Abstract:
Many historical architectural constructions have been recorded and studied, but not all have been
theorised. There seems to be a disconnection at several levels between the discourses of architectural
history and the history of architectural ideas. The assumption that empirical description of implicit
acts of design automatically results in theory also neglects the formative and contextualising role
played by ideas, knowledge and interpretation in creative acts of architectural embodiment. Further,
both Architectural History and the history of Architectural Ideas seem to be disconnected in the
present given the dual dominance of the scientific and the moral–ecological paradigms. This split
condition results in the view that theory can only be induced into architectural history from the
present, thereby overlooking adjacent histories of ideas and intellectual currents available at the
time of making. As temporal displacement and the theoretical reinvention of history increasingly
overrule continuity, tradition and translation, architectural knowledge loses sight of its intrinsic
transformations. This special edition of SAJAH examines the dialogue between architectural history
and the history of architectural ideas.
