A Theory of Architecture for Humanity

Rethinking the Experience of Architectural Design

Abstract

The human mind is an incredibly complex and mysterious creation, but one apparent facet of consciousness is the influence of embodied experience and social processes. Every person constructs a unique, constantly evolving perspective of reality through the lens of their own experiences. Additionally, man is a social being in that his culture and community are vital parts of his humanity. Architecture, as the envelope in which life unfolds, exercises a significant impact on both individual experience and society, but is often overlooked in philosophy, sociology, and even within the field of design.

This paper will examine the ways in which architects can reconsider the way we think of design to encompass the embodied experience within the building and the ways in which architecture can not only serve, but embody the cultural processes that define civilization. Through an analysis of psychologist John Dewey’s “phenomenological sense” and philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s “embodied experience,” the effect of experience on perception will be applied to the field of architecture. The paper examines architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s Unity Temple and Louis Kahn’s Rochester Unitarian Church as examples of how we can revolutionize the design industry today.

There is an apparent reciprocity between ourselves and our surroundings that has the potential to radically change the way we think of the built environment; As we form our works of architecture, so too do we form ourselves. Since Frank Lloyd Wright’s invention of Organic Architecture, we have known that value in architecture can be sourced in how it responds to and enhances the present moment. When we think of design as more than the design of a building, but of the experiences within- the first steps of a child on a hardwood floor, the joining of two lovers beneath the vaulted ceiling of a chapel, or a breath of fresh air from a rooftop terrace- we can elevate our work to a new level with a great potential to change the world. Architecture, through its ability to influence both experience and sociality, exercises an extreme force on the composition of humanity.