Architecture Beyond Experience mounts a sustained philosophical argument against experientialism — the dominant belief that a building's value lies in the sensory impressions it produces — and proposes a relational, dialogical alternative in its place.
About This Book
Contemporary architectural culture has quietly enlisted itself in the Experience Economy, producing buildings optimised for affect, Instagram-ability, and the choreography of feeling. This book names that condition — experientialism — and refuses it. Drawing on posthumanist and humanist thought simultaneously, it argues that buildings are not backdrops for personal sensation but social beings: entities that teach, exemplify, invite relationship, and carry collective meaning. The relational architecture it advocates is oriented toward human encounter, structured by dialogue rather than spectacle, and legible in the building's own forms, materials, and components. Essential reading for architects willing to interrogate the assumptions behind their practice.
Key Features
- 312 pages of sustained philosophical argument developing the concept of relational architecture
- Published by Applied Research and Design
What You'll Discover
- A precise critique of experientialism — the ideology that reduces architectural value to the feelings a building produces in moving through it
- How the Experience Economy has reshaped architectural production and professional identity, often without architects recognising it
- The concept of relational architecture: buildings understood as social beings that guide encounter, demonstrate desire in their own forms, and reward ongoing affection
- A philosophical framework for making and judging architecture that moves beyond phenomenological experience toward dialogical, posthuman humanism
About the Author
[Details available upon request]
Specifications
- Format: [Details available upon request]
- Pages: 312
- Dimensions: 254 x 178 mm
- Language: English
- ISBN: 9781943532896
- Publisher: Applied Research and Design
- Publication Date: [Details available upon request]
Perfect For: Architects and theorists seeking a philosophical counter to spectacle-driven design culture, academics working in architectural theory and posthumanist thought, and educators building critical frameworks for studio and discourse.