Temporal Flows

It is as a direct descendent of nineteenth-century historicist thought that architecture is still seen to traverse time along a linear course that both guides the orientation and momentum of its history progressively towards the present whilst also, via inverse lines of chronological trajectory, exp...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Basson, Steve
Other Authors: Andrew Ballantyne
Format: Book Chapter
Published: Routledge 2012
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/22359
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author Basson, Steve
author2 Andrew Ballantyne
author_facet Andrew Ballantyne
Basson, Steve
author_sort Basson, Steve
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description It is as a direct descendent of nineteenth-century historicist thought that architecture is still seen to traverse time along a linear course that both guides the orientation and momentum of its history progressively towards the present whilst also, via inverse lines of chronological trajectory, exposing the contents of its past to the comprehension and experiences of the present. In particular, these flows of temporal advancement and return enable us to conceive of architecture as a continuous and accessible subject of historical knowledge. Thus we can speak chronologically of recurrence and coherence; of heritage and exemplification; and of architecture's trans-historical properties of meaning, value and purpose. But to what extent do these metahistorical conventions portray architecture's actual conditions of chronological being, or fully describe the more complex, transitory and fragmentary interactions of time, built form and human space? And to what degree do these temporal flows of tradition comprise no innocent or positive dynamic of chronological transmission and immersion, but a ruthless instrument of subjugation for maintaining an illusory, fetishistic and conceited ideal of architecture by denial of all that is contextual and everyday to the historical possibilities of built and lived space? The following discussion will consider these questions critically around the concept of flows. Historiography, and how to rethink our understanding of the temporal subject of architecture.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-223592023-02-02T07:57:39Z Temporal Flows Basson, Steve Andrew Ballantyne Chris L. Smith It is as a direct descendent of nineteenth-century historicist thought that architecture is still seen to traverse time along a linear course that both guides the orientation and momentum of its history progressively towards the present whilst also, via inverse lines of chronological trajectory, exposing the contents of its past to the comprehension and experiences of the present. In particular, these flows of temporal advancement and return enable us to conceive of architecture as a continuous and accessible subject of historical knowledge. Thus we can speak chronologically of recurrence and coherence; of heritage and exemplification; and of architecture's trans-historical properties of meaning, value and purpose. But to what extent do these metahistorical conventions portray architecture's actual conditions of chronological being, or fully describe the more complex, transitory and fragmentary interactions of time, built form and human space? And to what degree do these temporal flows of tradition comprise no innocent or positive dynamic of chronological transmission and immersion, but a ruthless instrument of subjugation for maintaining an illusory, fetishistic and conceited ideal of architecture by denial of all that is contextual and everyday to the historical possibilities of built and lived space? The following discussion will consider these questions critically around the concept of flows. Historiography, and how to rethink our understanding of the temporal subject of architecture. 2012 Book Chapter http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/22359 Routledge restricted
spellingShingle Basson, Steve
Temporal Flows
title Temporal Flows
title_full Temporal Flows
title_fullStr Temporal Flows
title_full_unstemmed Temporal Flows
title_short Temporal Flows
title_sort temporal flows
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/22359