The Trace of Borromini: Form and Space in Postmodern Architecture

Borromini’s work proves to be especially relevant when considering the meaning of certain formal categories in his architecture which, perhaps surprisingly, can be understood in ways similar to those found in many works of contemporary architecture. Through the use of fold, inflection, the topological, or the formless, Borromini’s architecture reveals a resistance to being defined by a fixed formal appearance. The principles governing form—its very status—share a common logic with numerous contemporary works.

This research revolves around a reflection on the relationship between form and space in architectural works, articulated through a series of significant traits. These defining features point toward an understanding of space as a realm of possibility in its broadest sense. The use of particular strategies linked to inflection, the expression of continuity, metamorphic processes, the masking of tectonics through formal simulacra, or the role of the envelope as a privileged site of expression, are traits shared by both Borromini’s time and postmodernity.

These traits do not so much highlight a completed or finalized form as they do the spatial locus where form is made possible. The status or regime of form does not seem to indicate a fully resolved or stable entity, but rather a certain instability in its expression, its configuration, its structure, and its limits.