ABSTRACT
This chapter includes some conversations that the author had with Bernard Tschumi concerning architecture’s modes of representation and their relation to the mutations of architecture’s epistemology. Among the issues that were discussed are: the role of the “combinatoire” in the case of Tschumi’s entry to the competition for the Parc de La Villette, Tschumi’s Le Fresnoy (the National Studio for Contemporary Arts) (1991–1997), and the relation of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s approach with Tschumi’s understanding of architecture. Particular emphasis is placed on Tschumi’s conception of the “concept-form”, on the role of clarity in the work of Mies van der Rohe and Tschumi, the impact of Bernhard Hoesli’s pedagogy on Tschumi’s approach, and the emphasis on the process, which is a meeting point between Tschumi’s way of thinking architecture and conceptual art. Another aspect that is discussed is the connection between Henri Lefebvre’s theory and Tschumi’s approach, paying special attention to the distinction between the conceptual, the perceived and the experienced in Tschumi’s work.
