ABSTRACT
Experience of phenomena sensations in space and time as distinguished from the perception of objects provides a pre-theoretical ground for architecture. Phenomenology as a way of thinking and seeing becomes an agent for architectural conception. While phenomenology restores us to the importance of lived experience in authentic philosophy, it relies on perception of pre-existing conditions. The phenomenal merge of object and field is accomplished via attention to individual site and situation. The hackneyed terms contextualism or context have encouraged an operation whereby a new building, chameleon like, takes characteristics from each of its neighbors without maintaining internal integrity. Japanese Zen poets developed a vocabulary to discuss Kajitsu of a poems aspect and form. Ka is the beautiful surface of a poem while jitsu is the substantial core. An organic fusion of spirit and intellect opens a path toward inspiration, awareness, and yugen, the Buddhist term for depth of meaning.
