Towards a rhetoric of architecture: A framework for understanding cities

Towards a rhetoric of architecture: A framework for understanding cities

language rhetoric and composition, architecture, urban and regional planning, American Dream myth, Ground Zero, National Mall, new urbanism, seaside, spatial rhetoric

In order to articulate meaning in cities and architecture, I propose a framework of enacted architecture that considers the built environment in everyday spatial practices. Building on Henri Lefebvre's work, we know architecture in terms of conceptual space, perceived space, and lived-in space, which supplies multiple levels of meaning. As we use a city, we enact spatial narratives, myths, and metaphors that weave our lives and experiences into a place. Through spatial practices, we gain a sense of identity, a sense of power, and a sense of publicness, which are analyzed in three extended examples: the new town of Seaside, Florida, the redevelopment of the World Trade Center site at Ground Zero, and the National Mall in Washington D.C., respectively. While a city reflects society as a deeply cultivated symbol system, we are constituted by and reciprocally shape the city and architecture.

Frewen Wuellner, Cynthia

University of Kansas

2008

Parson, Donn. Advisor

en

Dissertation

http://hdl.handle.net/1808/4428

http://lallier.msh-vdl.fr/theses/items/show/1068

http://lallier.msh-vdl.fr/theses/archive/files/15c61441e0dfcd0bf6cde6b601cc4e08.jpg