ABSTRACT
This chapter traces two interpretations of Michel Foucault’s concept of heterotopia in architecture through the interconnected writings of Manfredo Tafuri and George Teyssot between 1968 and 1980. Manfredo Tafuri’s interpretation of Foucault’s concept of heterotopia was based primarily on his reading of Foucault’s remarks on the concept in the preface to The Order of Things and on Tafuri’s interest in the general theme of language, critique and history. For Tafuri, the concept of heterotopia was related to Foucault’s reflections on the condition of language within the present historical situation, and Tafuri’s interest in it lay in his concern with the role of architectural language, in particular within the present historical situation of political struggles. The years between 1976 and 1980 were crucial years of debate in Venice, in which Tafuri was engaged in heated discussion with George Teyssot about the work of Foucault and the political implications of Foucault’s views about language and power.
