De-constructivism

De-constructivism is a development of postmodern architecture that began in the late 1980s. It is characterized by ideas of fragmentation, an interest in manipulating ideas of a structure's surface or skin, non-rectilinear shapes which serve to distort and dislocate some of the elements of architecture, such as structure and envelope. The finished visual appearance of buildings that exhibit the many de-constructivist "styles" is characterized by a stimulating unpredictability and a controlled chaos.

De-constructivism features a lot of chopping up, layering, and fragmenting. Initially, the De-constructivist architects were influenced by the philosophy and ideas of French philosopher Jacques Derrida. The theory of deconstruction from Derrida's work argues that deconstruction "is not a style or 'attitude' but rather a mode of questioning through and about the technologies, formal devices, social institutions, and founding metaphors of representation.

In the 1970s, architects that embraced De-constructivism as they saw it as a means to assess the supposedly unifying and idealistic ways of the Modern movement, and sought to break apart the concept of classical order and space. In architecture, the use of deconstruction attempted to shift away from the restrictions of modernism which involved ideas of "purity of form" and "form follows function". "Purity of form" refers to "purism" which is actually a form of Cubism, another art movement that was brought upon by the French painter Amedee Ozenfant. Artists under purism were precise in their use of geometric form and interested in proportion that was pure. The "form follows function" is a principle stating that a form of architecture is designed for its purpose.

De-constructivism is about changing preconceptions and distorting the way we think of forms, there for generating an alternate points of view.