Deconstructivism

Deconstructivism, also called Deconstruction, is a new school of thought in architecture which draws its philosophical bases from the literary movement Deconstruction. It name also derives from the Russian Constructivism movement of the 1920's from which it drew some of its formal inspirations.

It is a contemporary style that primarily counters the ordered rationality of Modern Architecture. The underpinnings of this movement include ideas of fragmentation, non-linear processes of design, non-Euclidean geometry, negating polarities such as structure and envelope, and so on. The final visual appearance of buildings in this style are characterised by a stimulating unpredictability and a controlled chaos. However, critics of Deconstruction see it as a purely formal exercise with little social significance.

Some prominent architects who practise in this mode are

• Peter Eisenman
• Frank Gehry
• Bernard Tshumi
• Rem Koolhaas
• Daniel Libeskind
• Zaha Hadid