An argument through buildings
Robert Venturi’s Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture was published by the Museum of Modern Art in 1966. Much of it was written in 1962 with support from the Graham Foundation. It became an influential challenge to architectural purism. The book marks a turning point in American architecture and architectural theory, and is seen as a postmodern response to modernist purism. It demonstrated an approach to understanding architectural composition and complexity, and the resulting richness and interest.
Examples and applications
Venturi examines vernacular buildings alongside work by architects including Michelangelo, Alvar Aalto, Frank Furness and Edwin Lutyens. His argument concerns how contrasting parts and competing requirements can form a whole. Examples from his own built and unbuilt projects connect the analysis with design practice. The book cited vernacular and high-style sources to draw new lessons from familiar and forgotten architects. It made a case for “the difficult whole” instead of diagrammatic forms. It ends with twelve of Venturi’s own designs, including the Vanna Venturi House and Guild House, to illustrate his theories.
How to read it
Read the book with its illustrations in view. Select a comparison and test how much of the argument the buildings themselves support. The range of examples is a strength for close study, but a memorable phrase should not replace the compositional analysis. The book is especially useful when approached as an invitation to look again at architectural relationships that an initial preference for simplicity might overlook.
