From Ruinology to Ruinophilia: Perspectives on Ruined Architecture

Abstract

The culture of ruined architectures has been going through a rupture of meanings in recent decades. If initially its nostalgic character, tied to idyllic visual representations, played a fundamental role in its diffusion, mainly from the Romanticism movement in Europe, during the 20th and 21st centuries, the drastic changes in the architectural conformation of cities brought about a new scale of ruination and the way of representing and deciphering the meaning of ruins. Composed of three sections, namely ruinology, ruinophilia and counter-hegemonic action within ruins, this article seeks to broaden understanding of the field of study of the culture or ruins in architecture. Its purpose is to raise discussions that consider not only the historiographical aspect, but which can also advance into a wider sphere, one of phenomenological method, proposing perspectives different from the historically hegemonic narratives about ruins, in order to dethrone the predominant bucolic conception in theoretical-historical approaches, and to shift de discussion in the field of architecture and urbanism. This intention is based on the specificities of contemporary cities and their new engendering, such as the counter-hegemonic action of the urbex (urban exploration) movements in ruined spaces. Finally, the work draws into debate an understanding of ruins in a wider temporal arc, which in turn shifts the thinking, imagination and meanings of conceptual paradigms, making it possible for the culture of contemporary ruins to meld its intrinsic and multifaceted characteristics.