On Classical and Modern in Architecture - In memoriam Zoltán Szentkirályi

Abstract

We use the terms classical and modern naturally in everyday practice. One, usually to refer to eternal values, the other to the present, to what we consider up to date. We experience more the normative side of the first, and the operative character of the other. Classical, however, has never been something closed, to be simply revered, copied or imitated; on the contrary, it has been permanently working, by influencing and balancing us throughout ages, as a constituent part of every “following”, every “present”. Classical and modern belong together in this sense, preconditioning each other inseparably in their mental and social function.