“Deconstruction: In architecture deconstruction is a more disruptive element within a postmodern zeitgeist. Architectural postmodernism often enacts a nostalgic reinvestment of meaning through the inclusion of historicizing references such as classical columns and ornamentation. Deconstructive architecture, on the other hand, seeks a deregulation of architectural meaning and function. Bernard Tschumi’s structures at the Parc de la Villette in Paris do away with the great synthesis of modern architecture: form follows function. Their playful uselessness is a travesty of the functionalist paradigm. See SEMIOTICS.”
Excerpted from: Diamond, David G. The Bulfinch Pocket Dictionary of Art Terms. Boston: Little Brown, 1992.
