Pre-Recorded Lecture: The Building-as-Body Metaphor
Readings:
- John Onians. (1992) “Architecture, Metaphor, and the Mind,” Architectural History 35: 192-207.
- Heinrich Wölfflin. (1886) “Prolegomena to a Psychology of Architecture” In Empathy, Form, and Space: Problems in German Aesthetics, 1873–1893, edited and translated by Harry Francis Mallgrave and Eleftherios Ikonomou, 148-190. Santa Monica: Getty Center for the History of Art and the Humanities, 1994.
- Caballero-Rodriguez, R. (2013) From Design Generator to Rhetorical Device: Metaphor in Architectural Discourse. In A. Gerber & B. Patterson (Eds.), Metaphors in Architecture and Urbanism (pp.89–104). Bielefeld: Transcript.
Links: Onians 1992. Architecture Metaphor and the Mind; Wolfflin 1886. Psychology of Architecture; Caballero-Rodriguez. Metaphor in Architectural Discourse
Asynchronous Assignment: Reflection Piece (2-3 double-spaced pages)
In this week’s essay please reflect on the following …
What does it mean to say a building is (or is like) a body?
In physical terms, any building designed for human habitation responds to the form of the body, taking account of its size and shape, its manner of movement, and its modes of interaction with the world. In this way, the body provides one of the major determinants of architectural form. But the body’s relation to architecture also arises from frequent comparisons made between bodies and buildings. To say that a building is ‘like’ a body is to encourage an understanding of built form as not merely responding to, but also taking on, aspects of human form. From this common rhetorical strategy emerges anthropomorphism, through which a building may transcend the material conditions of its use to become an artifact of culture. The body thus provides one of the major sources of both architectural form and meaning, and for this reason has been frequently referred to throughout architectural theory.
How seriously or literally should we take the metaphor? The Renaissance architect Antonio Pietro Averlino (known as Filarete), for example, argued in his Trattato di Architettura (c. 1460) that buildings not only derived from the proportions and measure of the human body, but also resembled the body in other respects: they need to be nourished and maintained throughout their life, they may be wounded, and they have to eventually die.
What kind of meaning does the metaphor give to the built environment? How does the equation of the two change or affect our perception of the built environment, or, vice versa, of our own bodies? What are the implications and ramifications of the metaphor?
The essay should take into account the content and arguments of this week’s readings. You are also welcome to incorporate personal opinion and experiences. It should be 2-3 pages double-spaced and is due on Sunday, October 18th by 11:59PM. Please upload your essay to this Google Form.
Synchronous Discussion:
- Architectural Metaphor: Its uses and significance
- How do we relate to and/or experience architecture?
- Taking stock: Vitruvius’ homo bene figuratus