Phenomenology in Praxis Learning from Pallasmaas

Although phenomenology is originally a philosophical concept elaborated by philosophers, “phenomenology as a method” has been considered by architects and architectural theorists so that we can refer to the “literature of architectural phenomenology”; a huge body of texts, analyses, and explanations written by scholars in the last 50 years. In this regard, a key question is that how the philosophical investigations have been transferred into the architectural theory and practice, and how we can employ phenomenology in interpreting and analyzing architectural works and built environment. To answer the second question, the best way might be referring to the already produced texts by the scholars in which some architectural works are interpreted phenomenologically. However, despite of the existing literature in the field of architectural phenomenology, remarkable interpretations and analyses are scarce, and this fact shows the necessity of focusing on this problem. This article intends to introduce Juhani Pallasmaa’s phenomenological approach to architecture, whose ideas have deeply affected phenomenological literature in architecture. Focusing on his prominent analysis of Villa Mairea, a work by Alvar Aalto, Pallasmaa’s unique way of interpreting architectural works and its advantages will be taken into account.