Body And Building ─ Essays On The Changing Relation Of Body and Architecture

Since Greek antiquity, the human body has been regarded as a microcosm of universalharmony. In this book, an international group of architects, architectural historians, and theoristsexamines the relation of the human body and architecture. The essays view well-known buildings,texts, paintings, ornaments, and landscapes from the perspective of the body's physical,psychological, and spiritual needs and pleasures. Topics include Greek temples; the churches ofTadao Ando in Japan; Renaissance fortresses and paintings; the body, space, and dwelling in Wright'sand Schindler's houses in North America; the corporeal dimension of Carlo Scarpa's landscapes andgardens; theory from Vitruvius to the Renaissance and Enlightenment; and Freudian psychoanalysis.The essays are framed by an appreciation of architectural historian and theorist Joseph Rykwert'sinfluential work on the subject.

George Dodds is Professor of History and Theory in the College of Architecture and Design at the University of Tennessee.