The Mental Life of the Architectural Historian: Re-opening the Early Historiography of Modern Architecture

Starting with the question concerning the discursive formation of architectural history, the chapters compiled in this manuscript attempt to re-read the historiography of the early modern architecture from the point of view of the theoretical work produced since the post-war era. Central to the objectives of the implied differentiation are the ways in which architectural history differs from the traditions of art history, and that the text works its autonomy through theoretical representation, its discursive flow is interrupted by the historian's urge to support his/her argument with references to buildings, texts, drawings, and events that are historical. The historians discussed in this volume are the regulars addressed by most critics who revisit modern architectural history. The idea of dedicating chapters to N. Pevsner, H.R. Hitchcoc, and S. Giedion respectively, entails an economy of selection that is formative for a critical understanding of the canon established by these historians. Discussing themes such as periodization, autonomy, and time, the coda of the final chapter expands the scope of 'critical historiography' popularised by Kenneth Frampton and Manfredo Tafuri.