Representations and Misrepresentations: On Architectural Theory

A recent trend in architectural theory is the derivation of methodology from a poststructuralist critique of representation to illuminate the triangulation of architectural production, representation, and power. Using an exemplary text by Mark Wigley, the article questions whether this (or any) theoretical endeavor is exempt from the attractions to power that it strives to disclose. It considers a contradiction characterized by a theory's shift of attention away from architecture's multiple claims toward the production of theory itself, and it illuminates the consequences of theoretical endeavors that avoid contact with resistances put forth by nondiscursive architectural thought. Further, it posits an ethical dimension to theoretical work, arguing that theory has a responsibility to represent architecture if it intends to make substantive claims regarding the task and nature of the discipline.