Understanding Architecture as a Poetic Process. Hans-Georg Gadamer, 'Sensing Spaces' & Álvaro Siza

Architecture is both a discipline and a craft. Architectural knowledge is developed and reproduced through its practice. Although the medium is different, this is also true of philosophy. Philosophy does not only refer to a body of knowledge but also to a process of questioning and examination through which this knowledge is developed. Philosophy examines first principles and the fundamental nature of human knowledge, reality and existence. These examinations can be used to explore the nature of architectural knowledge and how the construction of the built environment we inhabit are influenced by, and in turn influence, our understanding of the world.

This paper focuses on the philosophy of Hans-Georg Gadamer. His thinking is used to examine the process of the development of architectural knowledge and our understanding of the built environment. It looks at how an architect’s interpretation of the context of a project and their interpretation of the nature and history of architecture informs their design. It further examines how the materialization of this interpretation then affects further interpretations of its context and the nature and history of architecture.

This circular process - through which architectural knowledge and our understanding of our built environment can be seen to develop - will be examined with reference to installations produced as part of a collective study into the poetic and experiential aspects of architecture. These installations formed the Royal Academy’s ‘Sensing Spaces: Architecture Reimagined’ exhibition. This paper will also use some of the works of Álvaro Siza, who contributed to the above exhibition, to further examine this process in a less controlled and more complex urban environment.

This paper is part of a larger research project that explores the foundations of architecture and architectural knowledge through examining its role in our understanding of the world.