Christian Norberg-Schulz's phenomenological project in architecture

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 30 years. While Norberg-Schulz started out with Intentions in Architecture (1963), a work that was clearly influenced by structuralist studies, he soon shifted to a phenomenological approach with Existence, Space and Architecture (1971), and then with Genius Loci (1980) and The Concept of Dwelling (1985). He attempted through this trilogy to lay down the foundations of a phenomenological interpretation of architecture, with an underlying agenda that espoused certain directions in contemporary architecture. This paper will examine the major writings of Christian Norberg-Schulz, critically evaluating his interpretation of phenomenology in architecture in its ambiguous relation to the project of modernity.