The Cultural Explanation Of Postmodern Architecture

Postmodern architecture is one of the earliest areas of postmodern culture.As a modern western ideological movement of a great influence,postmodernism is not only a kind of culture thoughts,but also a way of thinking.This paper analyses the basic characteristics of postmodern architecture,compares postmodern architecture with modern architecture,and then clarify the logic and historical inevitability of the post modern architecture,and interpret the postmodern architectural art in the cultural scene..Postmodern is more than a time limit,it is a profound cultural change movement generally.Postmodernism,which conceived in modernity,is continued,critical and transcendent.The main reason for the end of modernity is the loss of the esthetic situation.The modernity in the process of development has shown various limitations continuously.In the art the post modernism concept appeared in the field of architecture firstly,so the architecture plays a part as a foregoer in the postmodern culture.In 1975,Charles Alexander Jencks used the word post modern for the first time,laid the foundation of the post modern architectural theory and generalize postmodern because of his outstanding researches.The postmodern is a concept which has vague connotation and distinctive features.It mainly shows features,like deconstruction of logosism,digestion center etc.In the field of architecture,the origin of the postmodern concept appeared in New York in1960 s.The historical tradition,social custom and self-demand are the main reasons for the rise of the postmodern architecture which was the inevitable result of continued modernism,and affirmed the superiority of modernism.The modernism pays much more attention on principle and rationality,but the postmodernist architecture lays emphasis on nonlinear and the anti rationality,and hegemonic governance is replaced by fragments,which embodies the multicultural principles.In comparison,less is more which means that the modernism sticks to metanarrative and totality,less is bore which means that the postmodernism sums up diversification.Postmodern architecture is vague and uncertainty.It is a mixture,which unfolds subject concept through different cultural codes.The postmodern architecture is not only professional,but also popular;it is based on the new technology and the old style to emphasis on double-codes,including the elite and the mass,the traditional and the modern.Postmodern architecture takes the double-codes as a design standard that contains the traditional culture and the contemporary character,the individuality and the generality.The postmodern architecture manifest itself in affinity because it absorbs the humanity value of the original buildings.It changes architecture from a cold building into the space filled with the milk of human kindness,the isolation of society and nature into the dialogue between them.The pursuit of the uncertainty,non–totality is afundamental character of modern architecture that the specific performance is heterogenity and unrepresentable,and also the inevitable result of breaking the boundaries.The postmodern architecture is highly humanized which is different from the metanarrative in any sense.It is changeable and rejects abstraction.Postmodernism integrates the historical tradition and daily life into the aesthetic consciousness.On the other hand,the aesthetic is transferred from the non-utilitarian and non-utility to the form of consumption.Postmodern aesthetics is not only a kind of critical power,but also a kind of liberation force.In the aesthetic of the daily life,postmodern architecture is changing from living machines into emotional communication which embodies the eliminating distance and flowing percept,from consummate function into organic construction which embodies the return of the decoration and the joint space and time.Related to this,postmodern architecture is a kind of aesthetics interest in commodity economy times,having entertained,ironic and humorous character with pop art and mass culture.As a consumer goods,the postmodern architecture is superficial and perceptual characters.In short,postmodern architecture is chainless,naive,simple and multicultural.The appearance of architecture is not only influenced by function,but by the natural environment,the specific area and the historical context.At the same time,it also advocates interaction of the outer and inner space.The most prominent feature of postmodern architecture is the spirit of doubt and criticism,the rebel spirit of non or anti existing value,as well as its unique expression of irony and game.Obviously,postmodern architecture has limitations in technolatry and nihilism.Architecture chases the construction of the human dimension and liberal ideals,therefore,future architecture should emphasize the language function,meaning's transmission and the combination of industrial technology and aesthetic.