论芒福德有机功能主义设计思想

On Lewis Mumford’s Functional Design

工业社会、标准化生产对设计影响深远。机器过度发展引发了一系列社会问题,也导致了艺术设计活动的困境。在此背景下,刘易斯·芒福德批判机械功能主义的盲目扩张,认为设计活动出现问题的根源在于艺术和技术的裂解,只有通过艺术实践找到艺术与技术的平衡点,坚持有机功能主义的立场,才能完成真正具有现代性的设计活动。其设计思想在当今社会仍然具有现实指导意义,然而也有值得反思之处。

The industrial society and standardized production have a profound impact on design. The overwhelming development of the machine has triggered a series of social problems and cornered art and design. Lewis Mumford criticized the blind expansion of mechanical functionalism and declared that the problem of design originated from the split between art and technique. He believed that only by recovering the balance between art and technique through artistic practices and insisting on organic functionalism could we create true modern design. His thoughts could still serve as realistic guidelines to today’s design while its limitations call for reflection.