HARTAIXX2016-V010200

Summary

In this script, K. Michael Hays explores Adolf Loos' aphorism on architecture, highlighting the encounter with a constructed mound in the forest shaped like a pyramid. The discussion delves into the architectural imagination, the craft and technique involved in construction, and the emotional response it evokes. Hays emphasizes that while the physical and sensory aspects of architecture are immediate, the true essence of architecture as an autonomous entity transcends the individual's experience.

Takeaways

• 📜 Adolf Loos' aphorism emphasizes the importance of the architectural imagination in interpreting the constructed form of a mound in the forest.
• 🔍 The encounter with the mound is unprepared and prompts a serious response, suggesting an inherent architectural affect.
• 🛠 The mention of the shovel indicates the involvement of tools and craft in the construction process, highlighting the role of technique in architecture.
• 🏺 The mound's shape, resembling a pyramid, is a genre or type that the architectural imagination constructs, differentiating it from the actual form of the mound.
• 🎨 The mound's indexicality, or its marking of being constructed, is part of the sensuous experience, which is distinct from the conceptual understanding of the object.
• 💡 Loos suggests that the architectural affect comes before conceptualization or theorization, emphasizing the emotional response before intellectual understanding.
• 🤔 The mound's appearance leads to the conclusion that someone is buried there, illustrating how architecture can evoke a narrative or story.
• 🏛 The 'that' in Loos' statement refers to architecture itself, which is autonomous and separate from the individual's encounter with it.
• 🧩 The real object of architecture is withdrawn and inaccessible, existing independently of the sensuous qualities experienced during the encounter.
• 👁️ The distinction between the sensuous object and the real object of architecture is crucial, as the former can be lost when the senses are closed off, while the latter remains.
• 🎭 The script invites reflection on the nature of architecture, suggesting it is more than just the physical form but also the emotional and intellectual responses it elicits.

Q & A

What aphorism by Adolf Loos is discussed in the script?

The aphorism discussed in the script is about encountering a mound in the forest shaped like a pyramid by a shovel, which evokes the feeling that someone is buried there, and Loos concludes that this is architecture.

What does the mound in the forest symbolize according to the script?

The mound symbolizes an architectural form, specifically a pyramid, which is constructed and shaped by human intervention, indicating the presence of craft and technique.

How does the script describe the encounter with the mound as an architectural experience?

The script describes the encounter as an unprepared one that triggers the architectural imagination, leading to the recognition of the mound as a constructed form and evoking a serious response.

What is the significance of the shovel's role in shaping the mound according to the script?

The role of the shovel signifies the involvement of tools and techniques in the construction process, highlighting the craft involved in creating the architectural form.

What does the script suggest about the relationship between the mound's shape and its indexicality?

The script suggests that the mound's shape and its indexicality, or the markers of its construction, are part of the sensuous experience that contributes to the architectural affect.

How does the script differentiate between the sensuous object and the real object of architecture?

The script differentiates by stating that the sensuous object, which includes the mound's appearance and associated features, is part of the encounter and can be affected by it, while the real object of architecture, the 'that,' has its own autonomy and identity separate from the encounter.

What is the 'architectural affect' mentioned in the script?

The 'architectural affect' refers to the emotional or psychological impact that the mound, as an architectural form, has on the observer, making them become serious.

What conclusion does Loos draw about architecture after describing the encounter with the mound?

Loos concludes that architecture is not just the sensual experience but also the real object that is autonomous and inaccessible, which is the essence of architecture.

How does the script relate the concept of a tomb or a grave to the idea of architecture?

The script relates the concept by suggesting that the mound, which is shaped like a pyramid and evokes the idea of a tomb or grave, is an example of architecture because it is a constructed form that has an architectural affect.

What does the script imply about the autonomy of architecture?

The script implies that architecture has its own autonomy, meaning it exists independently of the observer's encounter with it, maintaining its identity regardless of the observer's perception.

How does the script suggest that the real object of architecture is experienced?

The script suggests that the real object of architecture is not directly experienced through the senses but is conceptualized and theorized after the initial architectural affect.

Outlines

00:00

🏺 Architectural Imagination and the Pyramidal Mound

This paragraph delves into Adolf Loos' aphorism about architecture, using the example of encountering a pyramid-shaped mound in a forest. It discusses the spontaneous seriousness that arises from recognizing the crafted nature of the mound, shaped by a shovel, indicating the presence of a burial. The paragraph emphasizes the architectural imagination required to conceptualize the mound as a pyramid, the craft and technique involved in its construction, and the indexicality that marks it as man-made. It also highlights the distinction between the sensuous experience of the mound and the conceptual understanding that someone is buried there, concluding that the essence of architecture lies in its autonomy from the individual's encounter with it.

Keywords

💡Aphorism

An aphorism is a concise statement expressing a general truth or principle. In the context of the video, it sets the stage for the discussion on architecture by presenting a thought-provoking quote by Adolf Loos, which encapsulates the essence of his architectural philosophy.

💡Unprepared Encounter

This term refers to a sudden and unexpected experience. In the video, it describes the moment when one stumbles upon a constructed mound in the forest, which triggers a series of thoughts and emotions related to architecture, emphasizing the spontaneous nature of architectural perception.

💡Pyramid

A pyramid is a structure with a polygonal base and triangular sides that converge at a single point at the top. The video uses the pyramid as a symbol of architectural form and construction, illustrating how the shape can evoke a sense of seriousness and the idea of a burial site.

💡Architectural Imagination

This concept refers to the mental process of envisioning architectural forms and spaces. The script mentions the architectural imagination in relation to recognizing and interpreting the constructed mound as a pyramid, highlighting the cognitive aspect of engaging with architecture.

💡Craft

Craft in this context denotes the skill and technique involved in creating something, particularly by hand. The script mentions 'shaped by a shovel,' indicating the manual labor and artisanal skills that are part of the architectural process.

💡Indexicality

Indexicality is the quality of something being a sign or indicator of something else. In the video, the mound's shape and the marks of the shovel serve as an index of the construction process, signaling to the observer that the mound is not a natural formation but a crafted architectural entity.

💡Sensuous Experience

Sensuous experience pertains to the engagement of the senses with the physical world. The video discusses how the mound's appearance and the act of encountering it create a sensuous experience that precedes intellectual understanding in the architectural context.

💡Architectural Affect

This term refers to the emotional or psychological impact that architecture has on individuals. The video describes how the mound's shape and the realization of its constructed nature elicit a serious response, demonstrating the power of architecture to evoke emotions.

💡Conceptualization

Conceptualization is the process of forming ideas or concepts in the mind. The script uses this term to describe the moment when the observer moves from the sensory experience of the mound to the intellectual understanding that someone is buried there, reflecting the cognitive aspect of architectural perception.

💡Autonomy

Autonomy in this context means the independence or self-governance of an entity. The video speaks of the real object of architecture as having its own autonomy, separate from the individual's encounter with it, suggesting that architecture exists as a distinct entity beyond personal experience.

💡Sensual Object

A sensual object is something that engages the senses. The script contrasts the sensual object, which can be perceived and disappears when the senses are closed off, with the enduring 'real object' of architecture, emphasizing the enduring nature of architectural form and concept.

Highlights

Adolf Loos' aphorism defines architecture as an encounter with a constructed form that evokes a serious response.

Architecture is experienced through an 'unprepared encounter' with a mound in the forest.

The mound's shape, crafted by a shovel, indicates the involvement of craft and technique in architecture.

The pyramid shape is a construct of the architectural imagination, not an actual physical pyramid.

Markers such as the shape of the mound and the use of a shovel index the act of construction in architecture.

The mound's indexicality, or its marking of being constructed, is part of the sensuous experience of architecture.

Loos suggests that the mound's appearance and associated features have an architectural affect on the observer.

The concept of someone being buried there is a consequence of the architectural encounter, leading to a serious mood.

The mound's sensuous qualities are part of the encounter but are separate from the real object of architecture.

The real object of architecture, as described by Loos, is autonomous and exists independently of the observer's encounter.

The sensuous object of architecture can be perceived and disappears when not engaged, unlike the real architectural object.

The encounter with architecture leads to a theoretical conclusion that someone lies buried here, summarizing the experience.

Loos emphasizes the distinction between the sensual experience and the conceptual understanding of architecture.

The architectural affect is a result of the mound's appearance and not the actual experience of the architectural object.

The 'that' in Loos' aphorism refers to the essence of architecture, which is separate from the observer's encounter.

Architecture's real object is inaccessible and withdrawn, implying a deeper meaning beyond the immediate sensory experience.

The autonomy and identity of architecture are highlighted as separate from the observer's interaction with it.

Loos' perspective on architecture suggests a philosophical understanding that transcends mere physical form.

Transcripts

[MUSIC PLAYING]

K. MICHAEL HAYS: We begin with an aphorism by the Viennese 20th-century

architect Adolf Loos. Loos writes, "If we find a mound six feet long and three

feet wide in the forests, formed into a pyramid, shaped by a shovel,

we become serious and something says, 'someone lies buried here.'

That is architecture."

Now, there are several things to attend to in that little passage.

First of all, it seems to be a sort of unprepared encounter.

We come upon a mound in the forest.

But immediately, we see that the mound has been shaped.

Someone has constructed it, and someone has constructed it

into the shape of a pyramid.

The mound is not actually a pyramid.

The pyramid is something that we have to construct

in the architectural imagination.

But someone has given us markers.

They've indexed the act of construction.

Loos says, "It's been shaped by a shovel."

So there are tools involved with the construction.

The tools indicate that there's a craft involved-- there's technique involved.

So we have an encounter that involves the architectural imagination,

constructing a genre or a type, which is the pyramid-- this particular kind

of construction,

and we have craft or technique involved.

But the shape of the mound, and what we call

its indexicality-- that is, it's marking the fact that it's constructed--

and all these other features that Loos recounts,

those are associated features.

Those are sort of part of the sensuous experience.

They're really sort of encrustations to the real object,

which is a tomb or a pyramid or a grave of some sort.

Then Loos says we become serious.

This is important.

The consequence of the encounter is, first of all, an architectural affect.

We become serious.

The mound, the shape of the mound, the appearance of the mount,

has affected us.

All these encrusted features have an architectural affect,

and, only then, do we conceptualize.

Only then, do we theorize someone lies buried here,

and the summation of that encounter is the conclusion:

"That is architecture."

Now, what is the "that"?

The "that," which is architecture, is not the actual experience.

The sensual experience has an effect, but the "that,"

which is architecture-- the real object of that is withdrawn.

It's inaccessible.

We don't actually experience the "that."

The real object of architecture is autonomous from my encounter with it.

The sensuous object is part of the encounter.

The sensuous qualities inhabit the encounter.

We can understand this:

if I close my eyes, the sensual object vaporizes, evaporates,

but the real object, the "that," which is architecture, is still there.

It has its own autonomy, its own identity separate from the encounter.