Genius Loci and/or Zeitgeist?

Abstract

The article considers the concepts of Genius Loci and Zeitgeist and shows the contradictions between these two aspects and their influence on the development of architecture. It is concluded that the predominance of the Genius of Place forms a gravitation towards sedentarisation and diversity of local architectural forms. The predominance of the Spirit of the Time stimulates the development of uniform international architectural styles that ignore the peculiarities of landscape and scenery. During the twentieth century, the development of architecture was mainly shaped by the Spirit of Time, which gave rise to a multitude of “small styles”, each of which aggressively claims a dominant, monopolistic role on a global scale, but actually exists for a very short time and is quickly replaced by the next fashionable style, equally short-lived. The last “big” style built on a deep philosophical and attitudinal basis is the style of “brutalism – deconstructivism”, which was able to achieve a balance between the Genius of Place and the Spirit of the Time.

Keywords

• architecture
• urbanism
• history
• style
• Genius Loci
• Zeitgeist