THEORY AND PRACTICE IN ARCHITECTURE

This article is part of a theoretical research that aims to analyze and discuss the concepts of theory and practice within the discipline of architecture. The objective is to introduce and clarify these terms, and decipher the interrelation between them, following the definitions given by Vitruvius, Gregotti, Purini, Marti Aris and others. By so doing, we will analyze the current condition of theory and practice in architecture. Here, theory is considered as a phase which must precede the construction activity and its final result is the building itself. Thus, architectural theory is expressed through the project – as an instrument for the creation of architectural form and the intersection between theory and practice – and even more so, through the methods and techniques which are necessary for the development of the project. The research presented in this article is focused on the study of historic, pre-modern and modern architectural works, whose construction process was preceded by a project that was a product of the intellectual formation of the architect. The result of this research is an analysis of the interplay of theory and practice in architecture, by defining the inspiring sources for developing individual languages, capable of creating theoretical references which formulate the principles of the architectural project as a field where theory and practice are intersected. In support of this, we will bring into discussion specific architectural works, relevant for the construction of the identity of the city space and architecture itself.