Student Recommendation
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This book literally dragged me through my third year and I'm sure had I read it in year one my work would have had much more substance and depth. Many books recommended in the first few years of an architecture degree are split into practical tips on drawing, basic construction and work of other architects and they're treaties; hardly any works discuss conceptual meanings of space and how the subtleties of decisions one makes in a design or layout affect experience and character. A wonderfully written book (the only downside is its pretty intense), easy to have on you all the time, room in the margin for scribbles & like nothing you will have read before. This book opened my eyes to what architecture is, and should be.
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A wonderful book to capture your daydreams with
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This book had totally captured my imagination and has become the inspiration for my artwork. How we look at the spaces of everyday items has evoked memories long hidden in the subconscious. It has opened my eyes to the simplest of spaces that I live, sleep and daydream in. I can't recommend this book highly enough to make you appreciate the things you may take for granted and enter homes and rooms with an awakened consciousness.
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Everything I hoped for from the title
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The author has treated a very difficult subject with such sensitivity and clarity of thought, taking the reader through the various dimensions and aspects of intimate space. As a professional geographer, I would have called it intimate 'place' not 'space', but place has a particular meaning in the English language that is hard to translate into French (the same is true in reverse). I think this might have worked to the advantage of the author in that it forced him to be very clear about what he means. I'd recommend the book to anyone interested in the meaning of home. Super read deserving 6 stars
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A book to doze into
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This book first came to my attention 25 years ago, I finally read it about 18 years ago, and still its allure enchants me. It is great to read when semi-concious, as its suggestions, hints and ravishments are more vivid and believeable.
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One of the most contemplative pieces of theory around
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French cultural theory is known for its wordiness and complexity, and yet in 'The Poetics of Space', Bachelard largely transcends these potential pitfalls and instead produces a meditative, poetic book that was not what I expected. It is still theory, and so not a light read, but the daydreams and thoughts this book inspires whilst reading make it far from an arduous text. What makes this book special is its amazingly straightforward subject matter: the spaces in which we live - cellars, corners, wardrobes, shells - and reading it makes you wonder why there has been so little theoretical consideration of such an important aspect of human life. The synthesis of theory, literature and architecture in this book is an unusual one, but fascinating in its originality. Bachelard approaches philosophy from the angle of poetry, using a number of different poets and writers to illustrate and expand upon his discussion of how people experience and think about the spaces we inhabit. Quite a different tack from most theory, but as he writes, "How much philosophers would learn, if they would consent to read the poets!" I'm not a fan of poetry, but I'll certainly be following up on a few poets quoted, especially Rilke - Bachelard discusses their work with real insight. Nonetheless, he writes phenomenology rather than literary criticism, yet the extensive use of quotation does not feel at all extraneous to his argument. 'The Poetics of Space' is perhaps aesthetic philosphy that integrates creativity and thought better than anything else I've read. Why not five stars? It takes a little while to get into Bachelard's style, and the theory-dense introduction is not the easiest of openings. Nonetheless, as you acclimatise to his way of thought, the book gets better and better; the penultimate chapter on "intimate immensity" is a beautiful consideration of human fascination with deserts and the sea. I think it is a book I will be coming back to, and I suspect it will reveal itself more with each reading.
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