ABSTRACT

Architecture is often seen as the art of a thinking mind that arranges, organizes and establishes relationships between the parts and the whole. It is also seen as the art of designing spaces, which we experience through movement and use. Conceptual ordering, spatial and social narrative are fundamental to the ways in which buildings are shaped, used and perceived. Examining and exploring the ways in which these three dimensions interact in the design and life of buildings, this intriguing book will be of use to anyone with an interest in the theory of architecture and architecture's relationship to the cultural human environment.

part |48 pages

Foundations

chapter |22 pages

The Parthenon and the Erechtheion

The spatial formation of place, politics and myth

chapter |22 pages

Invisible surface

Reflections in Mies van der Rohe's Barcelona Pavilion

part |43 pages

Architecture and Narrative in Literature

chapter |21 pages

‘The book and the labyrinth were one and the same'

Narrative and architecture in Borges' fictions

chapter |19 pages

(Th)reading the Library

Spatial and mathematical journeys in Borges' Library of Babel

part |102 pages

Spatial and Narrative Interactions

chapter |25 pages

Soane through the looking-glass

The house-museum of Sir John Soane

chapter |22 pages

Victorian knowledge

The Natural History Museum, London and the Art Gallery and Museum, Kelvingrove, Glasgow

chapter |23 pages

Contemporary experience

The Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh and the Burrell Collection, Glasgow

chapter |26 pages

Tracing the modern

Space, display and exploration in the Museum of Modern Art, New York

part |40 pages

Theoretical Synthesis

chapter |20 pages

Comparative discussion