Structuralism and metabolism

The originating question of this research is: To what degree can the metabolists be considered as part of the structuralist movement? The term structuralism describes a shift in methodology that originated in linguistics and anthropology. It subsequently was adopted in other fields of Western knowledge. Jean-Louis Violeau describes structuralism as ‘a willful shift from objects and towards relationships between them, a shift from function to structure that would enable structural comparisons’. [1] The main representatives of this shift in architecture were the European architects who formed the group Team 10. In order to answer the originating question, this paper examines the links between the metabolists and Team 10. The research into this connection is threefold: first, this paper presents the personal relations among members of both groups; second, it discusses the theoretical underpinnings of metabolism in relation to those of Team 10; and third, it examines metabolist projects in order to recognize design strategies and discuss their affinity with structuralism. [1] J.-L. Violeau, “Team 10 and structuralism: analogies and discrepancies,” In: Max Risselada and Dirk van den Heuvel, eds., Team 10 1953-1981: In Search of a Utopia of the Present (Rotterdam: NAi Publishers, 2005), 280.