The Origin

The origin is a near impossible concept as it is  logically defeated by its very existence. In language it is defeated by being named and in architecture the origin is made ambiguous by the uncertainty of meaning and of value. However, it is in this uncertainty and insecurity that the richness of architecture is found, and it is in the possibilities that architecture is constantly reinvented. 

The only reasonable source of understanding regarding the origin and its existence is found in the study of its evolution to the status of the concept. The origin is meaningless before undergoing expansion, but it is through this expansive process that it is compromised. In this sense the origin is a self-contradictory phenomenon. The paradox can be avoided by the envelopment of a simple, straightforward understanding within a more complex structure. It is through this complexity that it is determined that the limit cannot in fact be found. 

McCarter, Robert. Building machines. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1987.