The double meanings inherent in the phenomenon both-and can involve metamorphosis as well as contradiction. I have described how the omni-directional… - Robert Venturi

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The double meanings inherent in the phenomenon both-and can involve metamorphosis as well as contradiction. I have described how the omni-directional spire of the tower of Christ Church, Spitalfields, evolves into a directional pavilion at its base, but a perceptual rather than a formal kind of change in meaning is possible. In equivocal relationships one contradictory meaning usually dominates another, but in complex compositions the relationship is not always constant. This is especially true as the observer moves through or around a building, and by extension through a city: at one moment one meaning can be perceived as dominant; at another moment a different meaning seems paramount.

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About Robert Venturi

Robert Charles Venturi (June 25, 1925 – September 18, 2018) was a Philadelphia-based architect who worked under Eero Saarinen and Louis Kahn before forming his own firm with John Rauch.

Also Known As

Birth Name: Robert Charles Venturi
Alternative Names: Robert Charles Venturi, Jr. Robert Charles Venturi Jr. Robert Venturi Jr.
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But architecture is necessarily complex and contradictory in its very inclusion of the traditional Vitruvian elements of commodity, firmness, and delight. And today the wants of program, structure, mechanical equipment, and expression, even in single buildings in simple contexts, are diverse and conflicting in ways previously unimaginable.

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