Constructing Place : towards a phenomenological framework for architecture in the twenty-first century

Abstract

This study will develop a framework, comprising a set of design considerations, that sheds light on what ideas (theories) and what events (practices) result in the architectural analysis, conceptualisation, and making of places. To do so, this study will situate the question of architectural place-making in a global and a local post-apartheid South African context. It will highlight the philosophical position of phenomenology as a method to explicate place, but also identify problems regarding the adoption of phenomenology in architecture: that this philosophical position is esoteric and often impenetrable for architects, educators and students, and also that architectural contributions of this position are fragmented and disparate. Furthermore it will identify trends that compromise place-making in architecture, these including the dominance of our visual sense (ocularcentrism) and the intellectualisation of our discipline. To counter these concerns a phenomenological architectural framework will be developed in three parts. Part 1: The Designation will define the notion of place by means of an investigation of the evolution of placial thought. It will show that place is a phenomenological enquiry. Seminal themes in phenomenology (Husserl, Heidegger and Merleau-Ponty) will be highlighted as a philosophical foundation to the study. Drawing on a set of principles that constitute this philosophical foundation, a theoretical framework will be established. This framework will consist of the following categories: The Material Aspects of the Lifeworld, The Lived Dimension of Place, and The Mental Dimension of Place will form a spatial triad. Part 2: The Inquiry, will elaborate on each of these dimensions of the triad in the form of a narrative. Relevant place-making considerations that emerge will be highlighted, and illustrated through architectural applications. Part 3: The Distillation will summarise the dynamics and constitutive parts of this spatial triad, and show how it acts as a sufficient framework through which to analyse and conceptualise place. It will illustrate four architectural place-making applications of the framework and elaborate on ways in which this framework can inform architectural curricula that prioritizes the experiential nature of place.