Contemporary architecture between fundamentalism and neoliberalism: from modernity to sustainability

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Researcher and lecturer at the Faculty of Fine Arts and Architecture at the Lebanese University

Abstract

The most common approaches to contemporary 
architecture are described as 'modern', yet the terms 'modern' and 
'contemporary' possess different contextual weight resulting in a 
difference of terminological synonymy. This research examines 
the phenomenon that emerged in the late twentieth century, 
processes its conflicts, and describes several interrelated 
implications that are drawn for understanding modernity and 
contemporariness. This research discusses the confusion between 
contemporary and modernist architectural representation, 
comparatively, by analyzing Western and Arab visions. The 
research also aims to analyze the impact of modernism, the 
semantic evolution of 'modernity' and, our arrival to the 
contemporary; in light of neoliberalism and globalism.

Keywords