Architecture, narration and the art of living

Abstract

This paper draws from the idea of philosophy as a “life art” - as discussed by philosopher Alexander Nehamas in his book The Art of Living - in order to highlight a hidden connection between architecture, as a creative practice, and the narration of the self. Can the criteria for a great architecture be reduced to standards and values that are deemed ‘universal’? Or should concepts such as “originality”, “authenticity”, and “uniqueness” be regarded context-dependent and determined retrospectively, only relevant within the narration of a unique personal creative course? Through a short, imaginary story - which is based on actual historical events - I will argue that the value and impact of every architectural creation cannot always be inherently defined but are usually directly related to what is called “the care of the self”. What I intend my story to tell is that no ‘recipe’ for great architecture exists for someone to follow, precisely because every exemplary architectural creation is always constructed on the scaffolding of an exemplary life. Exemplary not in a moral sense, but in the aesthetic sense of a narration related to the art of living. Likewise, if every influential architectural work is based on a personal biography then the creative potential of architecture cannot but be intertwined with the question of a narration of the self that is focused on the self-construction of the architect as a person. At the same time narration is often used as a means to transcend the objective foundations and limits of architectural creation and in order to further establish a social distinction; a distinction (in Bourdieuan terms) between the architects and the Architect. From Le Corbusier and Louis Kahn to Rem Koolhaas and Bjarke Ingels the various efforts to narrate a unique biography are nothing but rhetorical techniques used in the framework of a persuasion strategy. The moral of all these narratives is that the person actually matters more than the project. In other words, architecture’s value, impact and command are related to the creation of the architect as a person as much as - if not more than - architectural creation itself.

Keywords

• art of living
• self
• narration