Architectural Research Quarterly

Table of Contents - 2009 - Volume 13, Issue 01  

Cambridge Journals Online - CUP Full-Text Page
Architectural Research Quarterly (2009), 13:49-58 Cambridge University Press
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009
doi:10.1017/S1359135509990091

theory

Kuhn on architectural style

David Wanga1

a1 Professor of Architecture, Washington State University Spokane, PO Box 1495, Spokane, Washington 99210, USA davidwang@wsu.edu
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wang d [Google Scholar]

By any measure Thomas Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions is a landmark in recent influential ideas. The very term ‘paradigm shift’, now common parlance, derives from this 1962 work. Structure redirected its own domain, the philosophy of science, from a logical positivist orientation in its evaluation of scientific progress to one that accommodates a complex mix of sociological, linguistic and psychological factors. Perhaps because of this interdisciplinary inclusiveness, Kuhn's insights have informed theory in many disciplines. A survey of the recent literature includes works in anthropology, comparative literature, criminal justice, art history, education and feminist studies.

David Wang is professor of architecture at the Interdisciplinary Design Institute of Washington State University Spokane. He teaches theory and research methods courses in the graduate design programmes housed at the Institute (DDes, MS.Arch, MLA, MID, M.Arch).