Architectural Theory | Term Paper 1

This paper aims to deconstruct the ideas presented by an essentialist, ahistorical and individualistic scholar, Christian Norberg-Schulz in the essay; “Place”. It is taken from the book

Genius Loci, which was published in 1979 as a sequel to two of his other books; Intentions in

Architecture (1963) and Existence, Space and Architecture (1971). This trilogy presents the common idea that architecture represents a means to give “man” an existential foothold. The idea of architectural phenomenology came about in the post war period referring to addition of conscious human experiences within built forms. In doing so, it posited itself as something

“timeless” and alien to modernity.1 Through this paper, I aim to investigate how this ahistorical and timeless character of phenomenology changed the relation credited between modern architecture and history. Referring to the work of authors such as

Otero-Pailos, Rowan Wilken and Timothy Gould, I will be analyzing significant dimensions that are not taken into consideration while formulating the argument of this theory resulting in a non-coherent basis of what is called “post-modern”.

Christian Norberg-Schulz (23 May 1926 – 28 March 2000) was a Norwegian architect, theorist and historian who studied architecture at the Polytechnic Institute of Zurich, graduated in 1949 and then continued his studies at Harvard University (1953-1959) and at the Norwegian Institute in Rome (1960-1963).2 Influenced by Giedion, Gropius, and Mies van der Rohe, Norberg-Schulz was a convinced Modernist, and a member of CIAM; International Congress of Modern

Architecture.3 Influenced by Gestalt’s psychology, his publications emphasized on the importance of visual perception. He reformulated how architects conceived architecture by

1 Jorge Otero-Pailos, “Architectural Phenomenology and the Rise of the Postmodern”, in Sage Handbook of Architectural Theory, eds. C. Greig Crysler, Stephen Cairns and Hilde Heynen (California: SAGE Publications, 2012) 136 2 Akkelies van Nes, “The Heaven, the Earth and the Optic Array: Norberg-Schulz’s Place Phenomenology and its Degree of Operationability,” Footprint: Delft Architectural theory Journal , Issue#3 (2008): 114 3 Van Nes, “The Heaven, the Earth and the Optic Array.” Footprint, Issue#3 (2008): 114 Architectural Theory | Term Paper 2

wanting them not to understand modernism as a historic style. He proposed a return to roots of modernism by visualizing the “origin” of architecture.4 In numerous papers he wrote about the values of traditional construction, use of local material and vernacular construction methodologies, which seem to be at odds with his belief in modern movement and link to CIAM.

He claimed that psychological approach of perception and symbolization was missing in the modern methods of architectural analysis.5 He believed that man cannot gain a foothold without

“symbols” that are work of art representing “life situations”.6 This concept of “work of art” as concretization of lifetime situation is presented in the book Genius Loci.

Norberg Schulz was inspired by Martin Heidegger’s phenomenological approach. In his essay,

“Place”, he tries to translate Heidegger’s ideology within the formwork of place and dwelling.

Timothy Gould, a professor at Metropolitan State University of Denver, in his article “How Not to

Get the Word on Architecture: The Effect of Heidegger's Prose on Norberg-Schulz's Theories" is critical of the encounter between Norberg-Schulz and Heidegger’s writings and considers it to be a misfortune.7 He claims Norberg-Schulz to be a perceptive observer and commentator, but the aforementioned influence led him to develop complex and ill-defined theoretical ideologies.

What is the purpose of architecture? Norberg-Schulz begins the essay, “Place” by stating that

“dwelling” is the purpose of architecture. The concept of dwelling is a deeply loaded ideological term. Heidegger, Bollnow, Bachelard and Levinas are major philosophers that presented this concept through their writings.8 Heidegger in his essay, “Building, Dwelling, Thinking”, published in 1954, used etymological deductions as a means to coin the idea that fundamental way in

4 Otero-Pailos, Jorge, “Photo[historio]graphy, Christian Norberg-Schulz’s Demotion of Textual History”, Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Columbia University, vol. 66 no.2 (2007): 220. 5 Elie Haddad, “Christian Norberg-Schulz's Phenomenological Project in Architecture,” Architectural theory review, vol. 15 no. 1 (2010): 89. 6 Christian Norberg Schulz, “Preface”, in Genius Loci, Towards a phenomenology of architecture, (1980): 5. 7 Timothy Gould, “How Not to Get the Word on Architecture: The Effect of Heidegger's Prose on Norberg-Schulz's Theories," Oz, Vol. 7 (1985): 20. 8 Van Nes, “The Heaven, the Earth and the Optic Array”, Footprint, Issue#3 (2008): 114 Architectural Theory | Term Paper 3

which “man” exists is through his understanding of dwelling and being in this world.9 Jonas

Holst, in his article “Rethinking Dwelling and Building” discusses this idea and claims that what seems odd here is the meaning of dwelling, which originally referred to something as dynamic as straying, but came to imply the opposite in the analysis by Heidegger (staying, being, occupying).10 This concept of dwelling is thus critiqued by multiple scholars, historians, and architects arguing that it leaves many aspects contributing to its definition in shade. Norberg-

Schulz, in this essay builds on these disputed claims presented by Heidegger. He formulates the theory of “being” and dwelling based on the false suppositions presented by Martin

Heidegger and further adds that man dwells when he can identify himself within the environment. He implies that if a person is not able to orient himself within the environment, its not his “place” to be.11 Keeping in mind that this artifact was published in 1979, these ideas led to strengthen the ideologies presented by post-modern theorist who not only questioned the universal nature of modernism but also created a sense of social, racial, and cultural segregation within design (elaborated in later parts of the paper).

The narrative presented by Norberg-Schulz is heavily visual and avoids critical reflection. He defines “Place” as the concrete term for environment. In the essay, he argues “place is something more than a locality, it embodies concrete things having material substance, shape, texture, and color.” And together, these things stand for an “environmental character” which defines the quality of a space.12 He believed that modern architecture of early 1900s lacked this qualitative aspect generated within a space.13 Looking closely to what he described as the

9 Martin Heidegger, “Building, Dwelling, Thinking”, in Rethinking Architecture: A Reader in Cultural Theory ed. Neil Leach (London and New York: Routledge, 1994): 96. 10 Jonas Holst, “Rethinking Dwelling and Building. On Martin Heidegger’s conception of Being as Dwelling and Jørn Utzon’s Architecture of Well-being”, ZARCH No. 2 (2014): 54. 11 Norberg Schulz, “Preface”, in Genius Loci, (1980): 5. 12 Norberg Schulz, “Place”, Genius Loci, (1980): 7. 13 Rowan Wilken, “The Critical Reception of Christian Norberg-Schulz’s Writings on Heidegger and Place”, Architectural Theory Review, vol. 18 no.3 (2013): 344. Architectural Theory | Term Paper 4

quality generating aspects of a place, it can be safe to say that these aspects only point towards the visual quality of the space. Modern architecture of 20th century was regarded with plain, anonymous, and repetitive design characteristics. Norberg-Schulz tried to critique those ideas by offering the view that contextual sensibility is an important aspect which is lacking within modern design ideology. Although the claim presented by him is not wrong, but the approach he takes too justify this claim is partial in nature. Material characteristics, shape, texture, and color represent the aesthetic visual quality which cannot stand alone for the quality of the place.

“Quality” of a place, as defined by Mel Burton, a professor in the department of landscape architecture at the University of Sheffield, is the tangible and intangible characteristics of a community, the way it is planned, designed, developed and maintained that affect the quality of life of people living and working in it and those visiting it both now and in the future.14 Therefore, the idea that character is lacking within modernist architecture and can only be achieved by employing certain visual attributes to it is an oversimplified viewpoint.15

Genius Loci is a concept known to date back to ancient Rome when it was considered that spirit inhabits places as well as individuals.16 Norberg-Schulz in his writing describes the genius loci of a man-made space being formed by visual character as well as organization of its elements. In the Figure 1: The Path of the Wanderer, Sacro artifact, Norberg-Schulz considered architects to be “visual Speco. Presented in the “Place” by Norberg Schulz showing node, path and edge to have distinct identifiable qualities.

14 Mel Burton, “Quality of Place”, Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research, (2014): https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0753-5_2381 15 Jorge Otero-Pailos, “Photo[historio]graphy”, Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Columbia University, vol. 66 no.2 (2007): 223. 16 Lulia Doroftei, “Photography as a means of depicting Genius Loci?”, Territorial identity and development, Vol.1, (2016): 61. Architectural Theory | Term Paper 5

thinkers” and wanted them to understand the “character” of a place in a more tactile and visual manner moving away from historical background. He presented photographs (see Figure 1 & 2) to define the Genius Loci of the spaces. Instead of employing historical context, he used the preconceived assumptions that he had regarding the places in the photographs to assign them certain character. The underlying layers of history and social changes were not taken into consideration while defining the identity of those particular places. Gunila Jivén & Peter J.

Larkham in their commentary on Norberg-Schulz’s Genius Loci, mention, “complex theoretical concepts have become confused in determining sense of place authenticity and character.

Genius loci arises most particularly from the experiences of those using places rather than from deliberate ‘place making’.”17

This idea of underlying character of a space that is merely visual and defines the structure of that place challenges the notion that architecture is for “all”.18 It implies skin deep character of built environment giving rise to social, racial, and cultural segregation. Figure 2: Khartoum, Sudan. Presented in the “Place” by Norberg Schulz explaining orientation and identification to be key elements in dwelling and “being”.

Norberg Schulz idea of place phenomenology promotes obscurantism; it deliberately presents information in an incomplete manner to limit inquiry.19 I will be analyzing this statement based on two major moments through the work of Rowan Wilken and Otero-Pailos. The first one is related to the above-mentioned point about the use of images within the artifact. As described

17 Gunila Jivén & Peter J. Larkham, “Sense of Place, Authenticity and Character: A Commentary.”, Journal of Urban Design, vol. 8, no. 1 (2003): 67. 18 John Cary, Design for good; A New Era of Architecture for Everyone, (Washington: Island Press, 2017): 3. 19 “A style (as in literature or art) characterized by deliberate vagueness or abstruseness.” Merriam Webster Dictionary definition Architectural Theory | Term Paper 6

earlier, the textual construction that explained the images involved number of aesthetic as well as cultural assumptions taken out from the subjective visual effect they created for Norberg-

Schulz. Complementing his use of the concept of genius loci is the notion of “alétheic images”.20

This term was derived from Heidegger’s writings and meant “truthful experience”. Norberg-

Schulz, however, repurposed the term to make it synonymous to the visual experience of images. As described by Rowan Wilken, this deliberate repurposing served the purpose to present an ahistorical, overtly visual understanding of architecture.21

Secondly, Norberg-Schulz partially investigates the psychic implications of the subject matter, discounting the practical and realistic dimension although both sides are deeply interrelated.22

Many architects and historians were influenced by these “raw” ideas which led to the formation of phenomenological theory without having decent foundation. Postmodern design ideology in the 1970-80s was formed on the basis of these heavily visual design ideas.23 It lacked historical and socio-cultural dimension within itself. Jorge Otero-Pailos, an architect, and historian presented the view of shift in the relation between modernism and history.24 He claimed that postmodern style replaced the notion that technology can lead to more sophisticated architecture by the notion that architecture would be more “advanced” if it returns to ontological origins of human experiences.25 He believed that nature of architectural phenomenology, as presented by Norberg Schulz, is one of the major unexamined intellectual sources of postmodern architecture; it may seem primarily philosophical, when in fact it was only aesthetic.26

20 Wilken, “The Critical Reception of Christian Norberg-Schulz’s Writings on Heidegger and Place”, (2013): 346. 21 Wilken, “The Critical Reception of Christian Norberg-Schulz’s Writings on Heidegger and Place”, (2013): 346. 22 Norberg Schulz, “Preface”, in Genius Loci, (1979): 5. 23 Otero-Pailos, “Arch. Phenomenology and the Rise of the PoMo.” (2012): 136. 24 Otero-Pailos, “Arch. Phenomenology and the Rise of the PoMo.” (2012): 136. 25 Otero-Pailos, “Arch. Phenomenology and the Rise of the PoMo.” (2012): 146. 26 Otero-Pailos, “Arch. Phenomenology and the Rise of the PoMo.” (2012): 138. Architectural Theory | Term Paper 7

Norberg-Schulz in the “Place” repeatedly presents dichotomic relation between “man” and environment. He argues that shaping the “landscape”, the solid term for environment, based on human experiences is what is lacking in the modern world. The word landscape first appeared printed in English in 1603 and has origins in Middle Dutch (landscap) meaning region, German

(landschaft) and Old Norse (landskap). It referred to shaping, conditioning, and caring for the

“land”. Norberg-Schulz presents the idea of landscape differently. He claims man to be the subject while environment, in the form of landscape, a subordinate object, that caters to the needs of the man and his experiences.27 The subject/object split is not something new in the western conduct. It is present in Plato’s and Aristotle philosophies, the metaphysics of ideals and formal logic respectively.28 Every movement that followed somehow signified the dominance of human within the system (Renaissance, for instance, celebrated humanism and the idea that man is the center of his own universe).29 The foundation of western society thus was set up by persistent desire for a world ruled by the human beings. Norberg-Schulz signifies the same ideology within the development of a “new” form of architecture entailing the same dichotomic and ordinate/subordinate relationship. Modernism presented a contradictory viewpoint at the time of its origin. It declared human and environment as equal “actors” within the space and reformed a democratic and uniform way of sustaining within the world.30 Thus, this “man” and environment relationship, as developed by Norberg-Schulz takes us back to a very conservative way of dealing with the subject matter significantly seen in the characteristics of postmodern architecture.

27 Norberg Schulz, “Place”, Genius Loci, (1979): 8-9. 28 Botond Bognar, “Toward an Architecture of Critical Inquiry”, Journal of Architectural Education, vol. 43 no.1 (1989): 14. 29 History.com Editors, “Renaissance”, History, (2020): https://www.history.com/topics/renaissance/renaissance 30 Mariwan Hasan, “The Rise of Modernism: A New Western History of Modernism”, Kirkuk University Journal, Vol. 11 No:1 (2016): 5. Architectural Theory | Term Paper 8

Despite his link to CIAM in the 1950s, Norberg-Schulz, believed modernism lacked genuine understanding of place and local identity.31 A shift from analytical and psychological concerns to the issue of phenomenology of place is evident in his course of writings. These key aspects led to confusion and simplification of place to mere poetics. After examining the phenomenology of place, it is important to highlight the implications it created in the field of architecture. Postmodernism, as described earlier, emerged as a prominent visual and intellectual style during the 1970s, overlapping with the essay’s publishing year

(1979). It was heavily influenced by the ideas presented by

Norberg-Schulz on spirit of a place and individualistic character of a place having no sense of cultural or historical

32 relevance. Although, the initial idea was to challenge the Figure 3: Face House, Kyoto, Japan. 1975 notions of “international” style of architecture within modernism and its capitalistic agendas, the design characteristics were too involved with the visual impact of the buildings inspired by Norberg-Schulz ideology. Trying hard to achieve an individualistic character, these design ideas were heavily drawn on visual perception.33 At the end of the 1980s, students, architects, critics and historians began to speak of postmodernism as something that belonged to the past. The historian Alan Colquhoun more specifically in the columns of Assemblage, highlighted: “The problem that we encounter in the typical postmodern building is the lack of connection between the purpose of the building and the historical associations of its artistic form.”34 He goes on to demonstrate the inability of postmodernism to implement its promise of giving meaning to architectural forms. The second reason to explain

31 Van Nes, “The Heaven, the Earth and the Optic Array”, Footprint, Issue#3 (2008): 115 32 Otero-Pailos, “Arch. Phenomenology and the Rise of the PoMo.” (2012): 137. 33 Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan, “Is Architecture Ashamed Of Postmodernism?”, Fastcompany articles, (2018) https://www.fastcompany.com/90157603/is-architecture-ashamed-of-postmodernism 34 Valéry Didelon, “Proclaiming the End of Postmodernism in Architecture,” paper from the Third EAHN International Meeting, Politecnico di Torino (2014): 380. Architectural Theory | Term Paper 9

the burnout of the movement concerns the affirmative rather than the critical nature of most projects. Postmodernism lost revolutionary power and came to be considered as nostalgic, if not to say reactionary.35 This is evidenced by many projects, such as those Michael Graves designed for Disney – the Swan and Dolphin Hotels (1990)

(Figure 4) and the Walt Disney Headquarters

(1990). For architects and critics, this was enough of an invitation to bury postmodernism and place

Figure 4: The Swan and Dolphin Hotels (1990) their hopes in a new movement. Place phenomenology became just one facet of the critical design thinking that emerged post- postmodernism. Today, we have a rich spectrum of theory where historical, social, cultural, and ecological values are inherently considered the part of design thinking process, and it is on architect how she/he prioritizes these aspects.

After analyzing the past and present and future implications of phenomenology of place (before, during and after the 1970s) the next question to think about is its implications in contemporary world. What is the role of phenomenology within architecture today? With advancement in technological innovation and growing urbanism, what defines “being” in the place? As the world is turning into a global village, where every space is accessible, post-phenomenological approaches have already established a strong foothold within various disciplines including media and communication, geography and philosophy.36They have explored this theory in direct relation to urban “dwellers” potentially providing an alternative path to the one presented by

Christian Norberg-Schulz in the “Place”. It is, therefore, high time for architects to reconsider this

35 Didelon, “Proclaiming the End of PoMo in Arch.” (2014): 378. 36 Lea Jane, “Post-phenomenology/Post-phenomenologies”, in International Encyclopedia of Human Geography, eds. Rob Kitchin and Nigel Thrift (Ireland: Elsevier Science, 2009): 373–378. Architectural Theory | Term Paper 10

ideology, and come up with a more sensible and more conscious attempt of introducing experiences within the built environment, not forgetting the underlying layers of social, historical, cultural as well as ecological agencies.

Bibliography

• Allen and Hosseinnia. “Stranger Thoughts: Log’s ‘Disorienting Phenomenology’,” The

Avery Review 34:1 (2018).

This article overviews the phenomenological traditions within architecture first by noticing how it

was sometimes misinterpreted by architects, secondly by reflecting how far architecture has

come since the prime of phenomenology and thirdly by raising points that reject phenomenology

altogether. It helped in understanding multiple facets of how phenomenology was comprehended

over the course of time.

• Bognar, Botond. “Toward an Architecture of Critical Inquiry”, Journal of Architectural

Education, 43:1 (1989): 13-34.

The author through this journal concluded that the phenomenological approaches in architecture

lack the strategies for critically evaluating the given social reality which determines the realms of

intentionality and intersubjectivity.

• Cary, John. Design for good; A New Era of Architecture for Everyone. Washington:

Island Press, 2017.

The notion of “architecture is for all” is elaborated here by exploring the current need for

architectural design to be for flexible and holistic in nature.

• Didelon, Valéry. “Proclaiming the End of Postmodernism in Architecture,” The Third

EAHN International Meeting, Politecnico di Torino (2014).

The article suggests the reasons for evident “death” of post modernism in architecture by

highlighting major historical events and buildings that led to the end of post modernism.

Architectural Theory | Term Paper 11

• Doroftei, Lulia. “Photography as a means of depicting Genius Loci?” Territorial identity

and development, vol.1 (2016).

Understanding the idea of genius loci and suggesting how photography can be used as a tool in

generating the spirit of a place in the modern world.

• Gould, Timothy. "How Not to Get the Word on Architecture: The Effect of Heidegger's

Prose on Norberg-Schulz's Theories," Oz vol. 7 (1985).

One to one relation of Martin Heidegger and Christian Norberg-Schulz writings and ideologies.

The article suggests the implications of Heidegger’s ideas on Norberg Schulz work and how it led

to confused ideologies (architectural phenomenology, for instance) developed in complicated

state of affairs.

• Haddad, Elie. “Christian Norberg-Schulz's Phenomenological Project In Architecture,”

Architectural Theory Review, 15:1 (2010): 88-101.

This paper enlists development of Norberg Schulz ideas over the period of 30 years. It helped to

critically analyze his interpretations of architectural phenomenology and its ambiguous relation to

the subject of modernity.

• Hasan, Mariwan. “The Rise of Modernism: A New Western History of Modernism”,

Kirkuk University Journal, 11:1 (2016).

Understanding how modernism developed over the course of time. It helped to understand

modernism’s initial agendas and how they shaped over the course of time in the 20th century.

• Heidegger, Martin. “Building, Dwelling, Thinking”, in Rethinking Architecture: A Reader in

Cultural Theory ed. Neil Leach. London and New York: Routledge,1997 pp.94-119.

This essay was read in order to understand the idea of dwelling as presented by Martin

Heidegger and how it was understood and extrapolated by Norberg Schulz for his essay “The

Place” in Genius Loci.

• Holst, Jonas. “Rethinking Dwelling and Building: On Martin Heidegger’s conception of

Being as Dwelling and Jørn Utzon’s Architecture of Well-being,” ZARCH vol. 2 (2014). Architectural Theory | Term Paper 12

This paper re-interprets Heidegger’s idea on dwelling and critically analyzes it in architectural

context. It helped in developing understanding of the etymological deductions carried out from

Heidegger’s writings by Norberg Schulz for his essay.

• Jane, Lea. “Post-phenomenology/Post-phenomenologies”, in International Encyclopedia

of Human Geography, eds. Rob Kitchin and Nigel Thrift. Ireland: Elsevier Science, 2009

pp.373–378.

This paper analyses how phenomenological approaches are dealt with in today’s world and what

kind of post-phenomenological projects have appeared in the Global world today.

• Jivén & Larkham. “Sense of Place, Authenticity and Character: A Commentary.” Journal

of Urban Design, 8:1 (2003): 67

Understanding how complex theoretical concepts have become confused in determining sense of

place authenticity and character in “Place” by Norberg Schulz.

• Norberg-Schulz, Christian. “Place”, in Genius Loci: Towards a phenomenology of

architecture, New York: Rizzoli,1980, pp.6-22.

The book was first published in Italian as Genius Loci-paesaggio, ambiente, architettura by Electa

in 1979. The first chapter. i.e. Place is the main artifact under consideration for this paper.

• Norberg-Schulz, Christian. The concept of dwelling: on the way to figurative architecture,

New York: Rizzoli (1984)

The author, Norberg Schulz presents the idea of “dwelling” and its interchangeable meaning. He

correlates the term with the landscape as being the environment of dwelling. This book is an

extension of the ideas presented in the “Place” essay and present a more detailed view of his

some of his comments made in the former essay.

Otero-Pailos, Jorge. “Architectural Phenomenology and the Rise of the Postmodern”, in

Sage Handbook of Architectural Theory, ed. C. Greig Crysler, Stephen Cairns and Hilde

Heynen. California: SAGE Publications, 2012 pp.135-150 Architectural Theory | Term Paper 13

The author attempts to elaborate the notions presented by Norberg Schulz, as one of the major

unexamined intellectual sources of postmodern architecture. Through relevant evidence, he

claims that the ideas presented by Norberg Schulz are merely nostalgic in nature.

• Otero-Pailos, Jorge. “Photo[historio]graphy, Christian Norberg-Schulz’s Demotion of

Textual History”, Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 66:2 (2007): 220-241.

The main notion presented in this essay was that Norberg Schulz’ idea of history of architecture

as “recurrence of visual patterns” is anti-historical and attempts to discourage critical reflection by

obscuring its own historical construction.

• Van Nes, Akkelies. “The Heaven, the Earth and the Optic Array: Norberg-Schulz’s Place

Phenomenology and its Degree of Operationability,” Footprint: Delft Architectural theory

Journal, Autumn Issue#3 (2008)

Author describes the life and work of Norberg Schulz in the light of his theoretical approach. This

paper was helpful in understanding the functionality of Norberg Schulz ideas and their

operationality by presenting some examples from the influence his work had.

• Wilken, Rowan. “The Critical Reception of Christian Norberg-Schulz’s Writings on

Heidegger and Place.” Architectural Theory Review, 18:3 (2014): 340-355.

Giving special emphasis to his book, Genius Loci, the author examines the reception of

the theory presented by Norberg Schulz by theorists and historians over time. It was helpful in

understanding the factors that resulted in this piece attracting critical attention and how they

were interpreted by multiple scholars.