Chora

Definition

Chora is Plato's term in the Timaeus for a "third kind" of space — neither being (the intelligible) nor becoming (the sensible) but a receptacle, a "nurse of becoming" that is itself formless yet gives place to all forms. For Derrida, chora is a radical figure of spatiality that resists metaphysical opposition: it is "neither void nor absence." In architecture, chora gained prominence through Derrida's collaboration with Peter Eisenman on the unbuilt Chora L Works project for Parc de la Villette (1985–87). Eisenman sought to "embody" chora as the interplay of absence and presence, while Derrida resisted architecture's tendency toward totalizing form — the tension revealing the impossibility of giving chora a definitive built expression.

Key Thinkers

• Jacques Derrida — treated chora as a figure that disrupts the metaphysics of presence; resisted architecture's totalizing impulse.
• Plato — introduced chora in Timaeus as the "third kind" that receives all becoming.
• Peter Eisenman — the Chora L Works collaboration with Derrida; sought to embody chora architecturally.

Related Concepts

• Aporia — chora is a figure of the aporia inherent in spatial thinking: a space that is not a space.
• Deconstruction — chora became a key site for testing whether architecture can be genuinely deconstructive.

Source Support

Sources in the wiki that discuss this concept:

• Derrida for Architects — the Chora L Works collaboration and its tensions.