Arch 715/815
Dr. David Seamon
Theories of Place
Kansas State University
Department of Architecture
Ref. Nos. 03900 (Arch 715) & 04008 (Arch 815)
Fall 2006, Tuesdays, 7:05 pm, Seaton 104
triad@ksu.edu; 532-1121
Overview
This course introduces students to qualitative, descriptive approaches to research in environmental behavior. The first part of the course explores methods for studying the built environment intuitively, particularly the approach of phenomenology. Next, the course examines such themes as space‑as‑experienced, sense of place, environmental encounter, built form as experiential symbol, and architecture and landscape architecture as community making.
The class is run as a seminar and the main focus is readings. Weekly two‑page essays will be requested to help students keep abreast. Also required is a research project relating to class themes. Readings for the class include:
· Christopher Alexander. Production of Houses (New York: Oxford University Press, 1985).
· Lawrence D. Frank, Peter O. Engelke, & Thomas L. Schmidt. Health and Community Design: The Impact of the Built Environment on Physical Activity (Washington, DC: Island Press, 2003).
· Mike Greenberg. The Poetics of Cities: Designing Neighborhoods that Work. Columbus, Ohio: Ohio State University Press, 1995.
· Lisa Heschong. Thermal Delight in Architecture (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1979).
· Edward Relph. Place and Placelessness (London: Pion, 1976)[available for copying in Weigel]
· David Seamon, editor. Dwelling, Seeing, and Designing: Toward a Phenomenological Ecology (Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 1993).
· A packet of Xeroxed essays that will be available at Clafflin Books & Copies, 1814 Claflin, FirstBank Center (one copy on reserve in Weigel).
Tentative Outline (readings listed are to be read for that evening's class)
Aug 22: Ways of Seeing and Understanding: Phenomenology and the Nature of Place
Readings to be discussed:
1. class syllabus
Aug 29: World Views and Environment
Readings to be discussed:
1. E. Relph, Place and Placelessness, chap. 1 (copy to Xerox in Weigel; book on reserve in Weigel; this work is not in the Xerox packet because of copyright charges).
2. E. A. Gutkind, “Our View from the Air: Conflict and Adaptation,” in Man's Role in Changing the Face of the Earth, 1956, pp. l‑27 (Xerox; book on reserve).
3. E. Voght & J. Roberts, “A Study of Values,” Scientific American, 1956 (Xerox).
4. M. Greenberg, Poetics of Cities, Preface (text on sale; also on reserve in Weigel).
5. L. Frank et al., Health and Community Design, chap. 1, “Introduction” (text on sale; on reserve in Weigel).
Task in class: Role‑playing Navaho, Zuni, Mexican‑Americans, Mormons, & “Texans.”
Sept 5: World Views and Environment (cont.)
Readings to be discussed:
1. Relph, Place and Placelessness, chap. 2.
2. finish Gutkind, pp.27‑44.
3. C. Howett, “If the Doors of Perception Were Cleansed”: Toward an Experiential Aesthetics for the Designed Environment, chap. 4 in Dwelling, Seeing, and Designing (text on sale; also on reserve in Weigel).
4. L. Frank et al., Health and Community Design, chap. 2, “Public Health and Urban Form in America.”
Task in class: Consider Gutkind's four stages and Relph's levels of space in relation to the five groups of the Four Corners (Voght and Roberts article of week 1).
Sept 12 : Space, Place, and Environmental Authenticity
Readings to be discussed:
1. E. Relph, Place and Placelessness, chap. 3.
2. K. Dovey, “The Quest for Authenticity and the Replication of Environmental Meaning,” in Seamon & Mugerauer, Dwelling, Place and Environment, chap. 2 (Xerox; book also on reserve in Weigel).
3. G. Brittain, Jr., Fitting Wind Power to Landscape: A Place-Based Wind Turbine, Environmental & Architectural Phenomenology Newsletter, vol. 13, spring 2002, pp. 10-15 (Xerox).
4. F. Violich, “Urban Reading and the Design of Small Urban Places: The Village of Sutivan,” Town Planning Review, l983 (Xerox).
5. M. Greenberg, Poetics of Cities, chap. 1.
Sept 19: Approaches to a Sense of Place
Readings to be discussed:
1. E. Relph, Place and Placelessness, chap. 4.
2. M. Dozio, P. Federsen, and K. Noschis, “Everyday Life in an Insignificant Public Square: Venice,” Ekistics, 1983 (Xerox).
3. D. Seamon and C. Nordin, “Marketplace as Place Ballet: A Swedish Example,” Landscape, 1980 (Xerox).
4. R. Hester, Jr., “Sacred Structures and Everyday Life: A Return to Manteo, North Carolina, chap. 12 in Dwelling, Seeing, and Designing.
5. Ray Oldenburg, The Great Good Place: Cafes, Coffee Shops, Community Centers, Beauty Parlors, General Stores, Bars, Hangouts, and How They Get You Through the Day (NY: Paragon House, 1989), “Preface” and chap. 2, “The Character of Third Places” (Xerox for copying these selections available in the seminar box in Weigel; book on reserve in Weigel).
Sept 26: Approaches to a Sense of Place (cont.)
Readings to be discussed:
1. E. Relph, Place and Placelessness, chap. 5.
2. V. F. Chaffin, “Dwelling and Rhythm: The Isle Brevelle as a Landscape of Home,” Landscape Journal, 1988, vol. 7, pp. 96-106 (Xerox).
3. J. Noqué i Font, “Toward a Phenomenology of Landscape and Landscape Experience: An Example from Catalonia,” chap. 8 in Dwelling, Seeing, and Designing.
4. W. J. Mitchell, E-Bodies, E-Building, E-Cities, pp. 50-56 in Designing for a Digital World, N. Leach, ed. (London: Wiley) (Xerox for copying available in seminar box in Weigel; book on reserve in Weigel).
5. M. Greenberg, Poetics of Cities, chaps. 2 & 3
Oct 3: Approaches to Environmental Experience
Readings to be discussed:
1. L. Heschong, Thermal Delight in Architecture, 1979; preface, chap. 1 (“Necessity”) and chap. 2 (“Delight”) (on reserve in Weigel).
2. R. M. Schafer, “I Have Never Heard a Sound,” Environmental and Architectural Phenomenology Newsletter, vol. 17, spring 2006, pp. 10-15 (Xerox only).
3. D. Seamon, “Body‑Subject, Time‑Space Routines, and Place‑Ballets,” in The Human Experience of Space and Place, 1980 (Xerox).
4. C. Alexander, The Production of Houses, Introduction and Part I, “The System of Production,” pp. 1-50 (Text on sale; on reserve in Weigel).
5. L. Frank, Health and Community Design, chap. 4, “Physical Activity: Types and Patterns.”
Oct 10: Approaches to the Environment as Experienced
Readings to be discussed:
1. L. Heschong, Thermal Delight, chap. 3 (“Affection”) and chap. 4 (“Sacredness”).
2. S. K. Toombs, “The Lived Experience of Disability,” Human Studies, 1995, vol. 18, pp. 9-23.
3. M. H. Hill, “Bound to the Environment: Towards a Phenomenology of Sightlessness,”in Seamon & Mugerauer, Dwelling, Place and Environment, chap. 7 (Xerox; book on reserve).
4. C. Allen, “Merleau-Ponty’s Phenomenology and the Body-in-Space Encounters of Visually Impaired Children,” Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 2004, vol. 22, pp. 719-735.
5. C. Alexander, The Production of Houses, Part II, chap. 1, “The Architect as Builder,” pp. 51‑88, 1985 (Text).
Oct 17: Architecture as Place Making
Readings to be discussed:
1. C. Alexander, The Production of Houses, Part II, chaps. 2 & 3, “The Builder's Yard” & “The Collective Design of Common Land,” pp. 89-156 (Text).
2. G. Coates & D. Seamon, “Promoting a Foundational Ecology Practically Through Chrisopher Alexander's Pattern Language: The Example of Meadowcreek,” chap. 14 in Dwelling, Seeing and Designing.
3. R. Walkey, “A Lesson in Continuity: The Legacy of the Builders' Guild in Northern Greece,” chap. 7 in D. Seamon, Dwelling, Seeing and Designing.
4. K. Dovey, “Putting Geometry in its Place: Toward a Phenomenology of the Design Process,” chap. 11 in Seamon, Dwelling, Seeing, and Designing.
5. If you are not familiar with Christopher Alexander's Pattern Language (New York: Oxford, 1977), please spend some time browsing through it. A copy is on reserve in Weigel. Pay particular attention to pp. ix‑xxxiv and select two patterns which strike you as good and two which strike you as weak.
Oct 24: Place Making and Pattern Language
Readings to be discussed:
l. C. Alexander, The Production of Houses, Part II, chaps. 4 and 5, “The Layout of Individual Houses” & “Step-by-Step Construction,” pp. l57‑262, 1985 (Text).
2. C. Alexander, D. Fromm, P. Bosselman, “Mexacali Revisited:Seven Years Later,” Places, pp. 76‑91, l983‑84 (Xerox).
3. C. C. Marcus, “Designing for a Commitment to Place: Lessons from the Alternative Community Findhorn,” chap. 13 in Dwelling, Seeing and Designing.
4. Greenberg, Poetics of Cities, chap. 4.
Oct 31: Bill Hillier and Space Syntax
Readings to be discussed:
1. I. Bentley, A. Babcock, P. Murrain, S. McGlynn, & G. Smith, Responsive Environments (London, Architectural Press, 1985), Introduction, pp. 9-15 (Xerox);
2. Bill Hillier, “Space Syntax: A Different Urban Perspective,” Architects' Journal, vol. 178, no. 48 (Nov. 30, 1983), pp. 47-63.
3. D. Seamon, “The Life of the Place: A Phenomenological Commentary on Bill Hillier's Theory of Space Syntax,” in Nordic Journal of Architectural Research, vol. 7, no. 1 (1993), pp. 35-48 (Xerox).
4. M. Greenberg, Poetics of Cities, chap. 5.
5. L. Frank, Health and Community Design, chap. 6, “Understanding the Built Environment” & chap. 7, “Transportation Systems.”
Nov 7: Bill Hillier and Space Syntax (cont.)
Readings to be discussed:
1. Relph, Place and Placelessness, chap. 6.
2. M. Greenberg, Poetics of Cities, chap. 6.
3. L. Frank, Health and Community Design, chap. 8, “Land Use Patterns.”
Nov 14: Bill Hillier and Space Syntax (cont.)
Readings to be discussed:
1. E. Relph, Place and Placelessness, chap. 7.
2. M. Greenberg, chap. 7.
3. L. Frank, Health and Community Design, chap. 9, “Urban Design Characteristics.”
Nov 21: Bill Hillier and Space Syntax (cont.)
Readings to be discussed:
1. Relph, Place and Placelessness, chap. 8.
2. M. Greenberg, chap. 8.
3. L. Frank, Health and Community Design, chap. 9-11 “Urban Design Characteristics,” “Application of Principles,” & “Conclusion”
4. Greenberg, Poetics of Cities, chap. 8. & 9
Nov 28: Class Presentations
Dec 5: Class Presentations
Wed Dec 13, 5 pm: Take-home Examination Due (place in my mailbox or bring to my office).
Class Project
Since this class is an upper‑level course, I feel that students should have the freedom to pursue a research or field project in which they have a personal interest. Please keep your thoughts open to a possible topic in the first few weeks of class; I will ask for a specific focus about the fifth week.
What I do ask is that your topic arise in some way from the readings that we do in class. Let's say, for example, that you find a particular essay interesting. You might want to take the argument of that essay and apply it to a particular building or place. Or you find the work of one particular author interesting, and decide that you would like to look at his or her work in greater detail. Or you might want to select a particular architect or designer and use some of the themes we discuss to explore that person's work.
In short, I am leaving the focus of your class project open. I will expect you to speak to me sometime fairly early in the semester about what particular topics you are considering.
Grading
Grades will be based on the following criteria:
l. Attendance (twenty per cent of grade). I expect students to attend all classes, since we meet only once a week. One absence is acceptable, but any beyond that will affect your grade. Please let me know beforehand if you will not be attending class.
2. Reading reports. I require a weekly 1‑2 pp. report on readings. This essay should express your reactions to the readings—e.g., what you liked, disliked, found useful, found questionable, etc. (thirty percent).
3. Class project (see above)(thirty percent).
4. A Take‑Home Problem at the end of the semester. This exercise will work as a final exam. I will prepare several essay questions, and you will answer two. These essays will be broad in focus and will be due the week of exams (twenty percent).
As students know, the academic honor code is an integral part of the Kansas State University grading system. All students in this seminar agree to the KSU honor code, which states that:
On my honor, as a student, I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid on the academic work I have done for this seminar.
Contacting Instructor
My office is Seaton, Rm. 202C, and the phone there is 532‑1121. My office hours are 10:30‑11:30am, M‑W‑F. Please stop by if you have any questions or problems. Email: triad@ksu.edu.
Please note that any student with a disability who needs an accommodation or other assistance in this course should contact the instructor in the first two weeks of the course.
Reading Items in Xerox Packet (available at Claflin Books)
Note: Three semester readings (Relph’s Place and Placelessness, chapters from Oldenburg’s The Great Good Place, and W. J. Mitchell’s “E-Bodies, E-Building, E-Cities”) are not in the packet. Copies of these selections will be placed in the class box in Weigel and will be available for copying. Please borrow and return these copies so they remain available to everyone.
1. A. E. Gutkind, Our View from the Air: Conflict and Adaptation, in Man's Role in Changing the Face of the Earth, 1956, pp. l‑27 (Univ. of Chicago Press).
2. E. Voght & J. Roberts, “A Study of Values,” Scientific American, July 1956, vol. 195, no. 1, pp. 25-31.
3. K. Dovey, The Quest for Authenticity and the Replication of Environmental Meaning, in D. Seamon & R. Mugerauer, eds., Dwelling, Place and Environment, 1985, chap. 2 (Columbia Univ. Press).
4. G. Brittain, Jr., Fitting Wind Power to Landscape: A Place-Based Wind Turbine, Environmental & Architectural Phenomenology Newsletter, 2002, vol. 13, spring, pp. 10-15.
4. F. Violich, Urban Reading and the Design of Small Urban Places: The Village of Sutivan, Town Planning Review, 1983 vol. 54, no. 1, pp. 41-62.
5. M. Dozio, P. Federsen, and K. Noschis, Everyday Life in an Insignificant Public Square: Venice, Ekistics, 1983, vol. 50, no. 298, Jan./Feb., pp. 66-76.
6. D. Seamon and C. Nordin, Marketplace as Place Ballet: A Swedish Example, Landscape, 1980, vol. 24, no. 3, pp. 35-41.
7. V. F. Chaffin, “Dwelling and Rhythm: The Isle Brevelle as a Landscape of Home,” Landscape Journal, 1988, vol. 7, pp. 96-106.
8. R. M. Schafer, “I Have Never Heard a Sound,” Environmental and Architectural Phenomenology Newsletter, 2006, vol. 17, spring, pp. 10-15.
9. D. Seamon, “Body‑Subject, Time‑Space Routines, and Place‑Ballets,” in The Human Experience of Space and Place, 1980, (London: Croom Helm).
10. S. K. Toombs, “The Lived Experience of Disability,” Human Studies, 1995, vol. 18, pp. 9-23.
11. M. H. Hill, “Bound to the Environment: Towards a Phenomenology of Sightlessness,” in D. Seamon & R. Mugerauer, eds., Dwelling, Place and Environment, 1985, chap. 7 (Columbia Univ. Press).
12. C. Allen, Merleau-Ponty’s Phenomenology and the Body-in-Space Encoutners of Visually Impaired Children, Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 2004, vol. 22, pp. 719-735.
13. C. Alexander, D. Fromm, P. Bosselman, “Mexacali Revisited:Seven Years Later,” Places, 1983-94, vol. 1, pp. 76‑91, 1983‑84.
14. I. Bentley, A. Babcock, P. Murrain, S. McGlynn, & G. Smith, Responsive Environments (London, Architectural Press, 1985), Introduction, pp. 9-15.
15. Bill Hillier, “Space Syntax: A Different Urban Perspective,” Architects' Journal, 1983, vol. 178, no. 48 (Nov. 30), pp. 47-63.
16. D. Seamon, “The Life of the Place: A Phenomenological Commentary on Bill Hillier's Theory of Space Syntax,” in Nordic Journal of Architectural Research, 1993, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 35-48.