Table Of ContentA r c h i t e c t u r e a n d
E m b o d i m e n t
In recent years we have seen a number of dramatic discoveries within the biological
and related sciences. Traditional arguments such as "nature versus nurture" are
rapidly disappearing because of the realization that just as we are affecting our
environments, so too do these altered environments restructure our cognitive
abilities and outlooks. If the biological and technological breakthroughs are
promising benefits such as extended life expectancies, these same discoveries also
have the potential to improve in significant ways the quality of our built
environments. This poses a compelling challenge to conventional architectural
theory.
This is the first book to consider these new scientific and humanistic models
in architectural terms. Constructed as a series of five essays around the themes of
beauty, culture, emotion, the experience of architecture, and artistic play, this book
draws upon a broad range of discussions taking place in philosophy, psychology,
biology, neuroscience, and anthropology, and in doing so questions what
implications these discussions hold for architectural design.
Drawing upon a wealth of research, Mallgrave argues that we should turn our focus
away from the objectification of architecture (treating design as the creation of
objects) and redirect it back to those for whom we design: the people inhabiting
our built environments.
Harry Francis Mallgrave is a professor of architecture at Illinois Institute of
Technology and has enjoyed a distinguished career as an award-winning scholar,
translator, and architect.
A R C H I T E C T U R E A N D
E M B O D I M E N T
The Implications of the
New Sciences and
Humanities for Design
H a r r y
F r a n c i s
M a l l g r a v e
First published 2013
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2013 Harry F. Mallgrave
The right of Harry F. Mallgrave to be identified as author of this work
has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of
the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval
system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Mallgrave, Harry Francis.
Architecture and embodiment : the implications of the new
sciences and humanities for design / Harry Francis Mallgrave.
pages cm
Includes index.
1. Architectural design. 2. Architecture--Philosophy. I. Title.
NA2750.M19 2013
720.1–dc23 2012028919
ISBN: 978–0–415–81019–7 (hbk)
ISBN: 978–0–415–81020–3 (pbk)
ISBN: 978–0–203–07114–4 (ebk)
Typeset in New Gothic
by Keystroke, Station Road, Codsall, Wolverhampton
For Justin with love
CONTENTS
List of illustrations ix
List of abbreviations xi
Introduction 1
1 Beauty 19
Darwin’s haunting 22
Bowerbirds and mating habits 26
Neuroaesthetics 31
The human brain 34
The visual brain 38
The hedonic circuit 45
2 The culture of architecture 53
Images and words 55
Radical embodiment 59
Brain plasticity and enculturation 65
Cultural change 69
The psychological model of cognitive evolution 73
The cultural model of cognitive evolution 76
The culture of architecture 79
3 Emotion 89
The fractious brain 94
Later stages of visual processing 97
Feelings and emotions 104
Panksepp and Damasio 106
Feelings and emotions in architecture 112
4 Experiencing architecture 119
Theories of empathy 121
The empathic Bauhaus 128
Embodied simulation 133
VII
Contents
5 Play, rituals, and other artistic things 165
On the origin of art 167
The play-instinct 179
Human evolution 185
From Darwin to Dissanayake 192
Epilogue: some concluding remarks 197
Index 205
VIII
ILLUSTRATIONS
I.1 Émile Jaques-Dalcroze 3
I.2 Heinrich Tessenow, The Institute of Rhythmic Dance (1910) 5
I.3 “Beating 5/4 in canon with expression” 6
I.4 “A Plastic Exercise” 7
1.1 Louis Sullivan, Charnley Persky House, Chicago (1892) 22
1.2 Great bowerbird bower, Mount Carbine, Queensland, Australia 26
1.3 Brainstem, limbic system, basal ganglia, and cerebral cortex 35
1.4 Lobes and cortices of the cerebral cortex 37
1.5 Brain sections showing orbitofrontal cortex, cingulate cortex,
and insula 38
1.6 Brain section with areas V1–V4 of the visual cortex 39
1.7 Sectional view of the hedonic circuit 48
2.1 Peter Zumthor, Thermal Baths at Vals 59
2.2 Two areas in which mirror neurons are active 60
2.3 Water at Wentworth, South Yorkshire, after proposed landscaping
by Humphry Repton (1803) 74
2.4 Alvar Aalto, Saynatsalo Town Hall (1952) set within its scenic
landscape 75
2.5 Floor detail from Aalto’s Saynatsalo Town Hall 83
2.6 Floor detail from SANAA’s Glass Pavilion, Toledo Museum of Art
(2006) 83
2.7 Pietro da Cortona, Church of Santa Maria della Pace, Rome
(1656–66) 85
3.1 Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, New National Gallery, Berlin (1962–68) 91
3.2 Hans Scharoun, Philharmonic Hall, Berlin (1956–63) 92
3.3 Interior of Philharmonic Hall 92
3.4 Where/what circuit of the brain 98
3.5 View of the brain from below depicting the object-recognition
stream of neural activity 99
4.1 Doric column capitals, Parthenon, Athens (447–432 BCE) 123
4.2 Ionic column capitals, Erechtheion, Athens (421–406 BCE) 124
4.3 Leon Battista Alberti, Church of Santa Maria Novella, Florence 127
4.4 Gianlorenzo Bernini, Baldacchino over the altar of St. Peter’s
Church, Rome (1634) 137
IX
