Reading the architectural discourse: Peter Eisenman texts

The architectural thought is realized through the theoretical essays, buildings and projects. The lingual faculty of man is central to his thinking. Language is a vehicle of thoughts, making man able to think and convey his thoughts by lingual signs. Through the past few decades, the attempts to read architectural objects, the same way one can speak a language have not been quite successful, for the architectural object's not including an articulated sign system as the spoken language does. For this characteristic of the architectural sign, it is known to be accompanied by a well articulated sign system that constitute essays, project reports, etc. which are also referents of the architectural thought. The main question of this work is about whether architectural thought can be read. And it has been hypnotized that, it can be done through the texts written on architecture. In the quest to read architectural discourse, the theory of signs and the position of architecture that resides in it have been discussed. The theory which is on the counter part of the possibility of a sign system has also been discussed. These discussions have made possible the definition of what reading is. Then, the reading models (narrative analysis models) have been examined and Greimas' actantial model has been used to read the chosen architectural texts. Architect Peter Eisenman's essays printed on periodicals have been chosen as samples for the analysis process. The actantial model provides a tool for determining the conceptual oppositions that seem to be central to the meaning that lies beneath those texts. This model also gives answers to the questions in an architectural text like "what the writer thinks is lacking in today's architectural theory; what should be achieved to overcome that absence; what should be aimed; what makes it possible and what restricts it". Once those conceptual oppositions are isolated, it has been concluded that it could be possible to criticize the architectural thought that is revealed in the text. Keywords: Architectural discourse, architectural thought, conceptual opposition, critics, difference, narrative analysis, opposition, reading, text, architectural text, writing.