This is a view that both removes itself from the progressive ideals of the Enlightenment and resists the urge to return to pre-industrial architectural forms. More importantly, the arriere-gardist must not be solely committed to the advancement of technology. The result, he hypothesizes, is a culture with a strong sense of identity, that also maintains a connection with universal civilization.