Archè and Anarchè
On the Prehistory of Architectural Police
Why has architecture been called architecture? Why the need to create a practice that would put archè at its core? Answering this question requires a long historical detour in order to understand the links existing between government, construction, philosophy, cosmology and the human need for ground - for what Martin Heidegger once called "Grund".
In this talk, then, the emergence of architecture as a practice will be directly linked with the emergence of the city as a place of power whose existence requires a definition of the world that fits its needs. It is this antique definition that contemporary architecture, to a large extent, continues to implement - with the most dramatic effects. What is this definition? Precisely the one of the world as architectonic - as based on archè, grounds, foundations, principles to be obeyed. What, then, would be an anarchic practice of architecture - a practice of architecture without archè?
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Laurent de Sutter is professor of Legal Theory at Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Sciences-Po Paris. He is the author of 30 award-winning books published in 15 languages. His most recent works include: "Éloge du danger" (Puf, 2022), "Superfaible : penser au 21eme siècle" (Flammarion, 2023, Grand prix de l'essai de l'Académie royale de Belgique), "Décevoir est un plaisir" (Puf, 2024).
