question tres

3. what is Frampton's critique of Venturi (and Scott-Brown)? do you agree?

I think Frampton's critique of Venturi stems essentially from Frampton's earlier diagnosis of the Avant-Garde and its lack of critical substance, coherence, and consistency. The post-modern architect, against which Frampton rails, is directly embodied by Venturi - who Framton claims to be "reactionary". In this sense then, I agree - Venturi simply observes the state of society, reformulates it into an architectual idea, and expounds upon it. Architecture is art, art is a commodity, and architecture is a commodity. However, i feel that Frampton's embrace of "Critical Regionalism" is no less manipulative and reactionary than Venturi's free-wheeling brand of post-modernism - infact, it is a sub-movement. Frampton's labels are too flimsy and general to be taken seriously; his views, too two-dimensional. Architecture today is being pushed back and forth, as well as in every direction away and towards the center point (0,0), the status quo, of placelessness and meaninglessness. Framton's "Arrie-Garde" IS the avant-garde - as is Venturi's post-modernism as is deconstructionism. In this sense then, while Framton's critique is true, it is ONLY completely true within the logical and linguistic framework that he has set up.

Is meaning determined by place? or the individual experiences of people on which architecture has only a very limited effect?