ABSTRACT
Christian Norberg-Schulz 'decoded' Martin Heidegger's philosophy and made it accessible to architects. In addition, the architectural implications of the shifts in thinking will be illustrated by referring to projects designed by, or closely associated with, him. Norberg-Schulz invited the architectural profession to reconsider the gifts of place; that concrete, lived and ultimately meaningful totality that has traditionally served as the setting for architecture. The architectural expression of a shared way of life relies on understanding "the relationship between buildings and those who use them". From a scientific perspective, perception is therefore "unreliable"; a dynamic interaction between a prejudiced organism and a fluctuating environment open to divergent readings. Norberg-Schulz believed that the environment is "structured in advance"; all environments, as given structures, possess a particular topology which suggests routes and places for settlement. Consequently, the environmental structure opens up certain possibilities while dissuading others.
