Transgression in the Architectures of After-Modernity : A Paradigm at Work in Times of Crises

Abstract

Transgressive acts in architecture as responses to today’s ecological, political, economic, and social crises.

In architecture, transgressive acts have always been a reality, in spite of rules and canons that have defined the discipline and its extended field. However, in recent decades, their frequency and radicality have surged from rather random, marginal and/or idiosyncratic phenomena. While their sudden rise can be explained as a reaction to the compulsive normativity of modernity, the deeper roots are to be sought elsewhere: the recent waves of transgressiveness are intimately linked to the hypercrisis affecting our world today – spanning ecological, political, economic, and social dimensions, and catalysing fundamental mutations and disorders. Some of these transgressive acts are motivated by a desire to dismantle a malfunctioning system, but more often than not breaking the rules has become an inherent survival tactic amid urgent social challenges. In our era of after-modernity, transgression emerges not just as an act of defiance, but reveals a new paradigm at work – a critical framework for reimagining the built environment, challenging established orders, and advocating for the rights of marginalised populations. Drawing on a rich array of theoretical insights and empirical case studies from multiple countries, this volume provides a unique, forward-looking perspective on transgressive acts in architecture as responses to today’s ecological, political, economic, and social crises.