ABSTRACT
In his book Difference and Repetition, the French philosopher Gilles Deleuze distinguishes between two theories of repetition, one associated with the ‘Platonic’ theory and the other with the ‘Nietzschean’ theory. Repetition in the ‘Platonic’ theory, via the criterion of accuracy, can be identified as a repetition of homogeneity, using pre-established similitude or identity to repeat the Same, while repetition in the ‘Nietzschean’ theory, via the criterion of authenticity, is aligned with the virtual rather than real, producing simulacra or phantasms as a repetition of heterogeneity. It is argued in this essay that the distinction that Deleuze forms between modes of repetition has a vital role in his innovative approaches to the Nietzschean’s notion of ‘eternal return’ as a differential ontology, offering numerous insights into work on issues of homogeneity and heterogeneity in architecture. The purpose of this essay is to explore the possibility of distinguishing the repetition of the neo-avant-garde as a process of self-generation, or ‘simulacra of the electronic paradigm,’ which allows emergent connections and transformations to unfold as a virtual difference and pure movement of becoming from the representational thinking of postmodern experiment that has led to historicism in architecture. It does so by analyzing the transformational strategies of architect and theoretician Peter Eisenman in direct contrast to that of postmodern historicism, focusing on Eisenman architectural folding techniques in the Rebstock project, Frankfurt, Germany, that diverge from any prior geometry toward a self-referentiality status.
Keywords: Architecture, Peter Eisenman, Gilles Deleuze, Eternal Return, Becoming, Difference and Repetition.