Saadia Rais

Reconsidering Postmodernism in Design Theory

This dissertation research aims to expand the current definition of postmodern design to include contemporary practices in architecture/landscape architecture that better fit postmodern theory at large. As it stands, postmodern design is primarily characterized by a divergence from aesthetic trends in modern architecture. Where modern architecture included limited color palettes, orthogonal grids, simplicity, unity and a lack of ornament, postmodern design includes: kitsch, bright colors, pastiche, mixed eclectic forms, and more. This prematurely conceived characterization of postmodern design fails to address the fundamentals of both modern and postmodern theory. However, there are various practices within contemporary design that exemplify tenets of postmodern theory in a more complete way.

Postmodern theory is characterized by a blurring of binaries, rhizomatic structures of knowledge, and systems-based causality. This is a departure from modern beliefs of perfection through reason, superiority of the individual, objective universal truth, and rejection of tradition/vernacular. As society saw civilization fall from the modern ideals set forth, through events such as the destruction caused by the creation & use of the atomic bomb in WWII, it began to emphasize connection as opposed to individualist ideals. Contemporary design practices, such as regenerative design and adaptive ecological restoration, better exemplify tenets of postmodern theory. Adaptive design practices encompass the connectedness in which sites and their processes perform. Landscape architecture is an especially rich discipline in which to examine postmodern theory, as a landscape has no closed envelope, no beginning or end. Plant materials grow and die in cycles of time, challenging the modern ideal of linear timeframes/progress, and in response to unpredictable factors of sun, stormwater, soil quality, human development, and other everchanging facets of the systems in which they exist. Landscape architecture as a discipline also has a need to bolster its theoretical canon, often drawing from architectural theory or avoiding theorization altogether. However, this task applies to both landscape architecture and architecture theory, as postmodernism is ill-defined in both disciplines. As design scholarship and the postmodern age continue to develop, so too should its theoretical framework. This research begins by synthesizing canonical works of postmodern theory outside of design disciplines. Then, current design practices and projects are used as case studies to explore the postmodern synthesis.

Saadia Rais is a landscape designer, sociologist, and artist. She earned her Master of Landscape Architecture degree from University of Georgia College of Environment + Design (2020). She also holds a Master of Science degree in Sociology (2016) and Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy (2013) from Virginia Tech. Saadia practiced as a landscape designer for 4 years in Houston, Richmond, and Washington D.C. prior to joining the University of Virginia School of Architecture as a Ph.D. student this fall. Saadia’s MLA thesis Modernism Reconsidered used the residence of Modernist landscape architect James Rose as a case study to examine the definition of modernism within the discipline of landscape architecture. Saadia lived and worked at the residence in 2018, now the James Rose Center for Landscape Architectural Research & Design.

Saadia’s MS Sociology thesis consists of a documentary video and written portion discussing how first-generation immigrants use digital communications technology to form their identities and communities. In her free time, Saadia enjoys hiking, foraging, trail running, cooking, watching art-house films, going to museums, and walking through the city of Richmond where she lives. She has a solo multimedia ambient performance art project. She also performs in a no-wave band as vocalist, guitarist, and synth player.