Abstract
While typically characterised as a canonical Modernist, Richard Neutraâs design theory repeatedly refers to the central role played in his architecture by the works of experimental psychologist Wilhelm Wundt. In the late Nineteenth Century Wundt used laboratory experiments to demonstrate that human responses to sensory stimuli were both immediate and predictable. Despite Wundtâs importance in many fields, architectural scholars have tended to disregard Neutraâs fascination with Wundtâs complex physiological and biological theories. However, this paper revisits Neutraâs design theory, accepting, prima facie, his belief in the causal relationship between physiology and psychology to suggest an alternative reading of his architecture. By tracing the influence of Wundtâs ideas on Neutraâs design theory, the paper identifies a singular ocular-centric, phenomenological tendency in the resultant architecture. The implications of this approach are then considered in the context of three facets of Neutraâs domestic architecture in general and the Kaufmann Desert House in particular. Computer models and diagrammatic analysis are used to support this reading of Wundtâs influence on Neutraâs design.
Highlights
Keywords Richard Neutra, Phenomenological Analysis, Interiority, Modernism. Despite his reputation for producing stark, white, geometric designs, which otherwise appear to conform to early Twentieth Century Modernist ideals, Richard Joseph Neutra repeatedly described his architecture as serving to choreograph the sensory and emotional responses of the human body[1,2,3]
Long before architects became interested in the philosophy of phenomenology, Neutra called on the theories of pioneering psychologist Wilhelm Maximilian Wundt, to argue that the most important purpose of design was to control the senses to clarify the body’s position in space
At least, this view has much in common with those of Christian Norberg-Schulz[4] and Juhani Pallasmaa[5]; amongst the key proponents of architectural phenomenology in the late Twentieth Century. These authors have been highly critical of both Modernism and of the privileging of vision that accompanied the rise of functionalist thinking in architecture[6]
Summary
Despite his reputation for producing stark, white, geometric designs, which otherwise appear to conform to early Twentieth Century Modernist ideals, Richard Joseph Neutra repeatedly described his architecture as serving to choreograph the sensory and emotional responses of the human body[1,2,3]. Long before architects became interested in the philosophy of phenomenology, Neutra called on the theories of pioneering psychologist Wilhelm Maximilian Wundt, to argue that the most important purpose of design was to control the senses to clarify the body’s position in space At least, this view has much in common with those of Christian Norberg-Schulz[4] and Juhani Pallasmaa[5]; amongst the key proponents of architectural phenomenology in the late Twentieth Century. In much the same way that both Wundt and Husserl were fascinated with the role played by the human senses in understanding the world, but resorted to different ways of achieving their ontological goals, so too Neutra, despite obvious differences with Norberg-Schulz and Pallasmaa, cannot be so detached from the phenomenological tradition This paradox, as several scholars have noted, begins to explain why Neutra occupies such a contradictory place in Twentieth Century architecture[9,10]. If Neutra’s claims about the way the body will react in space are taken as argumentum a fortiori, this approach is a reasonable way to posit a reading of one of his buildings
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
