Robin Evans in 1978: between social space and visual projection

Author: Zhu, Jianfei

Source: The Journal of Architecture, Volume 16, Number 2, April 2011 , pp. 267-290(24)

Publisher: Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group

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Abstract:

Robin Evans' writings have attracted a growing interest amongst architectural scholars worldwide. Reasons for such a fascination may include an analytical depth in his work and a radical shift in his research focus from social issues (such as morality and power relationships in prisons and housing) to formal concerns (design, creation and projection). This article provides a general description of this evolution, and focuses on a central moment in this history, an essay published in 1978, 'Figures, Doors and Passages'. By observing the essay closely, it aims to explore Evans' methods of observation at that time and, by implication, before and after. The research focuses on two aspects of the essay: a structural analysis of the plan and a synthetic use of diverse types of materials. While a 'syntactical' approach is identified in the first, an unexplained use of photographs (and photograph-like perspectives) of built form is found in the second. It is proposed that Evans was employing not a duality of plans and narrative paintings as claimed but a tripartite framework of plans, narrative paintings and photographic illustrations, the third being a critical window onto forms and vision. It reveals a centrality of 1978 not only chronologically but also methodologically in Evans' evolving analyses of social space and visual projection.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13602365.2011.570104

Affiliations: 1: Faculty of Architecture, Building & Planning, The University of Melbourne, Australia

Publication date: 2011-04-01

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