The presence of the past : an investigation into the application of history in architecture after postmodernism

Abstract

This thesis is the partial result of an attempt to reach a basis upon which design decisions can be made where they concern history in architecture. It deals broadly with the Modern and Postmodern movements and what has become known as the body of eclectic sentiment. It does not try to codify into a set of hard and fast rules any principles about when and how to apply certain theoretical dogmas but, rather, tries to find a method of discovering how to formulate a design or philosophical stance, with regard to a specific project, to which the architect can ethically adhere. As a test case, my exploration included the design of the J. Hobart Bell Memorial School of Architecture and Resident College at The University of Virginia. This project, juxtaposed with one of the greatest eclectic (historicist) works in our hemisphere, provides an opportunity to examine some modern ideas concerning history in architecture in relation to one that has influenced U.S. architecture for over 150 years.