Representation
Representation
Definition
Representation names the relationship between a sign, image, or form and what it stands for — a foundational question in art history, semiotics, and architectural theory. Gombrich analyzed pictorial representation as a process of schema-and-correction, neither pure mimesis nor pure convention. In architecture, representation takes multiple forms: the building as symbol (the duck), the building as sign-carrier (the decorated shed), the plan as representation of spatial order, and the drawing as representation of the yet-unbuilt. The relationship between architectural representation and built reality is a persistent site of theoretical tension — from the Renaissance treatise to parametric script.
Key Thinkers
- E. H. Gombrich — Art and Illusion; the psychology of pictorial representation.
- Charles Sanders Peirce — the symbol as conventional representation.
- Robert Venturi — architecture as representation through denotative and connotative symbolism.
- Alan Colquhoun — typology and representation in architectural form.
Related Concepts
- perception — the interpretive process that makes representation meaningful.
- symbolism — conventionalized representation in architecture.
- semiotics — the study of sign systems and representation.
- typology — representation through formal precedent and type.
Source Support
Sources in the wiki that discuss this concept:
Open Questions
- How does digital modeling change architectural representation — from depiction to simulation?
- What is the relationship between typological representation and architectural autonomy?