ABSTRACT
This chapter examines depictions of architecture in Bruno Schulz’s fiction in order to suggest that literary language can be a potent instrument for design. Typically, architectural design is accomplished though visual or tactile processes such as drawings or models. While these are invaluable tools, they are predisposed toward the visual and measurable qualities of architectural works. However, architectural design entails a participation to a complex multiplicity of subtle forces that are not as easy to grasp and manipulate. Among these subtle forces are the ephemeral and atmospheric conditions of a given landscape, as well as cultural temperaments that shape imaginative topographies. The most precarious aspect of the architect’s work is to interpret and incorporate these elusive and intangible elements into built form.
The approach is to observe how Bruno Schulz—who also studied architecture and taught drafting and painting—constructs imaginary architectural conditions such that they facilitate this act of translation between the intangible and the concrete. The argument is that Schulz uses language as a medium onto itself such that it does not mimic but rather complements architectural drawing. More specifically, it is shown that literary language can negotiate with greater agility those elusive subtleties and complexities that underpin architectural design.
