The expertise of Architecture and its history

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.