Authors

Lesnevska Radoslava V.
TOWARDS THE CONCEPT OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN ENVIRONMENT AS PERFORMING ARTS

Architecton: Proceedings of Higher Education №2 (50) June, 2015

The article reviews the concept of architecture and urban environment as performing arts. The term ‘performance’ is considered through its relationship with show, theatricality and postmodernist visual culture. The ways of using performance in architectural and urban planning theory are identified. Criticisms of the concept of performance (show) as commercialisation of architecture in visual business are commented on. Performing architecture is regarded to be part of the context of postmodernism. Following a broad review of different aspects of performance, the author identifies its originS in both architectural and planning practice and raises the question of equivalence of comparisons between city and theatre and city and show (performance). Analysis of their usage suggests a distinction between the two concepts: a city as a show (city as a performance) and a city as a theatre. The richness of meanings of theatricality as performing practice is reviewed. The author concludes that though the performing architecture destroys architectural traditions, it presents a way of restoring unity between architecture and culture. By means of performing architecture, the communicative dimension of architectural creativity is revived and popularized.