Theorizing a contradiction between form and function in architecture

Abstract

The contradiction between form and function should be seen as an important element in architecture. Modernist functionalism prioritized the necessity that form is seen as a consequence of function, adapting Louis Sullivan’s credo that “form follows function,” although Sullivan was not talking about the functional requirements of a building in relation to its form - he was talking about relationships in nature and the creative process. Nevertheless, architecture needs to be understood beyond the formula of “form follows function.” This is not to deny the importance of functionalism in architecture, or to deny that there is a necessary relation between form and function in architecture, but only to reveal that the contradiction between form and function also plays an important role in architecture.