ABSTRACT
In the opening chapter, “Architecture as a humanistic discipline”, Dalibor Vesely challenges our assumptions of place and space, by suggesting there must be continuity between philosophical understanding and history. A thorough and ongoing interpretation of our lived existence is required as a means of deepening our understanding of the historical past. Where we are affects how we feel; to be “in” a mood, for example, implies a spatial context, an environment and therefore a situation. As Vesely describes, in the journey from cosmology to astronomy we discover the “emptiness” of space but are also captivated by its mystery, as conveyed for example in the work of the Surrealists. Nicholas of Cusa suggests that the more we are aware of the gaps in our knowledge, the more we can acquire learned ignorance. The examples given in this chapter reveal that, although it may be possible to list the items, pieces of furniture, quality of light and scenery in the particular situation such as a French café, none of these descriptions can adequately express the experience of actually being there; nor can they convey the anticipation or imagining of that experience. By emphasising the situational nature of architecture Vesely makes a case for its role as a “humanistic discipline”.
