Exploring the Possibilites of Form

Exploring the Possibilites of Form



The theory of dispersal comes to fruition in House X. Where in previous
houses Eisenman worked with the object as a signifier, this project attempts to
operate under the philosophy that the only understandable aspects of the house are
a “system of differences” experienced directly by its participants but simultaneously
almost impossible to decipher. This reinforces the philosophy that the building is
an indeterminate system in constant flux, stopped at one moment in its evolution.
Roalind Krauss states about House X,
One encounters [dispersal] within the room with transparent floors and
ceilings and opaque walls…The space in which the viewer finds himself
is, then, one whose perspectives run vertically and diagonally through
the system of the house rather than horizontally…the occupant is
forced to view the space as a linked set of opposing terms, to
encounter the “room” less as an entity than as one part of a system of
differences.”
With the end of the House series came Eisenman’s first opportunities to apply
the theories he had developed throughout the building downturn of the 1970’s to
larger scale projects. In 1980 he established a professional practice in New York,
Eisenman Architects, to focus exclusively on building.Critics questioned whether
Eisenman’s approach, which essentially ignored program and context, could work on
a larger scale. In Philip Johnson’s book Five Architects, Philip Johnson posed the
question of Peter Eisenman, ‘What would he do in a large building?” To answer
this question, one must jump ahead to Ohio State University’s Wexner Center for the
Visual Arts.
For Wexner Center, Eisenman incorporated both old and new theories into its
design, bringing issues of the diagram as generator, the grid, trace, and dispersal
with him from past projects to bring about a displacement, but also considering new
aspects such as context and program. R.E. Somol provides an explanation as to why
Eisenman would do an about face from his previous stance regarding program and
context.


references: Eisenman, Peter. House of Cards. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987