New Realism in Architecture: Between Theory and Praxis

This study traces architectural thought that can be characterized as new realistic approaches within the context of multi-dimensional crises that have shaken the epistemological and subject-centered design paradigms and focusing on the associated ontological debates. Architectural approaches that move beyond symbolic interpretations and emphasize the material autonomy of objects, aligning with the ideas of theoreticians like Graham Harman, Manuel DeLanda, and Karen Barad, are examined through the lens of design methodology. Through concepts such as tool-being, intra-action, and assemblage, the study defines multi-layered, resilient, and agentic ontological realms of objects of architecture that go beyond functionality and formalism. Architecture is thus positioned as an ontological becoming situated between object actors, grounded in a realist infrastructure that transcends human experience. In this context, the recent works of architects like Takaharu Tezuka, Sami Rintala, and Alejandro Aravena, who are considered to articulate this framework, are analyzed. As a result, the theoretical framework of new realism in architecture is constructed as a design methodology that reconsiders design processes in-between philosophy and design methodology, and prioritizes being-in-interaction with nature.