04 Reading

Norberg-Schulz, Christian. “The phenomenon of place.” The urban design reader. Routledge, 2013. 292-304.

In the Phenomenon of Place, Norberg-Schulz presents the concept of phenomenology to convey elements of space as physical manifestations rather than “abstractions”. In analyzing Trakl’s poem, he notes the tangible details of both “non-human” and “human” sensations. In defining “place” and “space”, Norberg-Schulz emphasizes that both “character” and the development of a “place” derived from spatial conditions allows for its users to be aware or “conscious” of the material experiences it presents. He aptly mentions this “consciousness” of space, wherein he considers that human to non-human connection is vital to its development. Interestingly, he describes “place” as tangential to the “human identity”, which may interpret place as a type of object in which the human element provides signification. In such case, can the phenomena of a place be extracted from the human perception based on social and cultural factors?

Ando, Tadao. “Toward New Horizons in Architecture”. The Museum of Modern Art, 1991. 9-11

Ando notes that architecture requires contextual analysis in order to derive a design concept and can amplify its environment. Describing his design concept for the Row House, he quotes that the courtyard is “activated” or as in Norberg-Schulz writes, defined by its inhabitant. The “vibrancy” and “intimate” exchange between the natural and the human is what Ando seeks to generate as he describes his implementation of natural elements such as “water, wind, and, light, and sky” upon the architectural sytem. The process by which nature is integrated perhaps leads to what Ando mentions as an “architecture [that] creates a new landscape”.