Deconstructivist architecture is a subset of the larger Postmodern movement that is known for its seemingly arbitrarily placed, disassembled forms. It began in the 1980s as a reaction against Postmodern architecture that quoted history inappropriately, and the style remains popular today.
Though Deconstructivism involves deconstructed forms, its name comes from the Constructivist movement of art and architecture that became popular in Russia in the 1920s. Both styles reject decoration in favor of abstract forms.
Deconstructed forms were employed in architecture beginning in the 1970s, but the first prominent works in the style were the submissions for the 1982 Parc de la Villette competition by Peter Eisenman and Bernard Tschumi's winning entry. The movement was codified by Philip Johnson and Mark Wigley in 1988 with their book Deconstructivist Architecture and MoMA exhibit of the same name. However, Bernard Tschumi did not consider it an individual architectural style, simply a reaction against orthodox Postmodernism.
At its core, Deconstructivism is meant to critique the rationality of Modern and Postmodern architecture. It looks to the Constructivist movement for abstract forms and asymmetry, though it avoids purity and socialist/populist viewpoints of that style. The movement was also influenced by French philosopher Jacques Derrida and his philosophy of the same name, as he considered Deconstructivism's abstraction in architecture to require an established system that it subverts.
Deconstructivist architecture is notable for its asymmetrically placed forms, which may take on the appearance of pieces arbitrarily scattered around the site. These forms' irregular and curved shapes require the usage of CAD software, at the time a new development. The end result is a sculptural form that enables the play of light or space.