Abstract
The present study examines the striking similarities between the architectural design and spatial composition of the ancient Egyptian tomb and Sigmund Freud’s office at Berggasse 19 in Vienna, Austria. I argue that the Egyptian tomb elements represented within Freud’s office permitted the enclosed space to play an active role in his psychoanalysis sessions. I supplement this argument by analyzing the office’s spatial and architectural arrangements in relation to ancient Egyptian architectural frameworks, psychoanalytic container theory (Freud, Danze, and Quinodoz), and Freud’s archeological metaphor model. This study contributes to the greater body of work on architecture as an active entity, psychoanalysis, and ancient Egyptian history.
Highlights
The present study examines the striking similarities between the architectural design and spatial composition of the ancient Egyptian tomb and Sigmund Freud’s office at Berggasse 19 in Vienna, Austria
The present analysis contributes to the greater body of work on architecture as an active entity, psychoanalysis, and ancient Egyptian history
In the years that Freud began dedicating himself to collecting tomb antiquities, he frequented the Louvre’s ancient Egyptian collection (1985), coined the term psychoanalysis (1986), wrote “The Aetiology of Hysteria” (1986), and began writing On the Interpretation of Dreams (1986)
Summary
Freud’s office floor plan bears a strong resemblance to 18th Dynasty Egyptian tomb floor plans, including that of King Tutankhamun (see Figure 1). Freud’s office consisted of his consulting room and study, which formed a single room. In King Tutankhamun’s tomb, the burial chamber and treasury formed a single room. In Freud’s office and the Egyptian tomb, an open doorway connected the two spaces. A comparison of the tomb and office floor plans may be viewed as Freud’s consulting room being in the position of the tomb’s burial chamber. The majority of Freud’s Egyptian treasures and furniture were kept in his study. Freud’s office and the Egyptian tomb appear to be closedoff containers that significantly contributed to psychic and spiritual transformations, respectively. Each space was defined by its external, closed-off form and internal transformative function. These characteristics resonate with the contemporary psychoanalytic active container framework
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