Architecture and Narrative

Architecture is often seen as the art of a thinking mind that arranges, organizes and establishes relationships between the parts and the whole. It is also seen as the art of designing spaces, which we experience through movement and use. Conceptual ordering, spatial and social narrative are fundamental to the ways in which buildings are shaped, used and perceived. Examining and exploring the ways in which these three dimensions interact in the design and life of buildings, this intriguing book will be of use to anyone with an interest in the theory of architecture and architecture's relationship to the cultural human environment.

Sophia Psarra is Associate Professor of Architecture at the Alfred Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Michigan, USA. She has collaborated with leading cultural institutions in the UK and the US on issues of spatial organization, planning of exhibitions and visitor experience.

Part 1 Introduction 1. The Parthenon and the Erechtheion - The Spatial Formation of Place, Politics and Myth 2. Invisible Surface - Reflections in Mies van der Rohe's Barcelona Pavilion Part 2 3. 'The Book and the Labyrinth Were One and the Same' - Narrative and Architecture in Borges' Fictions 4. (Th) Reading the Library - Spatial and Mathematical Journeys in Borges' Library of Babel Part 3 5. Soane Through the Looking Glass - The House-Museum of Sir John Soane 6. Victorian Knowledge - The Natural History Museum, London and the Art Gallery and Museum, Kelvingrove, Glasgow 7. Contemporary Experience - The Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh and the Burrell Collection, Glasgow 8. Tracing the Modern - Space, Display and Exploration in the Museum of Modern Art, New York (MoMA) Part 4 9. A Comparative Synthesis 10. The Formation of Space and Meaning