Christian Norberg Schulz and the Project of Phenomenology in Architecture

Elie G. Haddad
Lebanese American University
Abstract
This paper will examine the theoretical work of one of the major proponents of a
phenomenological approach in architecture, the historian-theoretician Christian
Norberg-Schulz, examining the development of his ideas across thirty years.
While Norberg-Schulz started out with Intentions in Architecture [1963], a work
inspired by the structuralist studies in semiotics, sociology and psychology, he
soon shifted to a phenomenological approach with Existence, Space and
Architecture [1971], continuing with Genius Loci [1980] and The Concept of
Dwelling [1985]. This paper will explore the theoertical writings of Christian
Norberg-Schulz, in an attempt to evaluate his interpretation of phenomenology
and its application to architecture, as well as its ambiguous relation to the project
of modernity.

Biography
Elie Haddad is an architect and associate professor of architecture at the
Lebanese American University in Byblos, Lebanon. He has completed his
architectural studies at the University of Pennsylvania where he earned a PhD in
Architecture in 1998. He has been teaching design studios and architectural
theory at the Lebanese American University since 1994, where he also served as
Chair of the Department of Architecture & Design from 2000 to 2005.
Haddads research interests include topics in modern architecture, contemporary
architecture in the Arab world as well as urban developments in Lebanon. He has
contributed several articles on these topics to local and international journals.

Paper accepted for publication in Architecture Theory Review- March 2010

Existential Space and Phenomenology

It

is

paradoxical

that

the

phenomenological discourse appeared on

the architectural scene after the decline of
structuralism

and

semiotics,

while

in

Philosophy and the Humanities, it was the

decline of phenomenology in the 1960s
that

prompted

the

development

of

structuralism. This ambiguous situation

may be explained by the time-lapse which
usually accompanies the translation of
philosophical ideas or tendencies in the
architectural field.
The

phenomenological

discourse

in

architecture took as its major reference

point

the

later

writings

of

Martin

Heidegger, and was most prominently

represented by the interpretative work of
Christian

Norberg-Schulz.

Martin

Heideggers later works, especially the

series

of

essays

On

the

Essence

of

Truth, The Origin of the Work of Art,

and

Building,

Dwelling,

Thinking,

reflected a turn in his orientation from the

earlier

Being

and

Time

towards

mythopoeic approach that privileged a

direct

reflection

on

the

nature

of

elements, influenced by artistic practices.1

Fig.1.Diagram

from

Intentions

in

Architecture
Norberg Schulzs first theoretical work was
very much influenced by the structuralist
tendencies of the 1960s. Intentions in
Architecture
constituted
develop

appeared
an

an

in

1963

ambitious

overarching

and

project

system

to
that

would account for the various poles of

architectural

activity.

Norberg-Schulzs

framework for his study included a survey

of scientific methods from sociology to
psychology to semiotics. Already at this
time,

Norberg-Schulz

condition

of

crisis

to

attributed
the

the

failure

of

modern architecture to take account of

some of the essential factors that give
significance

to

the

built

environment,

among those the role of perception as

Paper accepted for publication in Architecture Theory Review- March 2010

well as the importance of history as a

source of meanings.2
Norberg-Schulzs discussion of perception
was influenced by Gestalt psychology, to
which were also added the socialization of
perception,

and

the

process

of

schematization, which deals with the way

in

which

perception

leads

to

the

construction of an understanding of the

world, based on the pioneering studies of
Jean Piaget in child psychology. From this,
he proceeded to outline a theoretical
framework which would comprise all the
semiotic dimensions. This theory, based
on semiotics but also supplemented by
other relevant studies, was an attempt to
create a comprehensive structure that
would

account

for

the

architectural

totality in all its aspects: the technical

structure, environment and context, scale,
and ornament.3 It is worthy to note that
this work did not list any single reference
to Heidegger in its bibliography, only
mentioning him in a single footnote.

work

with

very

indicative

title,

Existence, Space and Architecture [1971],

followed by Genius Loci [1980] and The
Concept

of

Dwelling

[1985]

which

constituted his trilogy on phenomenology

in

architecture,

within

Existence, Space and Architecture marked

a

turning

point

in

Norberg-Schulzs

theoretical project. While his first work

was

still

based

on

structuralist

approach, this work betrayed a shift which

would

concretize

committed

later

move

phenomenological

into

more

towards

approach

to

architecture. In the foreword, NorbergSchulz announced in fact a new approach

to the problem of architectural space,

Few years later, Norberg-Schulz published

a

Fig.2. Existence, Space and Architecture

theoretical

framework that derived its main impetus

from the writings of Martin Heidegger.4

attempting

to

develop

the

idea

that

architectural space may be understood as

a

concretization

schemata

or

necessary

of

images,

part

of

environmental
which
mans

form

general

orientation or being in the world.5 This

reference to being in the world is already
indicative of the new direction, supported
by several quotations of Heidegger. Still,
in this transitional work, Norberg-Schulz
stood on a middle ground between the

Paper accepted for publication in Architecture Theory Review- March 2010

structuralist positions of Piaget, Arnheim

that would be developed later into a

and others, and the phenomenological

separate thesis, that of genius loci, or

position represented by Heidegger and

sense of place.9 He identified four levels

Bollnow6, among others. This attempt at

of

reconciling

landscape, the urban level, the house and

structuralism

with

existential
thing.

space:

In

geography

discussing

the

and

phenomenology can be traced even in his

the

house,

subsequent work and never seemed to

Norberg-Schulz referred to Heideggers

pose any problems for Norberg Schulz.

essay on dwelling and the etymological

roots of building, stressing the role of the

The major concept in Existence, Space

house as the central place of human

and Architecture is space. The discussion

existence:

of space was motivated by what the

The House, therefore, remains the

author perceived as a reductive reading of

central place of human existence,

that

by

the place where the child learns to

Giedion, and later revived by others,

understand his being in the world,

concept,

first

given

particularly Bruno Zevi.

qualified

this

as

currency

Norberg Schulz

existential

and the place from which man

departs and to which he returns.10

space,

structured into schemata and centers,

directions, paths, and domains; concepts

The last chapter discussed the concept of

that he illustrated by concrete examples

architectural space which he defined as a

derived

concretization

from

multiple

sources,

from

of

existential

space,

Mircea Eliade to Otto Bollnow, Gaston

illustrated by a historical survey of various

Bachelard, Claude Levi-Strauss and Kevin

architectural

Lynch.

The

illustrated
Eliades

center,

by

the

discussion

works,

from

villages

and

for

instance,

was

towns to specific architectural artifacts,

image

drawn

from

classified into center, path and domain;

on

mythology,

and

described

in

terms

of

mythical origin traversed by a diagram of

phenomenological

the

space was thus defined as a qualitative

axis

mundi,

which

represents

connection between the different cosmic

8

space,

manifest

attributes.

their

in

the

Existential

monumental

realms. Similarly, the path was discussed

architecture of the Parthenon as well as

in connection with the idea of departure

that

and return home, and therefore of a

dynamic architecture of Borromini as well

division

outer

as the Renaissance, in the work of Le

domains of existence, as explained by

Corbusier, La Tourette being a favored

Bollnow. He also introduced a new concept

example, as well as in Louis Kahns and

into

the

inner

and

of

the

Paper accepted for publication in Architecture Theory Review- March 2010

medieval

towns,

in

the

Paolo Portoghesis works. For Norberg-

the interaction between different levels of

Schulz, there exist multiple variations to

space, resulting in a balanced relation

the concept of architectural space, but its

between the building and its environment.

essential aspects have been obliterated by

Norberg-Schulz

some modern works, especially at the

statement from Heidegger, Mortals dwell

level

in as much as they save the earth as a

of

urbanism.

There,

the

figural

concluded

of

the

with

necessity

quality of the street and its variations, the

confirmation

of

re-

centrality of the town square and its

appropriating the elements of existential

existential role, have been ignored by

space as a foundation for architecture.12

architects, which led to deficient urban

environments. In this respect, he joined
Venturi, Jacobs, and Rossi in criticizing
Modern Architecture for its shortcomings,
especially

at

the

level

of

the

urban

environment. Again, as in the case of

Venturi, but using a different approach,
Norberg-Schulz returned to history in its
wider sense to give comparative examples
of buildings, towns and landscapes as
examples that naturally incorporate these
qualities of existential space, creating
meaningful

and

harmonious

Fig.3. Genius Loci

environments.
Norberg-Schulz reiterated the necessary
recognition

and

understanding

of

the

different levels of architectural space that

form

structured

totality

which

corresponds to the structure of existential

space.

11

This understanding of existential

space, ignored by orthodox modernism,

reappeared according to Norberg-Schulz
in the work of Louis Kahn, Robert Venturi
and

Paolo

Portoghesi.

The

latter

was

singled out for his supposed mastery,

through the application of geometry, of

Genius Loci
Norberg-Schulz

introduced
13

opus, Genius Loci,

previous
theory,

his

major

as a sequel to his

two

works

despite

the

in

architectural

radically

different

direction that this work took in relation to

the first. Genius Loci was perhaps the
most

influential

of

Norberg

Schulzs

writings, as it came out at a time when

questions

of

meaning,

history,

and

mythology assumed greater importance in

architectural

Paper accepted for publication in Architecture Theory Review- March 2010

discourse,

in

post-

modernist

climate

that

gave

back

Heideggers essays. The main lesson of

credibility to these themes. And unlike his

this

previous

more

Schulz, is the importance of concrete

explicitly concerned with the interpretation

images that constitute our experiences,

of phenomenology in architecture as its

represented

subtitle indicated, and as clearly stated in

artists. The phenomenological challenge

the introduction that acknowledged the

lies

debt to Heideggers ideas, particularly the

dimension of things, and re-establishing

essays

the lost connection between the various

works,

gathered

Thought.

this

in

one

was

Poetry,

Language,

14

poem,

as

explained

by

poets,

therefore

elements

in

that

by

Norberg

architects

reviving

this

constitute

and

poetic

our

world.

Specifically, Norberg Schulz stressed the

connection between the man-made world
and the natural world, historically evident
in various places and environments from
around the world. This relationship is
established through a three-point process
of

visualization,

symbolization,
attributed

16

to

complementation,

and

was

process

Heideggers

that
concept

of

gathering. Its last phase, symbolization,

plays

more

crucial

role

in

the

concretization of meaning in a place, and

in

the

realization

of

the

concept

of

gathering. Norberg Schulzs main thesis

rested on the marriage of these two

Fig.4. The Acropolis, from Genius Loci

concepts,
In

this

photographic

architecture,15

ranging

essay
from

on
the

Heideggers

concept

of

gathering and the old Roman concept of

Genius Loci:

macroscopic scale of landscapes to the

The existential purpose of building

microscopic scale of architectural details,

(architecture) is therefore to make

Norberg Schulz proposed to elaborate the

a site become a place, that is, to

constituting

uncover the meanings potentially

elements

of

phenomenology of place, using as a

present in the given environment.

keynote the poem of Georg Trakl, A

[]

Winter

concept.

Evening,

quoted

in

one

of

Paper accepted for publication in Architecture Theory Review- March 2010

Genius

Loci

According

is

a
to

Roman
ancient

Roman belief every independent

back Heidegger, specifically his essay on

being has its genius, its guardian

The Origin of the Work of Art.18 As for

spirit. This spirit gives life to people

landscapes, Norberg-Schulz again drew on

and

them

Heidegger in calling for a phenomenology

and

of natural place which recalls the different

or

topological contexts and reexamines their

essence. Even the gods had their

etymologies in the hope of uncovering

genius, a fact which illustrates the

their original meanings:

from

places,

accompanies

birth

determines

to
their

fundamental

death,
character

nature

of

the

Whereas valleys and basins have a

17

concept.

macro or medium scale, a ravine

(cleft, gorge) is distinguished by a

In what amounts to a mixing of mythology

forbidding narrowness. It has the

with

quality of an under-world which

philosophy,

proceeded

to

Norberg-Schulz

develop

his

theory,

gives access to the inside of the

supported by a litany of well chosen

earth. In a ravine we feel caught or

photographs that depict various conditions

trapped, and the etymology of the

and sites, from the historic towns of

word in fact leads us back to

Europe to the landscapes of Tuscany,

rapere, that is to seize.19

Switzerland, Finland and Sudan, and from

the

characteristic

images

of

people

Norberg-Schulzs

personal

religious

walking in the Nordic winter snow to

affinities played a significant role in the

barefoot children posing in their desert

definition

village

in

Sudan.

This

photo-

position.

20

of

his

particular

theoretical

Thus, it is not only landscape in

historiography, as pointedly analyzed by

general

Jorge

phenomenological understanding of the

Otero-Pailos,

also

encompassed

that

select examples of historical periods, from

world,

Greek

landscape

to

Architecture.

Baroque

reference

Modern

that

places

create

within

the

favorable

condition for intimate dwelling. These

examples, such as the iconic Tholos and

sub-places, such as the Carceri of St

Theater

Francis near Assisi or the Sacro Speco of

Delphi,

was

to

specific

Greek

of

The

and

but

stimulates

of

course

legitimized and necessitated by the appeal

St

to the concept of Genius Loci, with its

archetypal retreats where man may still

mythological

experience the presence of the original

specific

aspects

appropriations

that

invoke

the

of

places

by

Benedict

near

Subiaco,

offer

forces of the earth.21

different gods, a theme that also brings

Paper accepted for publication in Architecture Theory Review- March 2010

framework

for

the

unifying

message

proclaimed by religions like Islam. The

Classical landscape appears like an inbetween

condition

which

generates

meaningful order and fosters a human

fellowship where the individual is neither
absorbed

by

the

totality

[the

cosmic

order] nor forced to seek his private

hiding place [the romantic world]. The
Classical landscape offers, accordingly, the
possibility for a true gathering, i.e. for
Fig.5. Sacro Speco of St Benedict near

dwelling in the Heideggerian sense, not

Subiaco

surprisingly echoing Heideggers ideas on

the Greek Temple as an ideal form.22
this

These three types of landscape constitute

interpretation of the environment was

archetypes, which do not always present

Norberg-Schulzs reductive categorization

themselves in the pure form of the

of landscapes into three basic types:

examples mentioned, sometimes leading

Romantic [the Nordic region being its

to complex landscapes, i.e. composite

main illustration], Cosmic [defined as an

landscapes such as Naples or Venice, or

environment that makes an absolute and

Brandenburg

eternal order manifest, represented best

squeezed in between a sandy moor and a

by

low, grey sky, creating a landscape which

Yet

what

the

is

most

infinite

surprising

desert],

and

in

Classical

where

seems

is

cheerless rhythm of marching soldiers.23

Greek

landscape].

But

these

by

the

is

[varied yet orderly, an example of which

the

saturated

extension

monotonous,

landscapes do not simply present abstract

topological

conditions;

they

appear

The same reductive approach that was

intimately connected to certain social or

followed

cultural characteristics, which take the

landscapes was also used to categorize

form

man-made place, i.e. architecture, into

of

historically

determined

to

categorize

various

characteristics. The Romantic landscape

Romantic

for

intimate

architecture and Classical architecture.

relation with the earth, where dwelling

While Classical architecture offers itself

takes the form of a refuge in the forest;

more easily to categorization, as it is

while the desert seems to act as a natural

historically recognized, it is interesting to

instance

encourages

an

Paper accepted for publication in Architecture Theory Review- March 2010

architecture,

the

Cosmic

note the selective reading of the author

Prague,

regarding

the

other

Prague

proceeds

from

the

categories,

exudes

and

Rome.

romantic

While

sense

of

geographical

mystery confirmed by the novels of Kafka

determinism applied to landscape. Thus,

and supported by its rich and varied

Romantic architecture does not indicate a

architectural

specific

Khartoum offers the opposite feeling of an

style

or

same

which

Khartoum

period,

but

an

heritage,

infinite

and variety, irrational and subjective,

movement of the sun and the Nile River.

phantastic

And while Rome was probably selected to

intimate

24

and

definition

mysterious

idyllic.

brings

This

together

but

also

unusual

illustrate

the

third

defined

cosmic

architecture distinguished by multiplicity

and

landscape

the

case,

by

upon

the

closer

disparate

scrutiny its genius loci appears to escape

examples, from the medieval towns of

any strict definition, and thus emerges as

Germany to the vernacular architecture of

Norway, extending to the work of Guimard

everything.

complex

case

which

contains

and Aalto in our own time. In the same

vein, cosmic architecture applies to works

The last chapter in the book is dedicated

characterized by uniformity and absolute

to the discussion of the loss of place in

order

the

and

supposedly

finds

its

best

manifestation in Islamic architecture.25

contemporary

world.

This

is

in

essence, the second thesis of the book,

and presents the underlying project of
Norberg-Schulz, which

is

not different

from that of other theorists who were

preoccupied by the disintegrating urban
condition around the world. Here NorbergSchulz presented a pragmatic assessment
of the problem, from the destruction of
the urban fabric to the loss of character
and place. Yet once again, his conciliatory

Fig.6. Prague

[or one may even say catholic] approach

The following chapters were dedicated to

left the issue unresolved, as he did not

a selective study of three environments

take any firm stand regarding it. While the

that illustrate these three categories, a

illustrations

study

into

featured the Federal Center in Chicago by

something in between a travel guide and

Mies van der Rohe and the Green City by

an architectural survey of these cities,

Le Corbusier as examples of this deficient

which

in

reality

translates

Paper accepted for publication in Architecture Theory Review- March 2010

accompanying

the

text

urbanism, the text reads more like an

descriptions come close to Heideggers.28

apologetic

Movement,

A third generation of architects, led by

which attempted to give new forms to a

Utzon, Pietila, Stirling and Bofill, appeared

new spirit, reflecting the new genius loci,

on the right path towards an architecture

with the aim of helping people regain a

that concretizes this recovery of place.29

true

and

of

the

Modern

meaningful

existence.

The

author went as far as suggesting that

The Concept of Dwelling

some of its early manifestations, such as

The Concept of Dwelling constituted the

Neue Sachlichkeit, effectively meant a

third

return back to things rather than a New

phenomenological trilogy, still supported

Rationalism.

26

This return to things was

by

part
a

of

Norberg-Schulzs

framework

of

semiotic

behaviorist

modern architecture, such as the Villa

Norberg-Schulz

Savoye and the Haus Tugendhat which,

issue of dwelling, a concept that was

despite

and

singled out by Heideggers famous essay.

presence, satisfy modern mans search

Here the subtitle indicated a movement

for freedom and identity. It is only when

towards figurative architecture.31

moving

to

lack

the

of

urban

substance

dimension

directly

In

this

and

revealed in some of the masterpieces of

their

studies.

30

work,

addressed

the

that

modern architecture fails to gather and

to create significant environments.27 In
what amounts then to an apologetic of the
Modern Movement and a confirmation of
the

theses

of

his

Norberg-Schulz

teacher

concluded

Giedion,
that

the

underlying basis of the Modern Movement

was profoundly meaningful and that only
at

the

hands

of

some

imitators

the

movement had lost its objectives. These

objectives were again being rediscovered
in this second phase which proposes to
give buildings and places individuality,

Fig.7. The Concept of Dwelling

with regard to space and character, as

manifested in the works of Aalto, the late

In the foreword, the author announced

works of Corbusier, and most significantly

the basic premise of the book as the

in

rediscovery

the

work

of

Kahn

whose

poetic

Paper accepted for publication in Architecture Theory Review- March 2010

of

dwelling

in

its

10

comprehensive totality, leading towards a

more recent discovery of Phenomenology.

final overcoming of functionalism and a

Thus in this work, the author reexamined

32

return to figurative architecture.

The

the four categories of dwelling under the

keynote to this work is given by the

structuralist

template

of

morphology,

Norwegian story of Knut, a youngster who

topology

and

recognizes, through a sort of spiritual

constituted the organizing structure which

revelation, his presence in the forest as a

was applied onto the dimension of being:

typology.

These

fundamental aspect of his existence. Two

Mans

illustrations, a Norwegian forest and a

structured, and the structure is

farmhouse, accompany this introduction,

kept and visualized by means of

further evoking this idea of dwelling as a

architecture.34

return to the sources.33

being-in-the-world

is

And further:
The

meaning

of

work

of

The Concept of Dwelling was organized

architecture therefore consists in

into a structured study that proceeded

its gathering the world in a general

from

typical sense, in a local particular

the

general

outline

to

the

development of the concept, from the

sense,

macro level of the settlement to that of

sense, and, finally, as something,

the

the

that is as the figural manifestation

intermediary modes of dwelling, urban

of a mode of dwelling between

space

earth and sky.35

individual
and

house,

institution,

passing
and

by

organized

in

temporal

historical

around two aspects, identification and

orientation. Mingled in the text are various
quotations from Heidegger, Husserl and
Merleau-Ponty,

to

give

phenomenological flavor to an otherwise

structuralist work that was still based on
the same concepts derived from Gestalt
psychology, from Kevin Lynch, in addition
to

the

work

of

Mircea

Eliade

on

mythology. In focusing his attention on

laying

down

architectural

the

foundations

language,

of

Fig.8. Hill House by C.R. Mackinstosh

an

Norberg-Schulz

Once again, the selection of particular

returned back to the earlier phase of his

examples of dwelling at the level of the

Intentions in Architecture, colored by his

individual house is quite revealing of the

Paper accepted for publication in Architecture Theory Review- March 2010

11

authors selective interpretation. The first

it did not look like a house. Hence, what

example mentioned was the Hill House by

seems to be the problem is simply the

Mackintosh, lauded for its fulfillment of

inability of the modern house to look like a

the task of dwelling, i.e. to reveal the

house, and not, as Heidegger had alluded

world, not as essence but as presence,

to, the inability of modern man to dwell.

that is as material and color, topography

Norberg-Schulz expressed here the hope

and vegetation, seasons, weather and

that the revival of this figural quality, as

light.36

evident in many post-modern projects,

will

again

make

possible.37

dwelling

Despite a cautionary remark against the

fall into eclecticism, the book ends on an
optimistic note that this recovery of the
figural quality would lead to a recovery of
dwelling, in which phenomenology would
play a major role as the catalyst for the
rediscovery of the poetic dimension in
Fig.9. Hvittrask Colony House, Finland

architecture.38

After the Hill House, it is to vernacular

Conclusion

architecture that the author turned, and

Despite

particularly

to

architectural circles during the 1980s, the

mentioned

by

Northern

European

Germany

to

the

types

Heidegger,

of

dwelling

common

countries,

Switzerland,

in

its

theoretical

wide
work

dissemination
of

Norberg-Schulz

from

received relatively little critical overview,

and

apart from the usual book reviews which

Holland

Denmark. In addition to these, Saarinens

were generally positive.39

Hvittrask

Yet

complex,

Behrens

in

house

in

the

strongest

against

interpretation

Wrights various houses, which share little

indirectly from Massimo Cacciari, in a

in common, are seen as good examples of

premonitory article which criticized the

this interpretation of dwelling. Yet this

nave

time, the critique of the modern house

concept of dwelling that started to appear

was

in

explicit,

and

the

to

arrive

author

the

phenomenology

this

Darmstadt, Hoffmanns Palais Stoclet and

more

of

attack

interpretations
Seventies.40

of

came

Heideggers

Cacciari

read

in

Heideggers essay a recognition of the

satisfactory solution to the problem of

impossibility of dwelling, rather than a

recognized

its

failure

at

dwelling, for it lacked the figural quality:

Paper accepted for publication in Architecture Theory Review- March 2010

12

desire

for

nostalgic

return

to

pre-

modern conditions of dwelling:

This of course does not absolve Norberg-

No nostalgia, then, in Heidegger

Schulz from criticism for his reductive

but

He

interpretation of phenomenology, which

radicalizes the discourse supporting

was used as a pretext for a return to

any possible nostalgic attitude,

vernacular architecture on the one hand,

lays

pitilessly

and to advocate post-modernism on the

insurmountable

other hand. In addition, Norberg-Schulz

rather

the

bare

contrary.

its

emphasizes

logic,

its

distance

from

the

actual

41

condition.

never seemed to go beyond the surface,

satisfying himself with the reading of the
later

works

of

attempting

dwelling

problematic issues raised by critics of

Heidegger

can

not

be

examine

without

Cacciaris reading of this impossibility of

in

to

Heidegger,
some

of

understood in isolation from the historical

architectural

project

and in his latest publication, Architecture:

of

Modernity.

Hilde

Heynen

phenomenology.

the

pointed out this opposition between these

Presence,

two

she

Schulz brought together once again the

termed as utopian-nostalgic and critical-

various concepts from structuralism to

radical,

represented

phenomenology,

Christian

Norberg-Schulz

Cacciari.

In

ideological

recognized

positions,

this
the

which

respectively
and

by

Massimo

opposition,
deficiencies

Heynen
of

both

Language,

Place;

Instead,

into

Norberg-

yet

another

synthetic work that attempted once again

to

give

comprehensive

architecture
43

from

all

account

periods

of
and

positions, one for its simplistic reduction

regions.

of

of

art and architecture, and the mythopoeic

its

turn that he took may also be partly

assimilation of the condition of anxiety as

responsible for this misreading of the

the

problematic

architectural

form,

to
the
42

a generative principle.
what

seems

like

question

other

for

Yet Heynen, in

approach

in

architecture, which can not be reduced to

of

a preference for a certain style or period,

Heidegger, also found it hard to read

and not even to a single concept such as

Heideggers

dwelling.

affirmation

essay
of

confirmation

phenomenological

of

Norberg-Schulzs

Heideggers later reflections on

interpretation
on

dwelling

The

later

developments

in

architecture, and the appropriations of the

impossibility of dwelling, when in fact it

figurative has in fact shown that the

implicitly

crisis of the object, of which Tafuri

within

it

and

an
the

carried

negation

as

nostalgic

stance towards the loss of dwelling.

spoke, can not be simply resolved by such

Paper accepted for publication in Architecture Theory Review- March 2010

13

measures. It remains to be seen whether

within the current economic system, and

other

in

phenomenological

projects

in

architecture would succeed in resolving

restoring

to

architecture

its

significance as an aesthetic practice.

the problematic condition of architecture

Endnotes

Dermot Moran. Introduction to Phenomenology. Routledge, 2000 [Ch.6]

Christian Norberg-Schulz. Intentions in Architecture, MIT Press, 1965 [21-2]. The
first edition of the book was published in 1962 by Oslo University Press. All
references in this article refer to the first MIT edition of 1965.
3
Norberg-Schulz, 1965 [101-2]
4
There were later works by Norberg-Schulz that reiterated the ideas presented in
this trilogy, which will not be discussed here, namely his Architecture: Presence,
Language, Space, published by Skira in 2000
5
Christian Norberg-Schulz. Existence, Space and Architecture. NY:Praeger, 1971 [7]
6
Otto F. Bollnow, author of Mensch und Raum, 1963 as well as a number of works
on German existential philosophy and hermeneutics, among others.
7
Norberg-Schulz,1971 [12]
8
Norberg-Schulz, 1971 [21]
9
Norberg-Schulz, 1971 [27]
10
Norberg-Schulz, 1971 [31]
11
Norberg-Schulz, 1971 [96]
12
Norberg-Schulz, 1971 [114]
13
Genius Loci: Towards a Phenomenology of Architecture. NY: Rizzoli, 1980. This
book was first published in Italian as Genius Loci- paesaggio, ambiente, architettura
by Electa in 1979. Interesting to note here that the Italian subtitle differs from the
one chosen for the English edition and does not include the explicit reference to
Phenomenology
14
Martin Heidegger. Poetry, Language, Thought. NY:1971
15
For a critique of Norberg Schulzs visual approach, see Jorge Otero-Pailoss
Photo[historio]graphy: Christian Norberg-Schulzs Demotion of Textual History, in
Journal of Society of Architectural Historians 66:2, 2007 [220-241]. In one of the
few critical analysis of Norberg Schulzs work, Otero-Pailos argues that the author
created a new type of history book, one which relies on images as an alternate
narrative which was paradoxically anti-historical, in that it avoided critical reflection
by concealing its own historical construction.
16
Norberg-Schulz, 1980 [17]
17
Norberg-Schulz, 1980 [18]
18
In this essay, Heidegger referred to the Greek temple as a major example of the
significance and role of a work of art. Norberg-Schulz dedicated one of his essays to
discuss this text by Heidegger, published as Heideggers Thinking on Architecture
in Perspeta, Vol. 20, 1983, [61-80]
19
Norberg-Schulz, 1980 [37]
20
This has been also mentioned by Otero-Pailos in his article. Ibidem
21
Norberg-Schulz, 1980 [40]
2

Paper accepted for publication in Architecture Theory Review- March 2010

14

full

22

Norberg-Schulz, 1980 [46]

Norberg-Schulz, 1980 [47]
24
Norberg-Schulz, 1980 [68-69]
25
Norberg-Schulz, 1980 [71-73]
26
Norberg-Schulz, 1980 [191-192]
27
Norberg-Schulz, 1980 [194-195]
28
Norberg-Schulz, 1980 [195-198]
29
Norberg-Schulz, 1980 [198-200]
30
This work did not conclude the series on this topic, as the author published later
his Architecture: Presence, Language and Place [Skira, 2000] which reiterated the
same themes discussed in the previous books.
31
Christian Norberg-Schulz. The concept of dwelling: On the way to figurative
architecture. NY: Rizzoli, 1985. Again, the original publication came out one year
before in Italian, under Electa.
32
In a separate essay titled On the Way to Figurative Architecture, Norberg-Schulz
sheds further light on his interpretation of the figurative, using this concept to
support recent post-modernist projects by Venturi, Graves and Botta, among others.
See On the Way to Figurative Architecture in Christian Norberg-Schulz,
Architecture: Meaning and Place, NY: Electa/Rizzoli, 1988 [233-245]
33
Norberg-Schulz, 1985 [9-12]
34
Norberg-Schulz, 1985 [29]
35
Norberg-Schulz, 1985 [30]
36
Norberg-Schulz, 1985 [89]
37
Norberg-Schulz, 1985 [110]. It is noteworthy that two drawings were used to
illustrate the figural quality: the first a drawing by Louis Kahn, the second by
Michael Graves, titled On the way to figurative architecture. [pp.132, 134]
38
Norberg-Schulz, 1985 [135]
39
See for instance Harris N. Foruszs review of Genius Loci in JAE, v. 34, n.3, Spring
1981 [32-33]
40
Massimo Cacciari. Eupalinos or Architecture in Oppositions 21, MIT, 1980 [106116]. Note that this article by Cacciari was written as a review of Tafuri & Dal Cos
Architettura contemporanea, published in 1976. The article thus preceded the main
works of Norberg-Schulz, i.e. Genius Loci and The Concept of Dwelling.
41
Cacciari, 1980 [107]
42
Hilde Heynen. Architecture and Modernity. MIT Press, 1999 [18-25]
43
Christian Norberg-Schulz. Architecture: Presence, Language, Place. Milan: Skira,
2000
23

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15