Formation

Architectural Education in a Nordic Perspective

Nordic Baltic Academy of Architecture

Editors: Elise Lorentsen and Kristine Annabell Torp

Copy-editing: Peter Woodruff

Proofreading: David Possen

Layout: Gilbert Hansen

Publisher: Architectural Publisher B

Copenhagen, www.b-arki.dk

Print: Narayana Press, Denmark

ISBN: 978-87-92700-23-0

© 2018: NBAA / Architectural Publisher B

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individual essays and images

All essays in this publication, part I: Teaching Architecture, have been through

a double-blind peer review. Each essay has been reviewed by a different peer reviewer.

With generous support from:

Nordic Baltic Academy of Architecture, NBAA

B
PHENOMENOLOGICAL METHOD
- Towards an Approach to Architectural Investigation, Description and Design

Nicolai Bo Andersen Architect MAA, associate professor, head of program TRANSFORMATION, Master’s
Program in Architectural Heritage, Transformation and Conservation
Introduction
The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Schools of Architecture, Design and Conservation, School of
Architectural design takes place in a wide range of
Architecture (KADK)
scientific and artistic disciplines in a non-linear process,
and always deals with a unique object. It is characteristic
that the process not be repeatable, and the result
remain unverifiable. The knowledge of architects is
often described as tacit,1 and the methods used to
create architecture are rarely described. The Finnish
architect and theorist Juhani Pallasmaa even expresses
a fundamental scepticism regarding the attempt to
explain an architectural design in a single comprehensive
architectural theory – let alone that ‘theory’ would be able
to generate architectural solutions. 2

Correspondingly, Gadamer underlines how in

phenomenology and hermeneutics “there is no
methodical way to arrive at the solution.”3 What
characterises phenomenology is that there is no method
in a scientific sense. Nevertheless, the experience among
practitioners is that you can articulate architectural
knowledge.4 Teachers of architecture describe
architectural design approaches to their students on a
daily basis. The finest task of a school of architecture is to
articulate the seemingly nonverbal.

Practitioners of architecture do recognise that theories

1. Michael Polanyi, The Tacit Dimension (New York: have a necessary place in architectural culture,5 just as
Anchor Books, Doubleday, 1967).
the phenomenologist emphasises that phenomenology
2. Juhani Pallasmaa, “Begrebslig viden, indlevelse og
tavs visdom i arkitekturen,” in At fortælle arkitektur,
and hermeneutics, even if these are not about method in
Kim Dirckinck-Holmfeld et al., eds. (København: the scientific sense, is “concerned with knowledge and
Arkitektens Forlag, 2000), 84-99. with truth.”6 A variety of approaches can help to structure
3. Hans-Georg Gadamer, Truth and Method (London: the work and suggest different strategies.7 However, they
Continuum, 2004), 359.
do so in a general way, unable to point towards the quality
4. As described by Donald Schön in Donald Schön,
The Reflective Practitioner – How Professionals Think
of the specific intervention.
in Action (Århus: Klim, 2001) and Donald Schön,
Educating the Reflective Practitioner (San Francisco: This article aims at describing a method for architectural
Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1986). phenomenological investigation, description and design.
5. As argued in Juhani Pallasmaa, “Begrebslig
Method is defined as a systematic and targeted approach
viden, indlevelse og tavs visdom i arkitekturen,” in At
Abstract that can help structure the architectural design process.
fortælle arkitektur, Kim Dirckinck-Holmfeld et al., eds.
Architectural design always deals with a unique object; it takes place in a wide range of scientific and artistic disciplines (København: Arkitektens Forlag, 2000), 84-99. The method is intended to be used when practicing
in a non-linear process. It is characteristic that the process is not repeatable and that the result cannot be verified. The 6. Gadamer, Truth and Method (London: Continuum, architecture at a professional level as well as in an
2004), xx. educational setting. The aim is to give a description
knowledge of architects is often described as tacit, and the methods of creating architecture are rarely described. This 7. As described in Nicolai Bo Andersen,
of a useful approach that can help investigate existing
article aims at describing a “methodological outline” for architectural phenomenological investigation, description, and “Arkitekturens transformation – fem metoder,” in Om
Bygningskulturens Transformation, Christoffer Harlang
architectural phenomena and to assist in designing new
design. The article proposes an architectural phenomenological method in five levels able to re-present an architectural interventions in the world.
et al., eds. (København: Gekko Publishing, 2015),
phenomenon to contemporary attention, whether working with an existing building or creating a new work of architecture. 72-87.

74 75
The article is based on an experience-oriented A. Experiencing an Architectural Phenomenon description, which phenomenon should I work with? How
approach to architecture, as was popularly and The first level in the architectural phenomenological 8. Steen Eiler Rasmussen, Om at opleve arkitektur do I know what is of importance in this particular work of
(København: Gad, 1957).
most clearly articulated in Steen Eiler Rasmussen’s method is to identify an architectural phenomenon – that architecture? The starting point is that there is something
9. See Finn Thorbjørn Hansen, “Det personlige essay
internationally recognised Experiencing Architecture. 8
is, to ask a phenomenological question. A successful going on, that there is something in the architectural
som en filosofisk praksis,” BUS Nord Norge, Skriftserie
The architectural design process is seen through the phenomenological description is based on a personal 3/2007 (2007); Finn Thorbjørn Hansen, Kan man undre experience that touches me. It may be a sensory
lens of phenomenology and hermeneutics. The approach architectural experience. The phenomenologist would sig uden ord? (Aalborg: Aalborg Universitetsforlag, impression, a certain feeling or a spatial atmosphere. It
is inspired by writing exercises developed by Finn call it “Turning to the Nature of Lived Experience.” The
15 2014) and Finn Thorbjørn Hansen et al., Arkitektur- og may be the textural character of the wall, a rhythmic effect
designpædagogik – i praksisnært og fænomenologisk
Thorbjørn Hansen ; the article uses the phenomenology
9
aim is to get a deeper understanding of a specific existing in the façade, or the way the light falls into a room in a way
perspektiv (København: Arkitektskolen Aarhus,
of practice which Max van Manen10 has characterised building or architectural phenomenon in general. that moves me.
Kunstakademiets Arkitektskole København og
as a framework to describe a ‘methodological outline’ Designskolen Kolding, 2016).
for architectural investigation and design.11 The Steen Eiler Rasmussen emphasises how, throughout 10. Max van Manen, “Practicing Phenomenological Making the right choice is not an act caused by reason
architectural phenomenological method is defined our upbringing, we achieve a very sensitive, bodily Writing,” Phenomenology + Pedagogy, Volume 2 but a question of tact, not liable to be proven. 22 Tact
Number 1 (1984), 36-69.
through five sections that correspond to five levels of understanding of the world that we use unconsciously signifies a certain sensitiveness and responsiveness
11. Max van Manen (van Manen, 1984) describes
practising architecture: A. Experiencing an architectural when experiencing a work of architecture. We experience
16
to a situation, and the way in which we react to it. It is
four levels in the methodological outline for doing
phenomenon, B. Investigating the architectural architecture physically, through the senses, even before phenomenology: A. Turning to the Nature of about being guided by a “touched non-knowledge.”23
phenomenon, C. Hermeneutical reflection, D. Describing we are aware of it. Similarly, the phenomenologist Lived Experience, B. Existential Investigation, C. I experience architecture and I am caught by an
the architectural phenomenon and E. Architectural describes how things appear in the constitution of Phenomenological Reflection, D. Phenomenological architectural phenomenon that I immediately want to
Writing. I use this description as a framework, but from
phenomenological re-presentation. phenomena through sensation, imagination, memory, etc. 17
understand better. I am seized by a lived experience that
the perspective of an architect, and with the addition of
The phenomenon is what appears to our consciousness as causes me to wonder.
a new fifth level to describe architectural design.
The approach is based on the assumption that we immediately experience it – prior to attempts to reflect, 12. As argued by Max van Manen, Researching Lived
phenomenological research cannot be separated from analyse and categorise them. For the phenomenologist, it Experience (New York: The State University of New One must ask what characterises the phenomenon.
the actual (writing) practice. The starting point is the
12
is not the house but rather the phenomenon of the house, York, 1990). What is the nature of this phenomenon as I experience
13. The phenomenological survey is described in
so-called ‘everyday lived experience’ that is used in a the cogitatio, which is given. However, the work of art is
18
it, ‘what is it like?’ For example, the phenomenologist
Nicolai Bo Andersen, “Fænomenbunden registrering,”
systematic manner as the basis for a (textual) reflection. not just an aesthetic question but an “event of being—in does not ask for the scientific properties of the light
in Om Bygningskulturens Transformation, ed.
Parallel to this, a personal experience and a reflective it being appears, meaningfully and visibly.”19 The work Christoffer Harlang et al. (København: Gekko falling through a window. The architect’s name or the
drawing practice together exemplify an architectural of architecture is never just an isolated phenomenon but Publishing, 2015), 144-149. stylistic characteristics of the building also are not
research method and a path to knowledge. instead belongs to the world; it is part of time. Similarly, 14. Gadamer, Truth and Method, 135. part of a phenomenological description. Instead, the
15. See van Manen, “Practicing Phenomenological
the experience is not just an isolated experience, but phenomenologist asks for the experiential quality of the
Writing,” 36-69.
Selected works by students at the Master’s “always contains the experience of an infinite whole.”20 light. Just what is the quality of the light that is falling
16. Rasmussen, Om at opleve arkitektur (København:
Program in Architectural Heritage, Transformation The experience of a work of architecture is knowledge that Gad, 1957). through this window as I experience it?
and Conservation at KADK are used as ‘findings’ goes beyond any subjectivity. 17. See Edmund Husserl, The Idea of Phenomenology

exemplifying phenomenological descriptions aimed (Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1999). However, the phenomenological approach raises
18. Ibid., 147
at identifying and describing a specific character, an The aim is not to explain, analyse or categorise the questions without the expectation of a definitive answer.
19. Gadamer, Truth and Method, 138.
atmosphere and emotional qualities as the basis for phenomenon, but rather to disclose it (alētheia) in a It aims at understanding rather than explaining. The
20. Ibid., 61.
an architectural intervention. Finally, the architectural
13
nuanced and rich manner. The description is aimed at 21. Three formats are taught in KADK’s Master’s style is more exploratory than analytical; the form
phenomenological description is discussed as a starting a direct sensory experience that is based in a personal Program in Architectural Heritage, Transformation investigative and inconclusive. As van Manen points
point for architectural design. As Gadamer points out, the experience, rather than in concepts or logic explanations. and Conservation: Album, Sketch and Note. out, in a phenomenological study “as in poetry, it is
In their own way, each are tools to identify an
content of a work of art “is ontologically defined as an It is about giving a personal, sensuous description of inappropriate to ask for a conclusion or a summary.”24
architectural phenomenon. See Nicolai Bo
emanation of the original”14 – as a re-presentation of the an architectural experience through a reflective drawing Rather than an objective statement attempting at
Andersen, “Fænomenbunden registrering,” in Om
intrinsic subject matter that may be pointed out through a practice. The essential aspects of the phenomenon
21
Bygningskulturens Transformation, Christoffer Harlang correctness and completeness, the description should
phenomenological description. This leads to the proposal must be disclosed and made physical in such a way that et al., eds. (København: Gekko Publishing, 2015), instead be a beautiful drawing that in itself articulates
of an architectural phenomenological method in five others can recognise the description as a possible (new) 144-149. the phenomenon. The successful phenomenological
22. Gadamer describes the question of tact in
levels, that is capable of re-presenting an architectural interpretation of an architectural phenomenon. question asks how we can get a new understanding of
Hans-Georg Gadamer, Truth and Method (London:
phenomenon to a contemporary attention, whether an architectural phenomenon through an architectural
Continuum, 2004).
working with an existing building or designing a new work But how do I choose? When I stand in front of an 23. See Hansen, Kan man undre sig uden ord? drawing.
of architecture. architectural work and want to make a phenomenological (Aalborg: Aalborg Universitetsforlag, 2014).

76 77
 Figure 1.
Julie Wendt,
Vilhelm Lauritzens Concert Hall for the Danish
Broadcasting Corporation.

One problem with the phenomenological approach is not

that we do not know enough, but that we often know too
much. We think we know the question, but our advance
knowledge leads us to jump to conclusions. We begin
to reflect on, analyse and categorise the phenomena
before we even get started. Generally, at the beginning
of the design process the architect will start a project
by analysing the technical, historical and architectural
properties of the building. 25 However, such prior
knowledge, previous experiences and expectations as to
the project will get in the way of the immediate sensuous
and personal experience of the phenomenon.

Before making a phenomenological description, we

must therefore try to forget our biases and assumptions
in order to understand the phenomenon on its own
terms. A phenomenologist would make a systematic
‘phenomenological reduction’ or ‘epoché’26 – also known
as ‘bracketing’ – in order to examine phenomena clearly.
However, this reduction must not be understood as a
purification but rather as a way of making us aware of our
assumptions and beliefs about a phenomenon. In order
to see the nature of the phenomenon we must make our
prior knowledge explicit. We want to see what we actually
see, not what we think we see.

B. Investigating the Architectural Phenomenon

The second level in the architectural phenomenological
method is about investigating the phenomenon,
collecting material. After experiencing the phenomenon,
asking a phenomenological question and making
a phenomenological reduction, we are interested
24. van Manen, “Practicing Phenomenological Writing,”
in conducting a thorough investigation through a
13.
presentation form that is physical (visual). The starting 25. The Danish Agency for Culture and Palaces
point is the personal architectural experience, the lived requests a systematic description when working
experience. My own experience is generally the most with listed buildings; cf. Vejledning – vurdering af

accessible, the easiest to get in touch with. I want to fredningsværdier (København, 2012), accessed
September 15, 2016, http://slks.dk/fileadmin/
give a direct, sensuous description of the architectural
user_upload/kulturarv/bygninger/dokumenter/
experience as I lived it – without giving explanations Vejledning_fredningsgennemgangen_2012.pdf. In the
– making analyses and generalisations and I want to KADK Master’s Program in Architectural Heritage,
present that experience in an architectural drawing. Transformation and Conservation, students are taught
a carefully described method for survey, analysis
and valuation, as described in Søren Vadstrup,
But how can I be certain that my experience is valid?
“Analyse og værdisætning,” in Om Bygningskulturens
How do I know if my description is usable? The Transformation, Christoffer Harlang et al., eds.,
phenomenologist knows that a personal experience is (København: Gekko Publishing, 2015), 150-157.
also a possible experience for others. An experience is 26. See Husserl, The Idea of Phenomenology.

78 79
 Figure 2.
Pia Dyrendahl Staven,
Arne Jacobsen’s Rødovre Town Hall.

not only a private matter; others may have had a similar

experience. When I experience the light falling through
a window, it is constituted through my perception of the
phenomenon, and by making the phenomenon physical
through a drawing, I can examine this phenomenon
as a possible experience that other people may
have in the future, or could have had in the past. The
phenomenologist would say that personal experience
must point towards the universal.

An architect will usually make a survey of the existing

conditions through sketches, photographs or perhaps
models. One must try out different tools. Perhaps the
phenomenological question is not explicit at the beginning
of the investigation, but needs to be developed in the
process of drawing. Maybe the presentation tool needs to
be adjusted, developed or even invented in order to clarify
the question.

I need to discover through which tool I can disclose the

architectural phenomenon as it is experienced. Merleau-
Ponty argues that “what I understand begins to insert
itself in the intervals between my saying things; my
speech is intersected laterally by the other’s speech.”27
Knowing what to say is discovered through the act of
speaking. Similarly, the selection and development of
the investigation tool is in a constant interaction with
the phenomenon. The presentation tool helps clarify the
question, and vice versa: the question sharpens the tool.
However, the architectural phenomenological description
is not intended as a simplification of the phenomenon.
The description must reveal a new understanding of the
phenomenon through a density in presentation and a
clarity of expression. The description cannot simply be a
diagram or a reference to an external object but must be
as rich and as nuanced as the phenomenon itself.

C. Hermeneutical Reflection
Hermeneutical reflection is the third level in the method
of an architectural phenomenology. As van Manen
explains, “phenomenology describes how one orients to
lived experience, [whereas] hermeneutics describes how
one interprets the ‘texts’ of life.”28 The reflection aims at
taking a new look at the architectural experience. How
27. Maurice Merleau-Ponty, The Prose of the World
should we understand the architectural experience? What (Chicago: Northwestern University Press, 1973), 142.
architectural motifs can be derived from the investigated 28. van Manen, Researching Lived Experience, 4.

80 81
 Figure 3.
Hanna Talje and Kristoffer Bilet,
Arne Jacobsen’s Rødovre Town Hall.

phenomenon and how can these help me towards a more

precise phenomenological description?

Motif derives from the French word motif that comes from
the Latin motivus, which means ‘giving rise to movement.’
The word comes from movere, ‘to move,’ and represents
a “dominant or recurring idea in an artistic work.”29 An
architectural motif is a subject matter or a characteristic
unity, a group of phenomena that have something
in common. An architectural motif can be about the
building’s relationship to its surroundings, or it can be
the internal order of the house itself. It can be related to
the building as a whole or to a part of the building. The
phenomenon may have to do with the exterior gestalt
of the building or it may be about an internal space. It
can be an assembly of parts; for example, numerous
windows of the same size that together constitute a
rhythmical arrangement in a façade. Or it may be the way
in which windows of different sizes form a composition,
as variations of a form. The motif may be the properties
of an object: the shape, colour, proportion or textural
quality – for instance of a window.30 Or, it may be the
specific way in which the light falls through a particular
window.31 The relation between objects, such as shift,
interstice or contour may be a motif. Architectural effects
describing an experience of direction or a sensation of
movement32 may also help us to understand and describe
the architectural experience in a new way.

Motifs are identified, some rejected, new ones added 29. Oxford Dictionaries, https://en.oxforddictionaries.
and others adjusted and clarified through the continuous com/definition/motif. Accessed September 15, 2016.

development of the presentation tool. The reflection 30. Carl Petersen points out that shape, colour,
proportion and textural quality are the four most
takes place in a close dialogue with the material. As
important elements in the ‘forming’ arts. See: Carl
a hermeneutical conversation with the material, the Petersen, “Stoflige virkninger,” in Arkitektursyn,
reflection constitutes an attempt to come to a better Christoffer Harlang et al., eds., (København:
understanding of the phenomenon through the drawing. Kunstakademiets Arkitektskole, 2009), 118-136.
31. Probably inspired by Vilhelm Wanscher (1917)
and Aage Rafn (1918), Steen Eiler Rasmussen adds
In general, all architectural phenomenological descriptions
rhythm, as well as light and shade, in “Experiencing
can be used as the valid personal expressions of an Architecture” (Rasmussen, 1957). See Vilhelm
architectural experience. The descriptions may address Wanscher “Rytmer og Funktioner i Architektur,”
different motifs, they may have different expressions Architekten vol. 15, nr. 19, feb. 8, (1913) and Aage

and may make use of different presentation techniques. Rafn, “Rytme,” in Arkitektursyn, 22-31.
32. For example, Vilhelm Wanscher characterizes
However, some descriptions are more precise than
the baroque style as a simultaneous ascending
others. Therefore, it may be useful to ask others for and descending movement. See Vilhelm Wanscher
advice. I am not the only one who has experienced light “Rytmer og Funktioner i Architektur,” Architekten vol.
falling through a window in a certain way; others may 15, nr. 19, feb. 8, (1913).

82 83
 Figure 4.
Rikke Wennevold,
Arne Jacobsen’s Rødovre Library.

have had a similar experience. I can therefore consult The collage of façade elements in Arne Jacobsen’s
the experiences of others as a way to broaden my own. Rødovre Town Hall (Fig. 2) articulates a vibrant play of
For example, Vilhelm Hammershøi’s famous picture Dust colours. Photographs of window frames, mullions and
Motes Dancing in the Sunbeams (Hammershøi, 1900) may curtains recorded at various locations in the building have
help me reflect upon my own experience. The picture is been cut up and reassembled in a new image, providing
not an objective description of how the light falls through the impression of a spectral analysis. The colours
a window – but it says much about the quality of the light shimmer, ranging from a cool grey to dusty blue, and a
that comes through a specific window, in the way that the pale green to brown, beige and warm grey. The horizontal
artist experienced it. In this way, related artworks within format of the drawing and the vertical shadows give a
the visual arts, music, literature and architecture can dynamic effect, almost as if the façade were in motion.
be a source of insight into lived experience. The artistic
statement is a rich, sensuous description of the world as The drawing of the façade in Arne Jacobsen’s Rødovre
it expresses a depth and complexity that is not inferior Town Hall (Fig. 3) is focused on the building’s proportions.
to the original experience. The artist is able to re-present Rather than using the well-known elevation, the façade is
a phenomenon with a density and clarity that makes presented here in a perspective foreshortening. An open
the viewer recognise the work of art as a possible (true) window breaks the rhythmic configuration of the curtail
description of a phenomenon in the world. wall: hidden between the mullions in part of the drawing
but exposed in others, the blinds give an impression of a
Finally, as a part of the hermeneutical reflection, I can deformation in the façade. The distinctive proportions of
consult experts in order to broaden my own experience of the façade and the modular order of the curtain wall are
a phenomenon. In a school of architecture, it may be the dissolved in a new configuration.
teacher; fellow students may be an indispensable source
of dialogic reflection; colleagues at the office; or in some The photograph of the floor in Arne Jacobsen’s Rødovre
instances a client, or those who use a building, could be Library (Fig. 4) articulates the textural quality of the
appropriated as partners in a hermeneutic conversation. material. The floor surface of the central aula, never visible
in a single view, has been photographed piece by piece
D. Describing the Architectural Phenomenon and put together into a new whole. The exact geometry
Description is the fourth level in the architectural of each tile, along with the quality of the cool marble,
phenomenological method. Five examples of work done describes a surface with rich textural play. The lines in the
by students in the Master’s Program in Architectural marble give a rich impression, almost as a water surface
Heritage, Transformation and Conservation at KADK broken up by waves. A single step and the shadow of the
exemplifies the architectural phenomenological roof marks a subtle difference in the otherwise smooth
description. surface.

The model of Vilhelm Lauritzen’s Concert Hall for the The rendering of Michael Gottlieb Bindesbøll’s Museum for
Danish Broadcasting Corporation (Fig. 1) is about the Bertel Thorvaldsen (Fig. 5) concerns the effect of light and
geometry of space. The exterior geometry of the building shadow. The drawing of an internal space is composed of
forms a box protecting the characteristic interior spaces. a section through a window and a corresponding interior
Corridor, rehearsal halls and auxiliary rooms each have elevation. The modulated shadows articulate the filtering
their unique geometry built as positive figures. Each of light through the window. The physical elements – the
figure has its own place in the shrine, marked by a relief. façade relief, the bevelled window panels, the geometry
Stemming from functional and acoustic considerations, of the mullions and the colour and texture of the wall – are
each room gives the impression of interior components described through the effect of the shadow.
organised side by side independently and at the same
time closely interrelated. Each of the five examples of an architectural phenomen-
ological description are based upon a personal

84 85
 Figure 5.
Anders Suhr Lausten, Michael Gottlieb,
Bindesbøll’s Museum for Bertel Thorvaldsen.

architectural experience. They are made in different

media: model, collage, line drawing, photography and
computer rendering. The choice of tool seems to be
closely connected to the phenomenon experienced. It is
likely that the description would have been different had
the presentation tool been of another kind. Similarly, one
can imagine that another person may have reached a
different result. The five visual descriptions constitute five
independent works in themselves. Rather than simplified
diagrams aiming at an objective explanation, analysing
and categorising a phenomenon, each description has a
richness, nuance and sensuous quality in itself.

The architectural phenomenological descriptions are

not definite. Each drawing is not just about the shape,
colour, proportion or textural quality of the building, but
describes several aspects simultaneously. At the same
time, the drawings cannot be said to be the only possible,
fully complete descriptions of the rich qualities of the
original works of architecture. Futhermore, the buildings
are not necessarily recognisable. You need to know the
building before you can actually recognise it. Yet there
is something that makes you understand what it is. The
descriptions are at the same time new and recognisable
images of the investigated buildings.

A phenomenological description is not merely a symbol,

or a reference to an external phenomenon; in Gadamer’s
words, “[w]ord and image are not mere imitative
illustrations, but allow what they present to be for the first
time fully what it is.”33 The phenomenological description
is more like a nuanced “portrait,”34 as rich and sensuous
as the phenomenon in itself, a reflection made through
a physical presentation form. It is only one example
among many possible. The description is a good one if
we, as viewers, can recognise in it a likely experience of
an architectural phenomenon. The phenomenological
description does not speak of the world, but, like in the
poem, “the words, vowels and phonemes are so many
ways of ‘singing’ the world.”35

Of importance for the precision of the phenomenological

description are: the properties of the pencil, the line
33. Gadamer, Truth and Method, 137.
thickness, the quality of the line, the paper size, format,
34. Ibid., 143.
surface texture, colour and tonality, the composition, 35. Merleau-Ponty, Phenomenology of Perception
the print, and ultimately how and where the drawing (New York: Routledge, 2002), 217.

86 87
is presented, as well as the light conditions. However, The question is what does ‘new’ signify? What does it building elements and the construction process. The
the architectural phenomenological method should not mean that a work of architecture is ‘new’? The Danish quality of the materials, the tectonic and experiential
be considered a simple presentation technique or a architect Erik Christian Sørensen points out that the properties are instead developed into a new architectural
mechanical process that will guarantee a successful result new is a “new interpretation of old questions.” For P.V.
38
alphabet. The individual parts are connected in joints
at all times. Rather, the phenomenological method is Jensen-Klint, it is crucial that the architect “will not imitate articulating the tectonic hierarchy of the building. The
more like a “cultivated thoughtfulness” that is conducted
36
the old, but reproduce it reborn as he invests himself.” 39
different lifetime of the elements, and the patina of
through a physical material. Similarly, Peter Zumthor emphasises how the new work the materials, are used to develop a new architectural
of architecture must “make us see what already exists vocabulary. The project re-presents an experience
The phenomenological question and the presentation in a new light” by embracing “qualities that can enter of building elements, joints and patina that suggest
tool are calibrated in a constant oscillation between into a meaningful dialogue with the existing situation.” 40
temporality.
production and reflection. The working process is a This suggests that designing architecture is not a
continuous negotiation between an experience, an question of making something new, but rather a matter of The three examples of architectural design are all based
investigation, a reflection and a test leading to a choice transformation. on existing phenomena. It may be an existing physical
of action: acceptance, rejection or adjustment of the structure, the collected work of an architect or the
(preliminary) drawing. The process is repeated in a Three examples of work done by students at the Master’s building process. The architectural designs re-present
spiral-like movement that arrives closer and closer to the Program in Architectural Heritage, Transformation architectural phenomena to a contemporary attention.
essence of the phenomenon. The interim answer gives and Conservation at KADK typify how an experienced Seen in this perspective, architects deal with the same
rise to an adjustment of the original question, resulting in architectural phenomenon can be the starting point of a elemental issues, the same questions, as always. For
a new, interim answer, and so on. It is all about drawing new architectural intervention. Gadamer the experience of art is about “to what extent
and redrawing. one knows and recognizes something and oneself.”41
The project for transformation of an urban area in Berlin However, it is not about just knowing what we already
But how do I know when the drawing is good enough – (Fig. 6) is founded literally as well as figuratively on a know, since the “joy of recognition is rather the joy of
how do I know when the phenomenological description series of existing walls. The starting point is an experience knowing more than is already familiar.”42 In this sense, the
is finished? In a way, a phenomenological description is of the complex character of the area visible through the new may be understood as making new interpretations of
never finished. The successful description is never the different building expressions and many temporal layers. phenomena in the world, adding something more to what
only ‘right answer,’ just as it is never exhaustive. The A rhythmic configuration of courtyards and passageways already exists.
Dutch phenomenologist Frederik Buytendijk has used gives a labyrinthine experience of the site, at the same
the term ‘the phenomenological nod’ as an indication time under construction and demolition. The urban Like the work of art, a building is characterised by a
that a phenomenological description represents an transformation continues the ‘writing’ on top of the continuous ability to make itself relevant. An existing
experience that we have had or could have had. The 37
existing layers by restoring, transforming and adding new building has been selected for conservation for a reason.
phenomenological description aims at precisely this: the parts. The project re-presents an experience of the city as If it loses its functional, technical or aesthetic properties
viewer must recognise the architectural description as an a continuous transformation process. it will decay, be transformed or demolished. Similarly, a
expression of an experience that one could have had. ‘Yes, listed building must have qualities that speak to us across a
that’s exactly how the light falls through this window’ is a The project for an addition to Hanssted School in temporal distance. John Dewey points at the Parthenon as
response to a successful phenomenological description. Copenhagen (Fig. 7) is based on the collected works of 36. van Manen, “Practicing Phenomenological an example of a building that constantly renews itself for our
the Danish architect Hans Christian Hansen (1901-1978), Writing,” Phenomenology + Pedagogy, Volume 2 attention, and for this reason it can be said to be classic.
Number 1 (1984), 67.
E. Architectural Phenomenological Re-Presentation and more specifically on the existing school building. The perceiver continuously creates a new experience of the
37. See van Manen, Researching Lived Experience.
The final level in the architectural phenomenological The experience of the dynamic section, the tectonic work. This building, more than two thousand years old, is
38. Erik Christian Sørensen, POETIK til bygningskunst
method is architectural design. As we have seen, we can articulation and the textural qualities of the simple and (København, Arkitektens Forlag, 2003). My translation.
“universal because it can continuously inspire new personal
experience a work of architecture, we can investigate inexpensive materials, form the basis for an addition 39. P.V. Jensen-Klint, “Om den gamle og den nye Tids realizations in experience.”43 In this sense, aesthetic
phenomena in an existing building that touches us by that simultaneously complements and re-interprets the Bygmestre,” Architecten (1901). My translation. experience is a continuous re-creation of the intrinsic
40. Peter Zumthor, Thinking Architecture (Basel:
using our senses, and we can develop presentation tools existing structure. The project re-presents an experience subject matter of the artwork.
Birkhäuser, 1998), 18.
that are able to disclose the phenomenon in a new way of the building as a body made up of structural elements,
41. Gadamer, Truth and Method, 113.
as it is presented through the description. But can we use dynamic interior spaces and an outer protective skin. 42. Ibid., 113.
Correspondingly, Gadamer points out that “it remains
this phenomenological description to design architecture, The project for an addition to a technical school in 43. John Dewey, Art as Experience (New York, N.Y.: irrefutable that art is never simply past but is able
to make new interventions in the world? Copenhagen (Fig. 8) departs from an investigation of the Perigee Books, 1980), 113. to overcome temporal distance by virtue of its own

88 89
 Figure 6.
Mette Hübschmann, Thesis Project.

meaningful presence.”44 Following this, one may argue

that working with existing buildings concerns the “re-
actualising” of aesthetic values. It is about making
experiential qualities available for a contemporary
attention. The task of the architect who works with
existing buildings, listed or not, is to restore the building’s
own “meaningful presence.”45

Heidegger points out that, for the Greeks, the word for
‘technique,’ the art of building and constructing, means
“to bring forth or to produce.”46 Producing in general, and
making architecture more specifically, is a question of
letting appear. To Gadamer, the content of a work of art is
ontologically defined as an “emanation of the original.”47
The work of art is characterised by being “essentially
tied to the original represented in it.”48 The picture (Bild)
comes to “presentation in the representation” and by
doing so, the picture experiences an “increase in being.”49
Artistic representation is thus signified by “the fact
that ‘reproduction’ is the original mode of being of the
original artwork itself.”50 This should not be understood
in the trivial meaning of a simple imitation. The work of
art is not a copy (Abbild). Rather, the picture (Bild) is a
new interpretation of the original (Ur-bild). It is about the
“coming-to-presentation of being.”51 The artwork adds
something new into the world as an “event of being”
which is “repeated each time in the mind of the viewer.”52

An intervention in an existing building, or the design of a

new work of architecture, may thus be understood as a
new interpretation of an already known phenomena in a
new form. The work of architecture is a re-presentation
of an existing phenomenon in a new way. If it is true that
architectural design is not a question of simply getting
‘a good idea,’ but rather about re-presenting existing
phenomena for a contemporary attention, then the
phenomenological description may be the first step in a
44. Gadamer, Truth and Method, 158.
design process. The phenomenological description of
45. Ibid.
46. Martin Heidegger, Sproget og Ordet (København:
an existing building, or of an architectural phenomenon
Hans Reitzels Forlag A/S, 2000), 51. Translation from in a broader sense, may be able to disclose phenomena
Danish by the author. that point towards a new architectural intervention. The
47. Gadamer, Truth and Method, 135. phenomenon, as personally experienced through the
48. Idem.
senses and as disclosed through the phenomenological
49. Idem.
50. Ibid., 152.
description, may be re-presented in a new work of
51. Idem. architecture.
52. Idem.

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 Figure 7.
Even Brænne Olstad, Thesis Project.

Conclusion state. Similarly, the transformation architect should not

The architectural phenomenological method can be do just anything to a building that has an experienced
described as a systematic (hermeneutic) understanding of architectural quality. Rather, the architect must ‘re-
an architectural phenomenon based on a personal lived actualise’ the intrinsic aesthetic values of the existing
experience. Since it does not meet the methodological building. Using experiential qualities as the basis for a
ideal of science, this understanding is not certain in any new intervention, the architect may get an understanding
scientific sense: the subject matter of the investigation is of the existing building through personal, lived experience.
always unique; the experiment cannot be exactly repeated
or lead to the same outcome; just as the result cannot be Thirdly, the phenomenological method may point towards
verified. One cannot speak about a work of architecture new works of architecture. If the work of art is a re-
in terms of true or false. On the other hand, the method presentation of an existing material in a new form, then
suggests an approach to understanding phenomena the task of the architect is to make new interpretations
that would otherwise remain undisclosed. Just like the of old questions. The new work of architecture may be
experience of art, the phenomenological method is seen as a re-presentation of an experienced, existing
“concerned with truths that go essentially beyond the phenomenon in a new form.
range of methodical knowledge,” by offering a new
53

understanding of a phenomenon in the world. Finally, the architectural phenomenological method may
restore the human subject as pivotal for architectural
The architectural phenomenological method is not quality. Placing at the core of architecture a personal
precise in the sense of being ‘correct.’ It does not ensure experience that points towards the universal, specific,
a factual and verifiable result, identical at all times. This nuanced and rich sensuous qualities may become central
unfinished nature of phenomenology is not a deficiency, in the architectural design process, and in new works of
but rather its very nature. It is not a static system, but is architecture.
characterized by a constant “attentiveness and wonder.” 54

The architectural phenomenological method might not The architectural phenomenological method, working with
even be called a method, but rather an approach that conservation and transformation and with new works of
aims to understand the experience of an architectural architecture, may constitute an approach that does not
phenomenon through a physical re-presentation that focus just on visual appearance or stylistic elements.
points towards a new intervention. It is not just a question of how it looks but of how it is.
Architecture may be understood as a language that thinks
This has implications for how we make architectural the world, since the experience of a work of architecture
investigations. The so-called objective criteria in a is not just an aesthetic question but a question of
traditional building analysis are, in the phenomenological knowledge.
study, not enough. On the contrary, they seem to get in
the way of a personal and nuanced phenomenological In this perspective, architectural education may be
description. On the other hand, the method may disclose understood as a question of culture (Bildung). To
important qualities in buildings that, when seen from Gadamer, “Bildung is intimately associated with the idea
an objective architectural consideration, are not worth of culture and designates primarily the properly human
preserving. The phenomenological reduction may assist in way of developing one’s natural talents and capacities.”55
making us aware of our assumptions and beliefs, and help He notes that the German word Bildung contains the
us to experience the phenomenon without prejudice. The root Bild – comprehending both Nachbild (image, copy)
phenomenological description should complement, not and Vorbild (model) – and argues that “Bildung is not
53. Ibid., xxii.
replace, existing building analysis and valuation methods. achieved in the manner of a technical construction, but
54. Merleau-Ponty, Phenomenology of Perception
Secondly, it may also have an impact on how we work grows out of an inner process of formation and cultivation, (New York: Routledge, 2002), xxiv.
with existing buildings. The conservation architect should and therefore constantly remains in a state of continual 55. Ibid., 9.
not simply bring a building back to a supposed former Bildung.”56 56. Ibid., 10.

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 Figure 8.
Søren Pihlmann and Kim Lenschow Andersen,
Thesis Project.

It follows that teaching architecture as well as

architectural design may be understood as an event of
being. The aim of the teacher is to assist in a process
that may disclose and re-present the intrinsic subject
matter of the work of architecture through experience,
investigation, reflection and description. The role of the
teacher is to assist the student in cultivating a relation to
the world. Discussing the term ‘tact,’ Gadamer describes
a “special sensitivity and sensitiveness to situations and
how to behave in them, for which knowledge from general
principles does not suffice.”57 Following this, the teacher
must have the same approach of constant “attentiveness
and wonder”58 to the student of architecture, as the
architect and the student of architecture have to the
investigated architectural phenomenon.

The architectural phenomenological method may thus

be understood as a way of thinking the world through
personal experience. It is an attentive and wondering
attitude towards teaching and practising architecture that
aims to get a better understanding of a given architectural
phenomenon. Whether the aim is conservation,
transformation, or new works of architecture, the
architectural phenomenological method is a cultivated
approach that points towards architectural interventions.

57. Ibid., 14.

58. Merleau-Ponty, Phenomenology of Perception,
xxiv.

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