Chora, Volume 2 : Intervals in the philosophy of architecture

In this second volume in the Chora series, contributing authors take an interdisciplinary approach to architecture and other cultural concerns, challenging readers to consider alternatives to conventional aesthetic and technological reductions. Karsten Harries provides a new and long-overdue reading of Martin Heidegger's well-known essay "Building Dwelling Thinking." Donald Kunze and Stephen Parcell consider possibilities of meaningful architectural space for a visual culture, continuing themes they addressed in Chora 1. Further reflections on the spaces of literature, cinema, and architecture include an interview with French writer and film maker Alain Robbe-Grillet and articles by Dagmar Motycka Weston on the surrealist city, Tracey Eve Winton on the museum as a paradigmatic modern building, and Terrance Galvin on spiritual space in the works of Jean Cocteau. Jean-Pierre Chupin and Bram Ratner explore historical themes in their essays on French Renaissance architect Philibert de l'Orme and the Jewish myth of the Golem. Gregory Caicco addresses ethical questions in his essay on the Greek agora and the death of Socrates, as does Lily Chi in her meditation on the critical issue of use in architectural works. A concern with architectural representation and generative strategies for the making of architecture is present throughout, especially in the essay by Joanna Merwood on the provocative House by British artist Rachel Whiteread. Contents Preface 1 Socrates in the Agora 2 On the Use of Architecture: The Destination of Buildings Revisited 3 Hermes' Laugh: Philibert de l'Orme's Imagery as a Case of Analogical Edification 4 The Angel and the Mirror: Reflections on the Architecture of the Amalgam 5 Lessons of a Dream 6 Architecture as a Site of Reception. Part II: Sea-Food and Vampires 7 Concrete Blonde: A Probe into Negative Space where Mysteries are Created 8 Surrealist Paris: The Non-Perspectival Space of the Lived City 9 The Metaphoric Architecture of the Diorama 10 The Legend of the Golem 11 Paradoxical Spaces in Literature, Film and Architecture: A Dialogue with Alain Robbe-Grillet 12 When the Old Mirror is not yet Polished, What Would You Say of it? About the Authors