Abstract
At the core of human existence, and by implication architecture, is the primal need to dwell. For Heidegger dwelling was a poetic act; it is only we, that hold the capacity to remove its poetic resonance. Furthermore, it is clear in Heidegger’s paradigm that the act of dwelling (the verb) sits ahead of the object of dwelling (the noun).
This Paper will suggest that much contemporary architecture has become obsessed with the object of its praxis, and, as a consequence, that the act (the verb) of architecture has been sacrificed at the high-altar of these objects (the nouns). In our increasingly homogenised, fluid, horizontal world, images are transported across space and time eroding a sense of particularity of place, climate and culture.
Furthermore, the Paper will suggest that an a-priori engagement with the verb and a rebalancing of the verb/noun relationship provides a route into the core of existence and indeed, a paradigm for mediating between existential and pragmatic components of being, and thus architecture. Implicit within such an ambition is the potential to reclaim ideas of particularity in counterpoint to the Universalist ambitions of globalisation.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Utzon: dwelling, landscape, place and making |
Editors | Lars Botin, Adrian Carter, Roger Tyrrell |
Place of Publication | Aalborg Denmark |
Publisher | Aalborg University Press |
Pages | 231-242 |
Number of pages | 12 |
ISBN (Print) | 9788771121094 |
Publication status | Published - 2013 |