Functionalism Revisited: Architectural Theory and Practice and the Behavioral Sciences

A range of current approaches to architecture are neglected in our contemporary writings on professional writings. This book argues that the model of 'function' and the concept of a 'functional building' that we have inherited from the C20th Modernists is limited in scope and detracts from a full understanding of the purposes served by the built environment. It simply does not cover the range of functions that buildings can afford nor is it tied in a conceptually clear manner to architectural theory. Based on Abraham Maslow's theory of human motivations, and following on from Lang's widely-used text, 'Creating Architectural Theory: The Role of the Behavioural Sciences in Environmental Design', Lang and Moleski here propose a new a model which responds to numerous observations about the inadequacy of current ways of thinking about functionalism in architecture and urban design. Copiously illustrated, this book puts forward this new model of functionalism, and then discuss in detail each function of buildings and urban environments.