Places as Assemblages: Paradigm Shift or Fashionable Nonsense?

Ever since Heidegger’s definitions of being and dwelling, and further interpretations of those definitions in the work of Christian Norberg-Schulz, the theory of place has been developing as a category of phenomenology. The notion of being is considered unseparated from building and thus fundamental for the definition of place. In the past decade, the phenomenological tradition in place theory has been challenged, largely inspired by the work of Gilles Deleuze. Deleuze’s opus is particularly interesting because of the introduction of a new kind of realism, positioned between phenomenology and materialism, where being is replaced with becoming. In nonphilosophical circles, that emerging epistemology and ontology is usually referred to as assemblage theory. For some scholars, assemblage theory is a problematic opus; for others it represents potential for the further development of existing theories. Despite being introduced in various disciplines, most of the research in this field terminates with assemblage as a metaphor, while losing all the complexity of Deleuze’s ontology. In place theory, assemblage appears in the work of Kim Dovey and his book Becoming Places (2010). This work represents a systematic effort to introduce new ontology into place theory and raises questions of the impact this ontology can have for the creation of a new approach to place. Thus we might ask: is this another example of fashionable nonsense that architects seem to embrace? Or are we hypothetically dealing with a different view of place? This paper aims to discuss the ways in which assemblage theory might be affecting common notions we have about place. The analysis focuses on the application of philosophical concepts to place theory. Thus, the analysis is framed within the main philosophical concepts introduced in place theory (Heidegger and Deleuze) and place theory directly referencing those two philosophical approaches (Norberg-Schulz and Dovey). Comparison is based on the fundamental aspects of place, concerning the definition of place and its relationship with time.