Charles Jencks: Freestyle classicism

Presented as part of Revisiting Postmodernism, a digital archive of talks held at The Architectural League by leading theorists and practitioners of 1980s postmodernism.

In his second lecture at the League on the subject of postmodernism, presented two years after the first, Jencks proposes seven rules (or “crutches”) for a freestyle classicism in architecture, including urbane urbanism, anthropomorphism, and amplification. Recorded on April 5, 1982.

The League’s Digital Archive Project is made possible by contributions from the National Endowment for the Arts; the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency; and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.