Abstract
Cosmology is the study of the cosmos that involves references to the metaphysical, the supernatural, tradition, and pre-history. It exists nearly universally in all pre-modern cultures. It is a thoroughly inclusive precept, comprised of knowledge, wisdom, and lived experience while also acknowledging the supernatural and sub-natural. In the modern era the supernatural and sub-natural have been dislodged and abandoned as faith in the advances in technology and economic efficiency have increased. The result is a growing disembodiment in architecture, and an architecture characterized as phantom, devoid of meaning and substance, while positing as elemental and authentic. What influence might a new revelation of cosmological thinking offer to contemporary design thinking and pedagogy? Can cosmological precepts be meaningfully recovered and deployed in pedagogy and practice in a global, secular 21st century? This paper argues for a holistic reconsideration of the super and sub-natural contribution to the design enterprise. It leverages periods and works from history where super and sub-natural considerations were naturally integrated factors in thinking and making. The paper considers contemporary trajectories of thinking and teaching, implying emerging schools of thought in contemporary pedagogy and practice.
Presenters
Keelan KaiserProfessor, Architecture, California Baptist University, California, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Architectonic, Spatial, and Environmental Design
KEYWORDS
COSMOLOGY, AESTHETICS, DESIGN, INTEGRATION, HOLISTIC
