Architecture Nature And Magic

The Architect as Magician explores the connection between magic and architecture. There is a belief that a greater understanding of the meaning of magic provides insights about architecture and architects’ design processes. Architects influence the effects of nature through the making of their buildings. In an analogous condition, magicians perform rituals in an attempt to influence the forces of nature. This book argues that architects could gain much by incorporating ideas from magic into their design process. The book demonstrates through historical and current examples the important influence magic has had on the practice of architecture. The authors explain how magic helps us to understand the way we infuse architecture with meaning and how magic affects and inspires architectural creation. Aimed at architects, students, scholars and researchers, The Architect as Magician helps readers discover the ambiguous and spiritual elements in their design process.

This book delves into the life and work of architect William Richard Lethaby (1857–1931) and his relationship with the occult and alchemy, in particular. Using detailed analysis of Lethaby’s drawings and architecture, the research uncovers Lethaby’s familiarity with occult concepts and ideology during the spiritual revolution of the nineteenth century. Throughout this time, countless individuals, particularly members of the avant-garde, rejected more traditional religious pathways and sought answers through experimental and mystical alternatives. William Lethaby, Symbolism and the Occult reveals how the architect was profoundly influenced by the Zeitgeist, which was saturated with references to spiritualism, mysticism and the occult, and explores the impact of occultism on his contemporaries and the wider Arts and Crafts Movement. This book is written for upper-level students, researchers and academics interested in architectural history, William Lethaby and nineteenth century culture and society.

The perfect temple should stand at the centre of the world, a microcosm of the universe fabric, its walls built four square with the walls of heaven. And thus they stand the world over, be they Egyptian, Buddhist, Mexican, Greek, or Christian, with the greatest uniformity and exactitude.-from "Chapter III: Four Square"With a wide-ranging scholarship that is astonishing, a prominent figure of the Arts and Crafts design movement explores the "esoteric principles of architecture," the global, interconnected myths that underlie all the structures we build. Through his architect's eye, Lethaby looks at such diverse traditions as the ancient Norse and ancient Egyptian and at the inspiration provided by everything from the sea voyages of the Phoenicians to the astronomy of the earliest Persians, demonstrating how they inform and inspire such wonders as St. Paul's Cathedral, the Taj Mahal, the Palace at Versailles, and others. This 1891 work is a masterpiece of architectural symbolism and an essential foundation for understanding and appreciating "classical" design.British architect WILLIAM RICHARD LETHABY (1857-1931) was the first professor of design at the Royal College of Art. He also wrote Greek Buildings (1908), Mediaeval Art (1912), and Architecture (1912).

A look at how nature serves as a source of inspiration for contemporary architecture. This collection of contemporary projects reveals conscious and unconscious visual analogies with the mineral world and explains why natural forms make good models for structures. Included are residences, museums, theaters, offices, and stadiums by such notables as Daniel Libeskind, Antoine Predock, Will Bruder, Dominique Perrault, Coop Himmelb(1)au, and XTEN. 209 color illustrations, 192 line drawings

Integrate poetics into real-world spaces by bringing theory downto earth Practical Poetics in Architecture takes poetics out ofthe theory class and into the design studio, showing architects howthe atmospheric and experiential qualities of built structures canbe intentionally considered and planned. With an emphasis onanalysing and explaining the sensibility of poetics at work indesigning and constructing architecture, this book featuresprojects from architects around the world that demonstrate theprinciples of poetics come to life. The rich illustration of twohundred colour images, including analytical diagrams, plans,sections, and photos, make this insightful guide a highly visualforay into a topic that has thus far remained more theoretical thanpractical. The text is matter-of-fact and concrete, yet remainsrichly connected to its forbears and the writings of WilliamLethaby, Gaston Bachelard, and Steen Eiler Rasmussen. Theperspective is contemporary in its examples and its connections tothe evolving science of perception. An established seminar topic in theory classes around the world,poetics tends to rely heavily on classic philosophic texts —until now. Practical Poetics in Architecture brings theorydown to earth to show architects how to invoke poetics whendesigning real projects. Integrate poetics principles into real-world designs Consider atmosphere in terms of form, space, and acoustics Study actual projects that bring poetics into real spaces Take cues from analytical diagrams of projects accounting forcontext Poetics — the accumulated experience of place, space, andculture — has become more critical in recent years as theatmospheric and experiential qualities of built spaces have becomemore elusive in the virtual age. Practical Poetics inArchitecture provides real guidance for real projects, andbrings poetics out of the mind and onto the plans.