ABSTRACT
The architect faces two seemingly incompatible conditions upon starting a new project: the aspiration of creating new and original forms, and the assumption that the conception of those forms will be affected or influenced by previously assimilated images, forms, or ideas. Since the origins of humankind, these ostensibly conflicting interests have defined the evolution of architecture and the other arts, perhaps best summed up as an inevitable tension produced by the coexistence of the tradition of past forms and the search for original resolutions. The aim of this work is to examine the presence of type in the architectural project. While the concept of type has been a persistent presence in the architectural discourse, its role in the development of the architectural project has not been subjected to a comprehensive and exclusive analysis. My main contention is that “type,” like all kinds of preexisting images and forms, should be taken as foundational in most architectural projects, and understood in diverse and inventive ways.
