Attunement: Architectural Meaning after the Crisis of Modern Science
Abstract
How architecture can move beyond the contemporary enthusiasms for the technically sustainable and the formally dazzling to enhance our human values and capacities.
Architecture remains in crisis, its social relevance lost between the two poles of formal innovation and technical sustainability. In Attunement, Alberto Pérez-Gómez calls for an architecture that can enhance our human values and capacities, an architecture that is connected—attuned—to its location and its inhabitants. Architecture, Pérez-Gómez explains, operates as a communicative setting for societies; its beauty and its meaning lie in its connection to human health and self-understanding.
Our physical places are of utmost importance for our well-being. Drawing on recent work in embodied cognition, Pérez-Gómez argues that the environment, including the built environment, matters not only as a material ecology but because it is nothing less than a constituent part of our consciousness. To be fully self-aware, we need an external environment replete with meanings and emotions.
Pérez-Gómez views architecture through the lens of mood and atmosphere, linking these ideas to the key German concept of Stimmung—attunement—and its roots in Pythagorean harmony and Vitruvian temperance or proportion. He considers the primacy of place over space; the linguistic aspect of architecture—the voices of architecture and the voice of the architect; architecture as a multisensory (not pictorial) experience, with Piranesi, Ledoux, and Hejduk as examples of metaphorical modeling; and how Stimmung might be put to work today to realize the contemporary possibilities of attunement.
... Como ocurrió con la arquitectura, varias disciplinas han sido influidas por la fenomenología de Husserl y Merleau-Ponty, y por la filosofía existencialista de Heidegger, misma que configura nuevas rutas de acceso a problemas clásicos de la filosofía, por ejemplo, a la idea de que el espacio se habita al asignársele significados y que habitar es posible en la medida que la arquitectura, en un sentido vitrubiano, considere como un todo, tanto el bienestar como las formas estéticas (Pérez-Gómez, 2016;Sharr, 2018). ...
... (Robinson y Pallasmaa, 2015;Pérez-Gómez, 2016;Gallagher, 2017;Gallagher y Zahavi, 2013;di Paolo, Cuffari y de Jaegher, 2018). Diversos teóricos han propuesto, por su parte, revisar el papel del cerebro en la capacidad de experimentar sentimientos de empatía (o rechazo) ante ciertos lugares y ante determinados grupos de personas y 'atmósferas' o espacios de interacción social y simbólica. ...
... Sin embargo, aquí el problema del significado, como se advertirá en los resultados de este trabajo, va más allá de las cualidades visuales de la arquitectura para situarse en las interacciones sociales y simbólicas inherentes a la utilitas vitrubiana. Así, significado y experiencia sensible parecen ligados de modo ineludible, no solo a lo visual sino a lo corporal, kinestésico, y socializados mediante interacciones comunicativas y simbólicas.La arquitectura fenomenológica, como corriente constructiva y de teoría y crítica del diseño, comienza a formarse a inicios de la segunda mitad del Siglo XX, a partir del interés despertado por pensadores como Edmund Husserl, Martin Heidegger, Maurice Merleau-Ponty y Gaston Bachelard, principalmente(Pérez-Gómez, 2016;Otero-Pailos, 2010;Mallgrave, 2011;.Pérez-Gómez (2016) ha señalado el problema del significado en el contexto de una "crisis de la ciencia moderna", coincidiendo con otros autores acá mencionados al sostener que "(…) el modelo cartesiano del conocimiento falla al intentar explicar la manera en que los sentimientos son compartidos en el mundo de todos los días, en el cual nuestros cuerpos expresan tales sentimientos, y a los cuales a su vez responden los demás"(Pérez-Gómez, 2016, p. 27). El autor señala, en la introducción de su libro Attunement. ...
What is the nature of the emotional and significant life produced by architectural forms, and how can specialists in urban- architectural design understand the psycho-affective needs - emotions, sensations, meanings, memories, etc. - of future tenants of their construction project? Through a bibliographic review of a historical and theoretical-critical nature, in this work, the theoretical framework of phenomenological architecture is addressed, considering the built context and the world of people, where the meaning of the aforementioned experiences gains life. It is suggested that the sensitive or phenomenal experience of the works built by designers, allows them to access cognitive resources - empathy, inter-corporeality, social cognition - that they can use in future construction and housing projects. In recently published works, epistemic alternatives are found about the nature of the emotional and subjective life of the hypothetical inhabitant, for example, in the cases of empathy (putting oneself in another person’s shoes), the appeal or rejection of certain places, and the ‘atmosphere’, or the collective sensation created by social interactions in public and other spaces.The results reveal that it is the socio-urban context where architecture’s meanings are interpreted for their application in such projects. It is concluded that this perspective is a subsidiary of philosophical and semiological pragmatism, which confirms the importance of the inhabited context to understand the meaning of what others do, say, or feel.The need for an interdisciplinary and humanistic approach is also confirmed, based on methodologies of an interpretative and phenomenological nature, which give preponderance to a posteriori knowledge, which is obtained through experience.
... Some phenomenologists adopt to the notion of "atmospheres," to describe how emotions go beyond individualistic responses (Verlie, 2019) to become embedded in time and place. For them, human consciousness develops within spaces full of meanings and values (Pérez-Gómez, 2016). It is the presence of an "atmosphere" that feelings can be explored, and consensus about values can be reached (Mohrmann, 2020). ...
Most studies and policy in disaster risk reduction have focused on either what people lack (their vulnerability or their capacities to deal with risk (their resilience). Few studies and decision-making processes have focused on the role of emotions in informal urban settings. However, the results of a four-year study including interviews, three international workshops, and 24 community-led initiatives of risk reduction in Cuba, Colombia, and Chile, shows that emotions play a fundamental role in the design and planning of grassroots initiatives. Anxiety, pride, anger, uncertainty, and awe are crucial in risk-related agency. These emotions help building leadership and engagement and are decisive in establishing empathy, trust, and legitimacy-all which constitute the basis for change towards social and environmental justice. Phenomenology can help address connections between emotions , agency, and space. To succeed, risk response frameworks must recognize the interplay between emotions, behaviors, and politics.
... Mimari tasarım süreçlerinde yer duygusu, aidiyet, öznellik, ilişkisellik ve diyalog gibi dinamiklerin dikkate alınmasına yönelik çeşitli araştırmalar bulunmaktadır (Carmona vd., 2010;Marques vd., 2020;Perez-Gomez, 2016;Spence, 2020). Bu yaklaşımlar, mekânların sadece fiziksel değil, aynı zamanda sosyal ve kültürel bağlamlarını da göz önünde bulundurarak daha bütüncül ve kullanıcı odaklı tasarımlar yapmayı mümkün kılabilmektedir. ...
Sürdürülebilir kalkınma genellikle ekonomik, çevresel ve sosyal boyutların dengelenmesine odaklanırken, sürdürülebilir insani kalkınma insan refahı, hakları ve yaşam kalitesine vurgu yapar. Bu makale, sürdürülebilir insani kalkınma için kamusal alanların önemini vurgulamakta ve demokrasinin mekânsallığını açıklayan kamusal alanın ölçülebilir normlarının, insani kalkınmayı destekleyen mimari mekânların tasarımına nasıl entegre edilebileceğini araştırmaktadır. Mimarlık ve şehir planlama disiplinlerinde mekân ve demokrasi arasındaki ilişki genellikle kamusallık ve kamusal mekânlar kavramları üzerinden ele alınır. Kamusal alanın, insani kalkınmanın temel bir aracı olarak, genellikle kamusal mekânlar aracılığıyla var olduğu varsayılır. Ancak, kamusal alan, belirli mekânsal sınırları olmayan bir ortamı temsil ettiğinden, tasarım ve planlama süreçlerine dolaylı olarak dâhil olur. Katılımcı tasarım yaklaşımları, özellikle kentsel planlamada, sürdürülebilir insani kalkınmaya ket vuran ve kamusal alanı sınırlayan sorunları ele alır. Saha araştırmaları yapar ve kamusal mekânlarla ilgili uygulamalar kullanarak demokrasiyi güçlendirmeyi amaçlar. Katılımcı yaklaşımlarla tasarlanan mekânların kamusal alanı canlandırabileceğine inanılmaktadır. Mimarlıkta, katılımcı beklentilere ve işlevsel verimliliğe odaklanan araştırmalar, katılımcı tasarım yaklaşımlarında öne çıkmaktadır. Ancak, katılımcı tasarım yaklaşımının, kamusal alanın canlılığını amaçlayarak nasıl yapılandırabileceğini tartışmak gerekmektedir. Bu yaklaşım, mekânsallığı, mimari ölçekte geliştirilen planlama ve tasarım süreçlerine dâhil ederek, demokrasiyi ve sürdürülebilir insani kalkınmayı geliştiren tasarım stratejileri için teorik bir temel sağlar. Kamusal alanın soyut doğasına rağmen, katılımcı tasarım süreçlerindeki aşamalar, ölçülebilir niteliksel normlara dayanarak, sürdürülebilir insani kalkınmayı güçlendiren yönde yapılandırılabilir ve aynı zamanda demokratik mekânsallığı güçlendirebilir. Makale, saha uygulamaları ve sosyal bilimlerle desteklenebilecek "kamusal katılımcı tasarım" olarak adlandırılan bir prototip yaklaşımı önermektedir. Sonuç bölümünde, bu teorik yaklaşımın sağlayabileceği potansiyel faydalar ve çeşitli perspektifler vurgulanmaktadır.
... In the bustling world of industry, where efficiency and precision reign supreme, chemical sensors play a critical role as silent orchestrators [23]. These unsung heroes ensure smooth and efficient operation by constantly monitoring processes, safeguarding product quality, and preventing costly accidents. ...
p>Chemical sensors bridge the gap between the chemical and electrical/optical domains, offering a powerful tool for analyzing our environment. These ingenious devices, with detection limits reaching parts-per-billion (ppb) for some analytes, rely on interactions between a specific material and the target molecule. This interaction, which can involve changes in electrical current, light emission, or mass, is translated into a measurable signal. This review delves into the core working principles of various sensor types, highlighting their diverse applications. From environmental monitoring (tracking air and water pollutants at concentrations as low as 10 ppb) to medical diagnostics (detecting biomarkers for early disease identification), chemical sensors play a crucial role in shaping a safer and healthier future. Recent advancements, such as miniaturization and integration with nanomaterials, promise even greater sensitivity, portability, and affordability, paving the way for a new era of sensor-driven innovation. This review article explores these advancements and their potential impact on various fields, inspiring further development and exploration of this transformative technology.</p
... With increased value placed on building simulation over physical post-occupation analysis, form calibrates around measured phenomena found to be consistent and predictable. The consequence for Perez-Gomez is that the 'digital twin' promotes precision in planning, fabricating and assembling material elements that require architecture to reach a formation limit within the digital space, avoiding any human translation ambiguity (Pérez-Gómez, 2016). ...
Chapter 5 discusses the recent shift in architectural practice towards data-driven decision-making, emphasising how architects increasingly rely on digital tools to guide design processes. The chapter explores the conceptual repositioning of data from a mere operational tool to a core material in architectural design, highlighting the transition towards prioritising efficiency, optimisation, and commercial viability. The text scrutinises the implications of this shift, including the potential erosion of human intuition and creativity in favour of non-human pattern recognition and algorithmic processes. It delves into how architects adapt to and integrate these methods, balancing traditional design skills and the new demands of managing and manipulating extensive data sets. The text critically assesses how this transformation aligns with broader economic and commercial pressures, shaping the architect's role and resulting architectural products. The chapter calls for critically examining the inherent biases and partialities within data-driven practices, urging architects to maintain a reflective and informed approach in their engagement with data and technology.
... Recent reviews illustrate well how relevant neuroscientific findings can advance the knowledge regarding the cognitive, emotional and experiential dimensions of the built environment (Bower et al., 2019;Higuera-Trujillo et al., 2021;Karakas & Yildiz, 2020;Rad et al., 2021). Phenomenological accounts have gained momentum with the neural turn (Holl et al., 2006) leading to the exploration of concepts such as mood and atmospheres (Canepa et al., 2019;Griffero, 2016) multisensory integration (Pallasmaa, 2012;Spence, 2020) and attunement (Perez-Gomez, 2016). Furthermore, exploring concepts related to relevant theoretical frameworks such as affordances (Djebbara, 2022;Jelić, 2022;Rietveld & Kiverstein, 2014) contributes to understanding dimensions of architecture that go beyond its visual form. ...
Research on the relationship between the built environment and human perception, behaviour and experience is by no means new to the fields of architectural and urban studies. Relevant traditional methods used to address these issues include post-occupancy surveys, ethnographic and phenomenological approaches as well as observations of behaviours and movements in spatial settings (e.g. space syntax). However, a fresh perspective into the embodied experience of the built environment comes to complement these attempts. Neuroacrhitecture and neurourbanism are two emerging research fields that take advantage of the advancements in neuroscientific knowledge, and cutting-edge technology e.g. VR and biosensing (eye-tracking, EEG) to gain a deeper understanding of the brain-body-environment relationship. These fields are rapidly gaining traction and the translation of research findings into evidence-based design parameters is vital for creating spaces that fit our situated emotional and cognitive needs. The paper adopts a theoretical stance inviting the reader to re-imagine how neuroscientific knowledge on the mind-body-environment interaction can be generated and translated in formats that can inform architectural and urban design. The paper offers a brief review of the neural turn in architectural and urban studies, followed by a detailed discussion of the main challenges (and potential remedies) related to the translation of such biological evidence into design research and practice. The paper aims to draw attention to the potential valuable contribution of neuroarchitecture and neurourbanism in evidence-based design practices and the development of urban policies that can positively shape our everyday experience.
... , cited in Monbiot(2017)Bohme(2018),McCarter and Pallasmaa (2013) andPerez-Gomez (2016) ...
... Not far from third-wave HCI theories on experience, architecture scholars, such as Rasmussen (1959) and Norberg-Schulz (1980) and more recently (Vesely, 2005;Holl et al., 2006;Pallasmaa, 2012;Pérez Gómez, 2016;Seamon, 2023), have argued that architecture is experienced through our senses and can elicit emotional and psychological reactions. These theorists drew from Heidegger's (1971) seminal writings on phenomenology, 'Building, dwelling, thinking', in which he theorised that architecture and the built environment play a crucial role in shaping human experience, and to a lesser extent from Husserl (1989) and Merleau-Ponty (2012). ...
The emerging field of human-building interaction (HBI) has its roots in the historical trends of the development of architecture and human-computer interaction (HCI). Advancements in building information modelling (BIM), sensing, and actuation technologies as well as the commodification and miniaturisation of microprocessors over the past two decades are transforming what once were quixotic visions of a cybernetic architecture into reality. This new reality which integrates computation with architecture opens up different kinds of engagements in the ways we design, use, and inhabit our built environments. A question that follows this new reality is: how can we conceptualise human experience in such environments? Thus far, the lived human experience of such interactions has been an overlooked aspect in HBI-related research. In this article, we provide an initial experience framework for HBI underpinned by existing literature from the HCI and architecture domains on the subjective, lived-in experience of architecture and findings derived from a case study of a field-deployed HBI interface. The research objective of our framework is to outline aspects of HBI lived experiences that can be used as guiding lenses for HBI designers and practitioners who wish to design for and assess such experiences.
... Pérez-Gómez [22] argues that parametric design, in its pursuit of innovative forms and structures, often falls short in creating environments that genuinely resonate with human culture. According to him, the emphasis on formal innovation and algorithmic parameters tends to overshadow the social significance of the built environment, neglecting the essence of places. ...
“Context” holds a broad meaning in architectural discourse, and its definition and components have evolved over time. A comparison between contemporary parametric design and overall architectural practices reveals a contradictory connotation of context in these discourses. In parametric design, as it is currently practiced, the concept of “context” appears to have shifted primarily toward energy considerations and quantifiable parameters, neglecting the broader range of site forces. However, it raises the question of whether parametric design can still be considered contextual and sustainable design when it overlooks compatibility with broader contextual dimensions such as cultural, social, and historical forces. To answer this question, we establish a clear and comprehensive definition of “context” in overall architectural practices by exploring the different meanings and epistemologies of “context” in cultural, social, historical, physical, environmental, political, and economic domains. This process helps us determine which context components can be incorporated into parametric architecture and which cannot, thereby aiding in the integration of sustainability principles into parametric design. The results show that while physical and environmental components can be included in parametric architecture, intangible parameters such as cultural, historical, social, economic, and political aspects cannot be easily quantified and thus are difficult to incorporate.
... Straipsnio tikslas -palyginti architektūros fenomenologų Harrieso, Veselio ir Pérezo-Gómezo pateikiamas prasmingos ikimoderniosios architektūros sampratas, nustatyti jų bendrumus ir skirtumus. Gretinamos Harrieso (1997), Veselio (2004) ir Pérezo-Gómezo (1983, 2016c monografijos, kuriose pristatomos prasmingos architektūros teorijos, ir kiti su šia tema susiję autorių tekstai. Straipsnyje aptariamos skirtingos teorijų prieigos bei šaltiniai, analizuojamas prasmės nuvertinimas Apšvietos laikotarpiu, lyginamos pačios prasmingos architektūros sampratos, pabaigoje pateikiamos tyrimą apibendrinančios išvados. ...
The article compares the theories of three architectural phenomenologists - Karsten Harries, Dalibor Vesely and Alberto Pérez-Gómez - who are acclaimed by their coverage of architecture from ancient times to
today. The starting point of the theories is the meaningful architecture of pre-modern times, which was
replaced by an objectified concept of architecture after the crisis of the Enlightenment. The authors under
analysis define pre-modern architecture as a representation of an invisible layer of meaning, based mostly
on the analysis of Enlightenment texts, Husserl’s theory of the crisis of science and the phenomenological
tradition. Two semantic structures are distinguished, related to exact meaning and sensory experience. The
analysis of different historical epochs reveals the heterogeneity of meaningful pre-modern architecture.
... In the last several years, the phenomenon of atmosphere has become a major topic in architectural and phenomenological research (Böhme, Griffero, and Thibald 2014;Borch 2014;Griffero 2014Griffero , 2017Pallasmaa 2015;Pérez-Gómez 2016;Zumthor 2006). Atmosphere refers to the ineffable architectural presence and ambience of a building that make it unique or unusual as an environment and place. ...
... Through the minds of phenomenology, spatial phenomena, such as atmospheres, are fundamental to the perception of architecture because they are continually "intertwined with temporality" and are "never outside time" (Pérez-Gómez, 2016). It is through the experiential aspects of architecture that we connect with space. ...
As announced in the editorial of the previous issue, the 19th issue of ArchiDOCT presents a second collection of papers that explore the theme of ‘temporality’ in architecture and the built environment from a theoretical or an applied standpoint. Once more, a variety of approaches, insights, and opportunities for research that arise from considering time in its heterogeneous dimensions and manifestations such as time, speed, rhythm, sequence or horizon have been handled. [...]
... Based on the reviewed literature, the key elements that create a quality public space are: open, artifact, theatrical (Henaff and Strong, 2001), atmosphere and moods (Pérez--Gómez, 2016). Eventhough, they are formed through diff erent approaches and diff erent background periods, the essence in all of them is the same, and it is the human dimension in the space itself, the bodily presence and experience ( Table 1). ...
Public space is an essential element of human wellbeing and the overall development of the city and society. This paper presents a brief outlook of the past and present situations related to the planning and use of public spaces in urban environments. In doing so, this paper addresses the finding that public spaces gradually lose the focus of quality in them, and as time goes by, these spaces are reshaping even in human-unfriendly places. The purpose of this presented research is to find out what are the key elements that create a quality public space. To achieve it, it is used a comparative–descriptive method comparing two relevant pieces of literature or authorial approaches, Henaff and Strong's “Public Space and Democracy” and Pérez-Gómez's “Attunement”. These two examples fulfill the criteria of having different interdisciplinary approaches toward public space, explained through different periods and backgrounds. It is found that the crucial elements these authors suggest for building qualitative space are well-grounded. As such, they can be implemented in an integrated physical form because they base on the human factor or the physical presence and experience in space. In the conclusion part, a suggestion was made to include these elements in the process of planning and designing public spaces in the context of the challenges of modern living culture.
Fuzhou City, located in China's Fujian Province, exemplifies the demographic transformation underway. The city's elderly population is growing, with individuals aged 60 and above constituting 16.76% of its municipal population. This demographic shift, coupled with increasing urbanization, underscores the urgent need to enhance public spaces to serve the requirements of elderly individuals better. This study, therefore, aims to investigate the influence of elderly-friendly public space and stakeholder perspective on the quality of life in urban micro-districts of Fuzhou City, Fujian Province. The quantitative method based on questionnaires is applied. Descriptive statistics such as frequency, percent frequency, arithmetic mean, and standard deviation are introduced. Various inferential statistical methods are used to test the hypothesis, particularly the Independent Samples t-test, the One-way ANOVA, and the Multiple Linear Regression analysis. The results obtained from the study indicate that differences in Gender, Marital Status, Duration of Residence, Living Arrangement, Type of Housing, and Mobility Limitation generate differences in Quality of Life in urban micro-districts of Fuzhou City, Fujian Province. Differences in Elderly Utilization Patterns generate differences in Quality of Life in urban micro-districts of Fuzhou City, Fujian Province. Differences in Stakeholder Involvement in Public Space generate differences in Quality of Life in urban micro-districts of Fuzhou City, Fujian Province. The results obtained from the Multiple Linear Regression Analyses show that there are significant positive impacts of all aspects of Public Space Characteristics (Accessibility, Safety Measures, and Types of Amenities) on Quality of Life in urban micro-districts of Fuzhou City, Fujian Province.
The second chapter examines five instances of the conceptualisation of architecture as a creative process over time—between téchnē/ art and epistḗmē science, between theory and practice, between ars mechanica and ars liberalis, between scientific character and humanist spirit and, finally, between the real and the ideal. Understanding the profession of architecture between the limits of each of these five instances provides a firmer foundation for the perspectives highlighted in the first chapter, and supports the central idea of this study, namely the need to recover an integrated approach to architecture, capable of balancing the various dimensions that polarise it (technical, economic, sustainable, scientific, but also ethical, psychosomatic, symbolic, poetic).
This chapter presents various contemporary critical perspectives on architecture as a creative process. Despite originating from different fields such as architecture, history and philosophy, these perspectives converge towards the notion of restoring the fundamental nature of architectural creation. The emergence of a shared concern and analysis towards the contemporary context across various disciplinary fields, whether they are tangent or intersecting, indicates that this approach is not solitary or negligible. Rather, it is extensive enough to be considered a paradigmatic phenomenon. The multiple perspectives and their diverse origins validate this phenomenon. Although the approaches outlined may appear to reject the current state of a consumerist, technological, informational and fragmented society, they are in fact a necessary complement to a contemporary vision of reality. Their role is to improve it rather than deny it. Understanding the complexities of the current context is essential for a deeper comprehension of the architectural creation’s achievements and drawbacks rather than a complete break from it.
Under the sign of poeta, a so-called ulterior purpose of architecture emerges, which is essential to the completion of the pragmatic objectives of architecture. We can call it symbolic, exploring the invisible instances of the act of architectural creation: from perceptive manifestation, passion and compassion for people and the world, to symbolic manifestation, related to myth, ritual and the sacred. Although difficult to quantify in a rationally oriented discipline, these instances demonstrate their relevance and necessity in the general oikonomia of the profession.
The image of the architect—poeta faber—proposed in this book suggests a permanent oscillation and negotiation between the various dimensions of the discipline examined in the first chapter—namely, art–science, practice–theory, mechanical art–liberal art, science–humanistic discipline, and real–ideal. From this perspective, the education and training of such a professional depends on striking a balance between these valences, which must be seen as complementary instances rather than as antithetical positions. The “lesson” of poíēsis undoubtedly meets this purpose.
Spatial Attunement shifts the discussion to a more personal and experiential realm. Part autoethnography, part spatial attunement, and part design, this chapter plays with the presence of possibility. Pushing past the notion of organization space as static and peripheral into more interactive, embodied, and whimsical territory, I explore themes of health, wellbeing, and support, as well as qualities like potential, hope, and curiosity. Accompanied by spatial reflections of my experiences at home, the discussion shifts into how spaces engage the body, through aspects such as memory, the senses, emotion, and atmosphere. Drawing on my experience with material landscape provides moments of reflection that explore details such as: how a cotton nightie transforms the atmosphere into something magical; how a fireplace on a television creates an unexpected warmth; or how the noticing of light and shadow added a depth of presence and awareness. Over time, these explorations in spatial awareness fostered greater attunement and sensitivity to my environments, which ultimately became part of and benefited my research into office space. Throughout this chapter, moments of how we engage and design space offer possible practices and ideas for application and experimentation.
Emplaced Research explores the ontological and methodological implications of including aesthetic and spatial qualities in research. How do we position and attune ourselves to see the world as more-than-human? Building on the conversational aspects of space through emplaced interviews, complementary research methods such as sensory ethnography and photography offer a rich basis for spatial research. In addition to spatial inquiry, this chapter emphasizes the importance of maintaining a socio-material and participatory approach for data analysis. Looking at how spatial moments, emotions, and encounters are presented, the chapter concludes with tangible examples of research that manage to keep space at the forefront.
Writing the Invisible offers an honest glimpse into my process as a researcher as I explored the role of words and their ability to convey my and others’ aesthetic knowledge. In questioning the effectiveness of language to adequately share nuanced and ephemeral experience, this chapter dives into the ultimate power of words, not only to describe space, but to evoke and create it. Drawing from various writers, artists, and academics to explore stories told through text and material spaces, we begin to see space as a contributing character, and in some cases, co-author of the plot. In this sense, the narrative framework becomes an important aspect of experiencing, creating, and documenting our environment. Words and conversations with space can surface qualities of the material world, becoming entwined with our experience of them. Listening to and speaking with space are part of how we perceive and notice our surroundings. I also investigate the potential within the act of noticing as a way to attune and attend the material world. This chapter is aimed at reflexive researchers and practitioners looking at the nuanced ways in which space takes shape in their writing and research. As space is explored on the page, readers (and writers) can simultaneously connect with their own surroundings. Reflecting on how space shows up will transform writing and speaking into spatial practices in and of themselves.
This paper presents a discussion of Radcliffe’s pedagogy-space-technology (PST) framework for the development, implementation, and evaluation of learning spaces in light of Merleau-Ponty’s Phenomenology of Perception. The following research questions have guided the theoretical discussion: In which ways can Merleau-Ponty’s body-subject phenomenology enlighten Radcliffe’s framework? How can Merleau-Ponty’s body-subject paradigm be integrated into the development and implementation of hybrid learning environments? The reference to an exploratory case study within the frame of a larger research project will support the theoretical argumentation. In the study, the genesis of an innovative learning environment linked to a cross-institution master’s program located at two Norwegian universities will serve as an example.
This research examines data from the perspective of the architect and investigates how they conceptualise, produce, and use it. It challenges the notion that data is a recent phenomenon and determines its unique character in different periods, offering distinct abilities to the architect. Discourse and case study analysis reveal data's role in architectural theory and practice and its influence on institutional and disciplinary decision making. The research provides a unique perspective, emphasizing data as a driving force of architectural change, rather than merely a technical by-product. It underscores the importance of understanding data to better equip architects for future, data-rich work environments.
This paper takes initial steps towards developing a theoretical framework of contemplative neuroaesthetics through sensorimotor dynamics. We first argue that this new area has been largely omitted from the contemporary research agenda in neuroaesthetics and thus remains a domain of untapped potential. We seek to define this domain to foster a clear and focused investigation of the capacity of the arts and architecture to induce phenomenological states of a contemplative kind. By proposing a sensorimotor account of the experience of architecture, we operationalize how being attuned to architecture can lead to contemplative states. In contrasting the externally-induced methods with internally-induced methods for eliciting a contemplative state of mind, we argue that architecture may spontaneously and effortlessly lead to such states as certain built features naturally resonate with our sensorimotor system. We suggest that becoming sensible of the resonance and attunement process between internal and external states is what creates an occasion for an externally-induced contemplative state. Finally, we review neuroscientific studies of architecture, elaborate on the brain regions involved in such aesthetic contemplative responses, provide architectural examples, and point at the contributions that this new area of inquiry may have in fields such as the evidence-based design movement in architecture.
ABSTRACT: We must design houses that afford homes, cultivating atmospheres that sensually and emotionally nurture thriving individuals. Mood is the psychological and physiological medium of exchange between designers and dwellers. The ability to affect people’s moods, attuning them to the overall atmosphere, represents the ultimate timeless task of meaningful architecture. In this paper, we developed an analysis and design tool to systematically explore domestic atmospheres and investigate the primary generators available to architects. We crafted the ABODE (the Atmospheric BODy Experience) matrix, embedding the twelve generators of atmosphere articulated by Peter Zumthor on the y-axis and the six atmospheric senses synthesized by Juhani Pallasmaa on the x-axis. By combining architecture, phenomenology, and biology, the ABODE matrix promotes an affect-based approach and returns the body to the center of the design process. To test this tool, we selected the Hermitage cabin designed by llabb, a Genoa-based firm founded by Luca Scardulla and Federico Robbiano. *** KEYWORDS: architecture — atmosphere — body — resonance — attunement — mood — generators of atmosphere — Peter Zumthor — Juhani Pallasmaa — llabb — Hermitage cabin
This study aimed to investigate the meaning of atmosphere in interior architectural spaces,
explore the strategies and approaches used to design atmosphere, and identify the common difficulties
encountered by designers during the process. The focus was on the intangible qualities of atmosphere
and ambiguity in the design process. A qualitative research approach was employed, consisting of
literature review and thematic qualitative interviews. The study identified different approaches and
stages of processing in designing atmosphere and various strategies for conceptualization and
communication. The difficulties encountered were related to the intangible aspect of atmosphere,
communication, designing, background and experience, and project management. The acquisition of
affective qualities in the atmosphere occurs through being a part of material worlds, whether other people
are present or not. The study contributes to the field by developing a conceptual framework for
considering the atmosphere in interior design process. The findings could be helpful to interior design
academics, professionals, and students, by clarifying the complexity of dimensions related to the
atmosphere in the design process and offering recommendations for design processing.
This feasibility study assesses the strength and weaknesses of a novel methodology applied to the design of urban architecture to enrich the process of urban planning to satisfy the needs of a city’s inhabitants. Specifically, a visual preference survey was conducted using eye-tracking technology to observe the influence of urban differing scales on the human visual experience. Using an observational design, two architectural conditions were introduced to section an urban village into a few predetermined areas and walking lines. The visual experience of ten participants was then collected using a mobile eye-tracking device. Results showed that people indeed have different visual perceptions when interacting with urban fabric, and that such perceptions change from a formal to a traditional scale design
This dialogue on how the key notions of atmosphere and affordance contribute to architecture illuminates both differences and similarities between Tonino Griffero’s first-person phenomenology of atmosphere and those aspects of Michael Arbib’s cog/neuroscience (cognitive science and neuroscience) that address the experience and design of architecture. We demonstrate the relevance of atmosphere to three questions that an architect may pose: 1. — “What impact will a space have on a person when they first encounter it?” 2. — “How will that impact change for a person when they spend more time there?” — and 3. “How can I design a space so that certain types of users will have a particular immediate or later impact?” The phenomenologist seeks to explore what each person feels in a given space or situation. The resultant vocabulary may help architects better assess their own experience and imagine the experience of potential inhabitants of the buildings they design. However, the actual design requires a more analytic assessment of how to design spaces that will support various praxic and atmospheric affordances for different categories of intended users of the building, and here science can play an integrative role. A particular challenge is to assess the interplay between conscious and nonconscious processes. Given that the article is directed at architects, we take care to introduce the necessary background from phenomenology and cog/neuroscience. *****************************
This article is a Chapter from the book which also contains a copy of 4 commentaries, the author’s individual responses, and more:
Canepa, E., et al., Eds. (2023). Atmosphere(s) for Architects: Between Phenomenology and Cognition (A Dialogue between Michael Arbib and Tonino Griffero, with Commentaries). Interfaces. Manhattan, Kansas, New Prairie Press.
A free copy of the full book can be downloaded from New Prairie Press:
https://newprairiepress.org/ebooks/51/
Interfaces book series, issue no. 5. Open access edition available online at www.newprairiepress.org/ebooks/51 —————— ABSTRACT: Informed by (new) phenomenology and cog/neuroscience and grounded in the architectural discipline’s expertise, atmospherology (namely, the study of affective atmospheres in space) can benefit from a shared lexicon to encourage mutual understanding and knowledge construction. A basic language of atmosphere helps cultivate an affective education that makes architects capable of articulating tacit experiences and designing atmospheric qualities. Fifteen essentials are discussed: affordance, arousal, atmosphere, attunement, body, conscious, emotion, feeling, first impression, generator of atmosphere, lived space, mood, nonconscious, resonance, and valence. Lastly, this essay develops an atmospherological critique of the Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art on the Kansas State University campus in Manhattan (Kansas) to evaluate the accuracy, coherence, and adaptability of the lexicon’s concepts. *** KEYWORDS: architecture — phenomenology — neuroscience — atmosphere — atmospherology — affective education — tacit experience — language of atmosphere — Kansas State’s Beach Museum of Art.
Segons Alberto Pérez-Gómez, el tractat d’Hypnerotomachia juntament amb altres textos clàssics escrits per Piranesi, Boulleé, i altres, han representat un contrapès a la visió tècnica de la teoria de l’arquitectura representada pels tractats escrits per Palladio i Alberti. Els textos de Les Colombières i Les Jardins Enchantés escrits per Ferdinand Bac, podrien considerar-se part d’aquella literatura que lluny de teoritzar l’arquitectura i el paisatgisme des d’una visió quantitativa, li concedeix el sentit ontològic des de l’experiència corpòria. En el cas particular de Les Colombières, el llibre es va constituir com una memòria descriptiva de l’obra paisatgística construïda per Ferdinand Bac a les rodalies de la ciutat de Menton entre 1919 i 1925. Aquesta particularitat és el que atorga al text rellevància, ja que són les imatges i els constructes literaris que Bac va implementar allò que li va permetre descriure i perpetuar l’experiència espacial corpòria de l’espai arquitectònic i paisatgístic de la seva obra construïda. Aquest article analitza els recursos literaris metafòrics, simbòlics i mitològics, així com les seqüències gràfiques a través dels quals l’autor va reconstruir de manera literària l'espai arquitectònic i paisatgístic que es corporitza al lector. En acabar, s’argumenta les raons per les quals Les Colombières es podria considerar com un text teòric clau per comprendre l’arquitectura des de l’experiència corpòria, analitzant l’acceptació que va rebre el llibre en el context tapatí dels anys vint a Mèxic, particularment a les primerenques nocions teòriques d’arquitectura del jove Luis Barragán.
According to Alberto Pérez-Gómez, the Hypnerotomachia treatise together with other classic texts written by Piranesi, Boulleé, and others, have represented a counterweight to the technical vision of the theory of architecture represented by the treatises written by Palladio and Alberti. The texts of Les Colombières and Les Jardins Enchantés, written by Ferdinand Bac, could be considered as part of that literature that, far from theorizing architecture and landscaping from a quantitative perspective, re-gives it its ontological meaning from corporeal experience. In the particular case of Les Colombières, the book was constituted as a descriptive memory of the landscape work built by Ferdinand Bac in the vicinity of the city of Menton between 1919 and 1925. This particularity is what gives the text relevance, since the images and literary constructs that Bac implemented, allowed him to describe and perpetuate the corporeal spatial experience of the architectural and landscape space of his built work. This article analyzes the metaphorical, symbolic, and mythological literary resources, as well as the graphic sequences through which the author literally reconstructed the architectural and landscape space that is embodied in the reader. At the end, the reasons why Les Colombières could be considered a key theoretical text to understand architecture from corporeal experience are argued, analyzing the acceptance that the book received in the Guadalajara context of the twenties in Mexico, particularly in the early theoretical notions of architecture of the young Luis Barragán.
Según Alberto Pérez-Gómez, el tratado de Hypnerotomachia junto con otros textos clásicos escritos por Piranesi, Boulleé, y otros más, han representado un contrapeso a la visión técnica de la teoría de la arquitectura representada por los tratados escritos por Palladio y Alberti. Los textos de Les Colombières y Les Jardins Enchantés escritos por Ferdinand Bac, podrían considerarse parte de aquella literatura que lejos de teorizar a la arquitectura y al paisajismo desde una visión cuantitativa, le concede su sentido ontológico desde la experiencia corpórea. En el caso particular de Les Colombières, el libro se constituyó como una memoria descriptiva de la obra paisajística construida por Ferdinand Bac en las cercanías de la ciudad de Menton entre 1919 y 1925. Esta particularidad es lo que le otorga al texto relevancia, ya que son las imágenes y los constructos literarios que Bac implementó lo que le permitió describir y perpetuar la experiencia espacial corpórea del espacio arquitectónico y paisajístico de su obra construida. El presente artículo analiza los recursos literarios metafóricos, simbólicos y mitológicos, así como las secuencias gráficas a través de los cuales el autor reconstruyó de forma literaria el espacio arquitectónico y paisajístico que se corporiza en el lector. Al finalizar, se argumenta las razones por las cuales Les Colombières podría considerarse como un texto teórico clave para comprender la arquitectura desde la experiencia corpórea, analizando la aceptación que recibió el libro en el contexto tapatío de los años veinte en México, particularmente en las tempranas nociones teóricas de arquitectura del joven Luis Barragán.
Interfaces book series, issue no. 4. Open access edition available online at www.newprairiepress.org/ebooks/50 —————— ABSTRACT: Based on the multi-component character of our emotions, we can study the affective dimension of architectural atmospheres through several approaches. This essay reviews the main research models that employ a first-person perspective (self-observation) and a third-person perspective (external observation), analyzing methodological potentials and limitations. We need a multi-perspective approach to investigate the complexity of the atmospheric vocation of architecture, integrating both models and working on complementary notions: atmosphere and architecture, resonance and attunement, impressions and appraisals, nonconscious and conscious, emotions and feelings, living body and lived body, neuroscience and phenomenology, physiological measures and self-report techniques. *** KEYWORDS: architecture — atmosphere — attunement — resonance — feeling — emotion — lived body — living body — conscious — nonconscious — first-person perspective — third-person perspective — phenomenology — neuroscience.
The notion of atmosphere has taken prominence in contemporary architecture discourse, in which it is used mainly to denote the affective characteristic of inhabitable spaces. In this paper, we employ the ecological-enactive approach to cognition to explain how atmospheres are perceived and created. According to that approach, cognitive systems actively explore meaningful possibilities for action in their environments. We thereby construe the perception of atmospheres as the possibilities for being in certain moods by exploring what the place affords. The perception of atmospheres is, therefore, a meaningful activity that is ultimately related to the organism’s biological interests, which we argue, is a type of meaning that cannot be fully conveyed descriptively. From this, it seems to follow that architects cannot foresee the atmospheres of a place during the designing phase of their projects. We avoid this undesirable conclusion by evoking the material engagement theory and the situated aspect of cognitive performances. Accordingly, skillful architects can imagine the intended atmospheres of a place by creating what we call proto-atmospheres, which involves creatively thinking through and with their tools.
The paper aims to highlight the need, distinctive features and problematic issues of cultural and communicative activities in architecture field by using a case study of the projects in architecture funded by the Lithuanian Council for Culture (LCC). The identification of the problems in supporting non-commercial initiatives in architecture since 2014 up to 2020 is the scope of this paper, which is developed using an analytical descriptive approach. The analysis covers scientific and professional literature, legal documents, recommendations of professional architectural organisations, information from the LCC and semi-structured interviews with 7 experts. Problems regarding the funding of projects in architecture by the LCC are identified by using statistical information from the LCC database and the dissatisfaction/satisfaction with LCC activities, project approval for funding, general issues of cultural policy expressed in interviews, and by looking for correlations between them. Analysis of the statistics of project funding reveals several problems. Funding for the projects in architecture field is particularly low, compared to the projects in other fields of culture and art. Geographical distribution of architectural projects is uneven, as majority of projects were submitted by applicants from Vilnius. Funding is mostly allocated to institutions with experience, established groups of participants and time-tested ways of operation; non-standard, breakthrough initiatives are rarely supported. The article states that problems related to the dominance of the narrowed concept of architecture, to the lack of cultural communication, and to the modest public knowledge of architecture lead to the devaluation of architecture and, consequently, to the diminishing of the quality, diversity and long-term cultural value of the surrounding environment. Architectural education of society would be the most effective way to address these problems. It is important to grow everyday users, politicians, investors, developers, activists, and preservers of local heritage able to understand and critically evaluate architecture. In order to increase the cultural significance and importance of architecture for society, architecture practitioners and theoreticians should be encouraged to make the most effective use of the opportunities offered by the LCC. Activities to be funded should be selected by the potential long-term value of their results and their impact on the public and/or the professional community. In order to balance the geographical distribution, revisions to the list of evaluation criteria and their weight should increase access to support for activities in regions, for ambitious early applicants and for innovative, out-of-the-box undertakings.
The 23rd Issue of Forum A+P investigates and speculates on the relationship between the city and techno-science. The term ‘city’ is understood in two ways: first, in a discursive sense – as an object of study and a set of practices – episte- mological, aesthetic, architectural, political, economic, and social among others - that deal with such object; and sec- ond, as a reality that both delimits and challenges the very notion and possibility of representing and knowing it as an object. In its hyphenated form, techno-science is under- stood - in Bernard Stiegler’s words: “as a com-position of science and technology, meaning that science submits to the constraints involved in becoming the technology that for- mulates the systematic conditions of its evolution.”[...]
This article explores the representation of lived life in the house in Willa Cather’s The Professor’s House (1925). It uncovers how the house moves bodies and affects moods that create individual meaning but also reflect broader responses to modernity. The article argues, in line with recent architectural scholarship, that literature, especially “middlebrow” fiction that would reach a large audience, is productive for understanding atmospheres. Using Bille and Simonsen (2021 Bille, Mikkel, and Kirsten Simonsen. 2021. “Atmospheric Practices: On Affecting and Being Affected.” Space and Culture 24(2): 295–309.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) concept of “atmospheric practices” as a key theoretical framing, the article shows how interactions with the house are deeply dependent on moods (such as anxiety, curiosity, nostalgia), and that practices performed in and with the house (walking down the stairs, sitting working, opening windows etc.) transmit affects that, in turn, determines the body’s movement.
The paper addresses the morphological characteristics in the rapidly changing urban form of the
Palestinian settlements choosing the town of Qaffin as a case study. Qualitative methods are used to
address the analytical and historical transformation. Thus, the urban form of Qaffin tells a lot about the
political, social, and economic factors of change in Palestine in the last century. The main finding of the
study accentuates the rapid changing of housing forms and density while the continuity of streets and
plot patterns. Hence, the Palestinian towns are still able to conserve their organic character, but the rapid
change could cause over-densification in the future. Accordingly, there is an urgent need for a plan for
the deceleration of the change of urban form in Palestinian towns, which in turn will play a role in
preserving the Palestinian identity and cultural stability.
ResumenA lo largo de las últimas dos décadas, y ante la creciente preocupación por el medio ambiente y el cambio climático, la arquitectura ha explorado las oportunidades abiertas por los campos de la termodinámica y la ecología. Centrándose en un enfoque cuantitativo, se ha echado mano de estas disciplinas para responder con rigor y precisión a este reto. Esta cuestión se ha abordado principalmente desde un punto de vista técnico, centrándose en cuantificar el rendimiento termodinámico de los edificios, pasando por alto los aspectos culturales aún cuando son igualmente importantes. Es por tanto importante que la arquitectura compense este enfoque técnico y cuantitativo con una perspectiva cualitativa, de modo que se aborden de manera integral cuestiones que hasta ahora han sido independientes como son el clima de un lugar, la atmósfera que se genera en el interior de un edificio o la vida cotidiana de sus usuarios. A diferencia de los enfoques paramétricos que han dominado la arquitectura termodinámica durante la última década, la revisión de la idea de tipología es una buena herramienta disciplinar para integrar el clima de un lugar con los patrones de la vida cotidiana de sus habitantes. Los tipos climáticos muestran de una manera explícita cómo la arquitectura puede interactuar entre el clima exterior y la forma en que las personas viven y socializan, ofreciendo el potencial para conectar la organización espacial y material de un edificio con el comportamiento de sus habitantes, uniendo los asuntos cuantitativos con los cualitativos. Este escrito recorre las ideas que fundamentan esta cuestión. Partiendo del campo de lo psicosomático y de situaciones y comportamientos cotidianos de sus habitantes, se explorará cómo las tipologías climáticas ofrecen un conocimiento disciplinar de interés para comprender las conexiones que existen entre la arquitectura, el clima y su uso y habitabilidad. Mediando entre lo técnico y lo cultural, este escrito aspira a aproximarse a una nueva idea de tipología que, integrando su estructura formal y material con los microclimas que induce y con el comportamiento de sus usuarios, supere el determinismo performativo para proponer una interacción abierta entre la arquitectura, la atmósfera y el cuerpo humano.AbstractDuring the last two decades, in the context of a growing awareness of the environment and climate change, architecture has explored the design opportunities opened up by the fields of thermodynamics and ecology. Focusing on the quantitative and performance-oriented approaches that have prevailed in recent years, architecture has explored new design potentials. However, this new sensibility has been approached primarily from a technical point of view and has focused on quantifying the thermodynamic performance of buildings, overlooking the equally important cultural aspects of this endeavor. Apart from this quantitative and technical approach, architecture needs to have a qualitative outlook if it is to address the connections that exist between the local climate of a given place, the effect of the spatial and material particularities of architecture on interior atmospheres, and the everyday lifestyles of its users. Contrary to the parametric approaches that have dominated thermodynamic architecture during the last decade, climatic typologies are a powerful tool in bridging the gulf that exists between a given local climate and specific everyday life patterns. Climatic typologies —both historical and contemporary— very explicitly show how architecture can determine the interaction between outdoor climate and the way people live and socialize, offering the opportunity to connect the spatial and material lineaments of architecture to the specific physiological and psychological behaviors of its users, bridging the gulf between the thermodynamic processes induced by architecture and the everyday behavior of its inhabitants. This essay presents the architectural ideas that ideologically ground the approach. Starting from human psychosomatic behavior and everyday behavioral situations, the essay will explore how climatic typologies, both historical and contemporary, offer disciplinary knowledge essentially to an understanding of the connections between architecture, climate, and living patterns. Mediating between the technical and the cultural, this essay seeks to redefine the idea of typology, conflating the formal and material structure of the architectural type, with the microclimates it elicits and the behavior of its users. Superseding performative determinism, it proposes an open interaction between architecture, atmosphere, and human body.
Abstract During the last two decades, in the context of a growing awareness of the environment and climate change, architecture has explored the design opportunities opened up by the fields of thermodynamics and ecology. Focusing on the quantitative and performance-oriented approaches that have prevailed in recent years, architecture has explored new design potentials. However, this new sensibility has been approached primarily from a technical point of view and has focused on quantifying the thermodynamic performance of buildings, overlooking the equally important cultural aspects of this endeavor. Apart from this quantitative and technical approach, architecture needs to have a qualitative outlook if it is to address the connections that exist between the local climate of a given place, the effect of the spatial and material particularities of architecture on interior atmospheres, and the everyday lifestyles of its users. Contrary to the parametric approaches that have dominated thermodynamic architecture during the last decade, climatic typologies are a powerful tool in bridging the gulf that exists between a given local climate and specific everyday life patterns. Climatic typologies —both historical and contemporary— very explicitly show how architecture can determine the interaction between outdoor climate and the way people live and socialize, offering the opportunity to connect the spatial and material lineaments of architecture to the specific physiological and psychological behaviors of its users, bridging the gulf between the thermodynamic processes induced by architecture and the everyday behavior of its inhabitants. This essay presents the architectural ideas that ideologically ground the approach. Starting from human psychosomatic behavior and everyday behavioral situations, the essay will explore how climatic typologies, both historical and contemporary, offer disciplinary knowledge essentially to an understanding of the connections between architecture, climate, and living patterns. Mediating between the technical and the cultural, this essay seeks to redefine the idea of typology, conflating the formal and material structure of the architectural type, with the microclimates it elicits and the behavior of its users. Superseding performative determinism, it proposes an open interaction between architecture, atmosphere, and human body.
The village of Kampos, a place of vernacular architecture on the Cycladic island of Tinos in Greece, is of a great importance to me. This importance stems from the fact that today architects, planners and designers are focused on new contemporary sustainable ways of living, which remain outside the human way of living and the complexity of architecture, or with things connected with social life, spatial qualities and the environment. Meanwhile, private ownership, along with the way the state handles ownership in general, make boundaries appear stiff and as elements of division and autonomy. Do we actually know what it is to live together with a broader understanding of the role of architecture and the environment? Despite our contemporary and highly technological way of living, this way of living and spatial understanding in the village, the continuing habits and patterns of the past, still contributes to a physiologically and psychologically balanced lifestyle in both the private and the public realms. How people live in Kampos could be ‘a response to some of the prejudices and difficulties that affect many other cultures in our globalised world’ (Vidali 2020a, p. 22).
KeywordsCommunityVillage architectureMetaphorNarrativeFictional narrative
In the context of increased interest in literary methods for spatial design, this article argues for a reconsideration of narrative methods for urban planning. It holds that when narrative is taken not as a reified object but as an active mode, in which a strategy for organizing the phenomenal world allows for form to be created from and within the profusion of signs, the importance of heterogeneous non-narrative elements comes into full force, in particular around figurative or metaphorical language, even or especially within the narrative frame. Drawing on work from Bernardo Secchi and Paola Viganò on and around the “porous city” figure and the Greater Paris international consultations, the article makes a case for a narrative of poetic practices. By identifying the polysemic agency of the poetic function, the territorial figure becomes not a comparison between two terms, but a complex linking of similarities in multiple dissimilar states, creating an effect of rapprochement with new possible futures.
In 1830, British Commander Robert Fitz-Roy led a personal mission to indoctrinate four Patagonians captured in Tierra del Fuego. His project consisted of redeeming their still youthful souls from paganism by fully immersing them in the most modern civilization at the time. Once in England, the adolescents experienced a dislocated westernization due to this extreme clash of cultures. The return to the virgin coasts of Wulaia, thus, brought back individuals who forever changed after living in the altered reality of the modern and “civilized” world.
This chapter tells the Fitz-Roy’s “compassionate” mission that led to an unsettling human experiment having the Patagonians indoctrinated and re-contextualized in the heart of the British Empire. Based on Benjamin Subercaseaux’s novel Jemmy Button (1950), this chapter centres on the London that Jemmy—one of the adolescents—experienced when he went astray in 1831. The chapter’s structure follows inspiration from the work of W. G. Sebald’s The Rings of Saturn (1998), particularly in searching for the history of places and the places of history through the eyes of this alien visitor. Ultimately, this chapter aims to contribute to an ongoing understanding of how the concept of “worldview” spread increasingly narrow and exclusively defined by the reigning empire.
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