By Gauri Bharat
A genius locus, towards a phenomenology of architecture by Christian Noberg-Schulz was inspired by Martin Heidegger. In the book he talks about the ‘sense of a place’ and how western architecture has become preoccupied by the visual aspects. He talks about how western architecture has forgotten how to sense architecture with other senses. Schulz talks about experience, the idea of an experience and spirit of a place. The intention in architecture is the significant question.
He talks about sensory stimuli, like the aroma off an old house. The mention of significance is missing , and the question of perception and senses like sight, touch, smell and memory need to be brought back. He looks at the social psychology and the cultural effects of architecture. He looks at gestalts psychology and child psychology as references to formulate how humans experience space. He talks about existential space and how humans orient themselves in space and how they move towards or away and the directions they move in and the paths that they take. He talks about the divine realm, moving towards and away from schema. How we move, intersect, connect and how we are in space. He talks about sacred spaces, which has a connection to another world through an axis. The connection and imagination of the worldly realm and the break from the ordinary.
The concept of cosmic schema is based on which human civilizations are based. It is described to be the super human dimentions on which civilizations are based. There are 4 scales or attributes of existential space and the organization of a settlement. House is one. It represents humans, harmoniously related to the cosmos. The principles of harmonious existence, roman and Greek cities are examples to illustrate it.
What does it mean to dwell? To be in a place and be connected to it? How does a dwelling become a part of building? Architecture is Perpetrating, signifying and creating. It attempts a connection with the surroundings. A bridge acts like a connection between two sides. It creates a space. The sky and earth meet, it brings back the dimension. Modern man doesn’t have this dimension, it is impossible .
Heidegger talks about the hope of turning things around. The return to experience and meaning. The key disjunctions are mainly environmental and psychological. How a human mind works and responds. Phenomenology is what a mind responds to. Memories and associations are evoked. The experience becomes a complex whole. It becomes more psychological than phenomenological.
Schulz has a very structured approach. He talks about 4 scales: Settlement, House, Object and Landscape. He talks about Phenomenological overlap of senses, impressions and relational.
The categorization is a problem. He talks of kinds of landscape: romantic or classical. These become preconceived junctures which are described prior and not by experience. These preconceived judgements are then used in the justification and analysis of such spaces. His categorizations however fit. He talks more about the physical attributes in his descriptions of mind and matter.
Genius loci is none the less is a fantastic idea. He attempts to interpret Heidegger and he has a methodological foothold. This makes is book extremely popular.
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