Construing reconstruction : the Barcelona Pavilion and Nelson Goodman's aesthetic philosophy

Abstract

This thesis explores Mies van der Rohe's Barcelona Pavilion through the lens of Nelson Goodman's philosophical categories of the autographic and the allographic in order to determine what constitutes the building's identity. The Pavilion was originally designed as a temporary structure for the 1929 International Exposition in Barcelona and rebuilt in 1986 as a permanent building. The reconstruction of this iconic building provokes a complex questioning about the identity of the Barcelona Pavilion in particular and of any architectural work in general. Goodman's notions are unique criteria to deal with issues of identity and authenticity in architecture. The autographic identifies a category of works that cannot be replicated, i.e., every difference between a work and even its closest copy makes a difference to the work's identity. In contrast, the allographic identifies a category of works that can be replicated, i.e., the difference between an original and its duplication is irrelevant to the work's identity. By examining the Barcelona Pavilion through the lens of these notions, this thesis shows that Mies's building is a hybrid case in which the autographic and the allographic criteria are inextricably linked.

(cont.) To consider the 1986 Pavilion simply as a copy does not completely define its identity status; conversely, to conclude that they are two instances of the same work or that they are two different buildings is not accurate, either. This case illustrates the complexity that arises when trying to establish what constitutes the identity of an architectural work in general and, at the same time, allows us to reconsider Goodman's statements regarding architecture.