Michał Żyła
Przestrzeń Urbanistyka Architektura, Volume 1/2019, 2019, pp. 87-98
https://doi.org/10.4467/00000000PUA.19.007.10010Postmodernism established the term ‘complexity’ as crucial for the twentieth century theory of architecture. Interdisciplinary complexity sciences developed independently throughout half of the century. The article tracks down relationships between the two, highlighting, among others, common genesis (Herbert A. Simon’s complex systems theory, adopted by Robert Venturi and Christopher Alexander) and theorists depending heavily on complexity sciences (eg. Lucien Kroll or Nikos Salingaros).
Michał Żyła
Housing Environment, 32/2020, 2020, pp. 24-33
https://doi.org/10.4467/25438700SM.20.024.12888The achievements of South American architecture of the early twenty-first century have put the architects of this continent at the forefront in the field of innovative and unorthodox design solutions. Many see the basics of new, socially sustainable design methods for the architecture of the future in the principle of incrementality. The purpose of the paper is to analyse the usefulness and universality of the central feature of some of the most appreciated incremental projects, which is the skilful introduction of informal processes (including participation) into a highly formalised and institutionalised design environment. To analyse the projects and their broad context, a conceptual apparatus was used, as applied in the theory of Postmodernism in architecture and art (especially the works of Christopher Alexander and George Dickie). It allows to highlight similarities and fundamental differences between architectural cultures and to take a step closer to answer the question of the possibility of imitating designs created in completely different cultures in the Polish and European context.