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The Space of the Surface

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  • Jean La Marche

    (Department of Architecture, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14214, USA)

Abstract

In this paper I examine how notions of the surface are being reconstituted in architectural theory and practice. Specifically, I contrast how modernist-influenced theory treated surfaces with how some architectural theorists today are beginning to think about them. Whereas modernist theory saw surfaces as dedicated to the expression of interior volume, recent interactive technologies such as ‘smart walls’ mean that surfaces no longer are fixed but can, instead, be changed in ways that are beyond the control of the architects who designed the structures of which they are a part. This means that surfaces are much less predictable and much more subject to transformation by individual users than in the past. Such a technological revolution, I argue, is ‘de-authorizing’ architecture as it is understood in conventional, professional, and disciplinary terms, and is bringing about new conceptions of time and space in architectural practice.

Suggested Citation

  • Jean La Marche, 2001. "The Space of the Surface," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 33(12), pages 2205-2218, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:33:y:2001:i:12:p:2205-2218
    DOI: 10.1068/a33188
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