In 1996, Herbert Muschamp, the architecture critic of the New York Times spoke at Cornell University's 125th anniversary of the College of Architecture bemoaning the lack of spiritual roots in the design and architecture of today. Muschamp concluded his speech by extolling the participants to rediscover the spiritual aspirations and sensual nature of design and to create a new spiritual form of design ideology. 'Site Divine - an alternative method of site analysis' is a response to that historic call to action. Current site analysis practiced by the majority of architects, landscape architects, and other designers, lacks the examination of the sensual or intuitive nature of the site. The divine, the sensuous, and the sublime characteristics of the site are often overlooked in our present reductionist site analyses. As a foundation to a new spiritual structure of design, 'Site Divine - an alternative method of site analysis' examines the search for the divine within the site.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
About Site Divine,
This review is from: Site Divine - an alternative method of site analysis (Paperback)
I am the author of this book, and to better understand what this book is about, here is a little history:
In 1996, Herbert Muschamp, the architecture critic of the New York Times spoke at Cornell University's 125th anniversary of the College of Architecture bemoaning the lack of spiritual roots in the design and architecture of today. "Only a little over a century ago, writers and architects like Ruskin and Pugin felt not only comfortable but compelled to discuss spiritual issues in the context of art and architecture as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Anyone who tried to do that today would likely be considered a crackpot or a reactionary," he said. "Religion was an area of culture that drove architecture through much of its history and an area in which cultural means were substantially grounded. And then, poof, it's all gone. It's history itself. Here a century ago, gone today." Why? Muschamp answered "Perhaps there isn't as high a degree of spiritual aspiration in the public realm today as in earlier times in history," he said. "Perhaps it's only possible to recognize that aspiration by getting past the religious symbolism. I think that may be the case in architecture." "Architecture used to be driven by religion. Now it is driven by capitalism. That's what we believe. So there you are." Muschamp concluded his speech by extolling the participants to rediscover the spiritual aspirations and sensual nature of design and to create a new spiritual form of design ideology. This book, `Site Divine' is a response to that historic call to action. So for all those crackpot and reactionary designers out there that are seeking for something more that just market driven design requirements, that aspire to a higher design ethic, this book is for you. The book is divided into three parts. Part One. The history of divination. Part Two. A Case Study and detailed experimental examination of various diviners. Part Three. The Conclusions. Here is the table of contents: introduction Part One chapter one the analysis of site chapter two a new perspective on site design chapter three an introduction to divination chapter four geomantic site divination chapter five feng shui chapter six dowsing Part Two case study site on-site one interview with Dean Perry on-site two interview with Sandra Yemm on-site three interview with Lea Erlich on-site four interview with cruiser 1 on-site five interview with cruiser 2 Mac on-site six interview with Stacey Guertin on-site seven interview with Katherine Potter on-site eight interview with Ivan Yip on-site nine interview with Steve Topping on-site ten interview with George on-site eleven interview with Christopher Gagosz Part Three chapter seven designing in the living earth chapter eight to design the site chapter nine to design eternally
5.0 out of 5 stars
Site Divine is Divine,
This review is from: Site Divine - an alternative method of site analysis (Paperback)
This book totally opened up my mind to how one can experience and learn about a site. As an artist I work with many materials and think about how art works in site-specific ways. Mr. Lanfranco's structures his book in compelling and thought provoking way, so that the reader is taken on a journey and gets to walk through the numerous guided paths to discovering the inherent and sometimes difficult to find qualities of a site. The author's unique blend of intuitive, non-traditional, and traditional means of gathering information form a place is useful for anyone interested in landscape, urban planning, architecture, social uses of spaces, site-specificity, and geographical research. Through his book, Site Divine, Lanfranco advocates for a real dialogue between perceiving what the site is communicating and what the viewer or researcher brings to the site. This is a fantastic book and I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in being more attuned to understanding how to read a site from the inside out.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A very interesting read!,
By Cali_Arborist (California) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Site Divine - an alternative method of site analysis (Paperback)
I am a certified arborist, and was asked to review an advance copy of this book. I found it to be a very interesting read about discovering the true nature of different building sites. I think the concepts explored by the author would be very useful for landscape architects and land planners who are interested in investigating a site's history, both physical and spiritual. Enjoy!
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