Philosophical Hermeneutics and the Architecture of Álvaro Siza

This book presents an original study of the work of Pritzker Prize-winning Portuguese architect Álvaro Siza from the perspective of architecture as an interpretation of human life. It combines philosophical hermeneutics, narrative textual description, and history and theory research to provide a rich account of Siza's work. The book gives a detailed analysis of three of Siza's works from this perspective: the Tidal Pool (Piscina das Marés) in Leça da Palmeira, Portugal; the Galician Centre of Contemporary Art (Centro Galego de Arte Contemporánea) in Santiago de Compostela, Spain; and the Santa Maria Church in Marco de Canaveses, Portugal. This form of analysis provides insight into the unique temporal dimension of Siza's work, both in the memory inscribed by the structure and in how what is inscribed is revealed by degrees to those who come into contact with it. Drawing on Hans-Georg Gadamer and Paul Ricoeur, this book defines both building and inhabiting as acts of interpretation. Through employing the technique of writing architecture as a mode of phenomenological description, the book uses one form of creative configuration - narrative - to draw out the meaning inscribed in another form of creative configuration - architecture. The book contributes a unique perspective to scholarship on Siza and an in-depth study to the growing field of hermeneutics of architecture. It will be of interest to researchers and students of architecture and philosophy.

Sally J. Faulder is an architectural researcher who examines the process through which sociocultural values are inscribed in the built environment and reproduced in the lived experience of those who inhabit that environment. Her research draws on the thought and varying approaches to the production of knowledge of architecture, hermeneutic philosophy, and anthropology. Sally completed a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and Anthropology at National University of Ireland, Maynooth, and later a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture at the University of Westminster. After spending some time in practice, Sally then obtained her PhD in Architecture from Queen's University, Belfast.

List of figures Foreword Preface Acknowledgements Introduction Álvaro Siza Philosophical Hermeneutics A Swimming Pool, a Museum, a Church The Book's Approach The Book's Structure CHAPTER ONE Understanding, Hermeneutics and Mimesis Heidegger and Understanding as Being Gadamer, Tradition and Horizon Ricoeur and Understanding through Narrative CHAPTER TWO Architecture as Hermeneutic Practice The Conditions under which Interpretive Understanding is Possible: Prefiguration Making Sense of Life through Building: Configuration The Act of Inhabiting as an Act of Interpretation: Refiguration CHAPTER THREE Álvaro Siza's Hermeneutically Conscious Practice Álvaro Siza's Architectural Practice The Conditions of Álvaro Siza's Architectural Configuration The Poetics of Álvaro Siza's Architectural Configuration CHAPTER FOUR Tidal Pool (Piscina das Marés), Leça da Palmeira Humanising Space Three Forms of Dialogue Hermeneutic Situation CHAPTER FIVE Galician Centre of Contemporary Art (Centro Galego de Arte Contemporánea), Santiago de Compostela Consciously Entering Dialogue Three Forms of Dialogue Hermeneutic Situation CHAPTER SIX Santa Maria Church, Marco de Canaveses Individual Contemplation Communal Worship Three Forms of Dialogue Hermeneutic Situation Conclusion Natural Forces, the Human Condition and the Divine The Hermeneutic Being's Relationship to Architecture An Exemplar of Hermeneutically Conscious Practice