Norberg-Schultz

Norberg-Schultz’s heavy referencing to Heidegger is only natural.  Schultz’s embrace of phenomenology dictates his approach to analysis and is similar to Heidegger’s methods of research of seemingly commonplace words.  Much like Heidegger’s pursuit of the true meaning of “dwell”, Norberg-Schultz is defining what we call a “place”.  Both writers source historical linguistics as a means for determining a baseline definition of their relative words.  Schultz uses phenomenology to further explore place and its meaning.  In addition to referencing the works of Heidegger, Schultz explores poetics and the Roman concept of genius loci, or the spirit of a place.  Phenomenology, or the so-called “return to things”, influences many modern architects, including as Ando and Holl.