Jacques Derrida and Feng Shui.

What has the father of Deconstruction got to do with Feng Shui?

Jacques Derrida - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Jacques Derrida; born Jackie Élie Derrida; July 15, 1930 – October 9, 2004) was a French philosopher, born in French Algeria. Derrida is best known for developing a form of semiotic analysis known as deconstruction. He is one of the major figures associated with post-structuralism and postmodern philosophy.

During his career Derrida published more than 40 books, together with hundreds of essays and public presentations. He had a significant influence upon the humanities and social sciences, including—in addition to philosophy and literature—law anthropology, historiography, linguistics, sociolinguistics, psychoanalysis, political theory, feminism, and queer studies. His work still has a major influence in the academe of Continental Europe, South America and all other countries where continental philosophy is predominant, particularly in debates around ontology, epistemology (especially concerning social sciences), ethics, aesthetics, hermeneutics, and the philosophy of language. Jacques Derrida's work also influenced architecture (in the form of deconstructivism), music, art, and art critics. Derrida was said to "leave behind a legacy of himself as the 'originator' of deconstruction."
 
When i was studying architecture in University, the first few years were during a period of time when architecture was not very exciting. Post modernism started as a result of that mundane period. People started looking back at the past and try to reuse the old language. When Deconstruction arrives it was period of excitement for me. (Derrida was said to "leave behind a legacy of himself as the 'originator' of deconstruction.") Very exciting designs start to appear not only in the outside world but also in the University studios.
It was a period of time when rules were deconstructed. I was in the last two years of Uni when it arrives in our Uni.
Lots of exciting ideas were developed as a result of the concept. Not necessary along the lines of Deconstruction. Even though there were lots of very innovative designs in the real world, not many were actually build. But twenty years down the line, Zaha Hadid is now the most sort after architect in the world. I would described her as pure Deconstruction artist. I would also say most of the famous architects in the world now are all heavily influence by the writing of this man.
 

The art of Feng Shui always follows a set rules established by sages from ancient times. The rules are heavily influenced by the law of nature and the observation of the natural environment.

Traditional Chinese Architecture or Western Classical Architecture are all heavily based on those sets of rules.
Architecture and Feng Shui during those times are very closely aligned.

The arrival of Deconstruction changes a lot of things.
Deconstructivism is a development of postmodern architecture that began in the late 1980s. It is influenced by the theory of "Deconstruction", which is a form of semiotic analysis. It is characterized by fragmentation, an interest in manipulating a structure's surface or skin, non-rectilinear shapes which appear to distort and dislocate elements of architecture, such as structure and envelope. The finished visual appearance of buildings that exhibit deconstructivist "styles" is characterized by unpredictability and controlled chaos.

The architect's mindset are no longer similar to Feng Shui Masters. There are still many so called traditional architects but the main streams are mostly heavily influenced by this philosophy.
The sets of rules employed by the architects have changed and are often in conflict to the FSM.
The reason in my opinion why architects do not have very high opinion of FSM. Maybe to the extent of considering them as a nuisance.