Since Greek antiquity the human body has been regarded as a microcosm of universal harmony. In this book an international group of architects, architectural historians, and theorists examines the relation of the human body and architecture. The essays view well-known buildings, texts, paintings, ornaments, and landscapes from the perspective of the body's physical, psychological, and spiritual needs and pleasures. Topics include Greek temples; the churches of Tadao Ando in Japan; Renaissance fortresses and paintings; the body, space, and dwelling in Wright's and Schindler's houses in North America; the corporeal dimension of Carlo Scarpa's landscapes and gardens; theory from Vitruvius to the Renaissance and Enlightenment; and Freudian psychoanalysis. The essays are framed by an appreciation of architectural historian and theorist Joseph Rykwert's influential work on the subject.

Author Biography

George Dodds is Professor of History and Theory in the College of Architecture and Design at the University of Tennessee. Robert Tavemor is Professor and Director of Architecture at the University of Bath. He is the co-translator of Andrea Palladio's The Four Books of Architecture (MIT Press, 1997) and of Leon Battista Alberti's On the Art of Building, in Ten Books (MIT Press, 1988).