Rethinking the Evolution of Intellectual Systems of Architectural Aesthetics Based on an Anthropocentric Approach

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Ph.D in Architecture, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran (Corresponding Author).

2 Professor of Urban Planning, College of Fine Arts, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

3 Associate Professor of Architecture, Development, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Irann.

Abstract

Accepting architectural aesthetics in the form of human-centered approaches is a field no sufficient attention has been paid to its relevant theoretical contents to identify it. There has always been bewilderment in answering which theoretical model of architectural aesthetics is more comprehensive from this perspective because this qualitative concept has remained vague. Therefore, the question raised here is which paradigms in architectural aesthetics have been formed based on anthropocentrism so far? What factors have been the basis of value judgments and the evaluation of the views? And what stance have present theoretical models in architectural aesthetics taken on the subject of humans? Therefore, the present study aims to examine the evolution of stances taken by architectural aesthetics on the different dimensions of human existence. Accordingly, this descriptive-analytic research qualitatively focuses on the typology and comparative study of different approaches to aesthetics with an interpretative view. The significance of identifying human-oriented views arises from the fact that rereading the aesthetic ideas, which are basically related to human existence, enables us to return the theoretical stances to the subject of environmental perception and development. The results of the present study showed that each of the dominant theoretical views, from the beginning up to now (i.e. classic, modern, postmodern views), have addressed one or a few interrelated dimensions of architectural aesthetics from the perspective of human nature. However, the present theoretical paradigm holds the concept of “embodied experience” as the central characteristic of pleasure in architecture. In this view, the basis of aesthetic experience is experimental perception with satisfactory quality, achieved through active interaction between individuals' objectivities and subjective images and space. Moreover, the emotional influence of “embodied perception” values human awareness of architectural work. Such an experience relies on presence, and beyond it, the synthesis of embodiment, emotion, and perception through human insight.

Keywords

References

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History

  • Receive Date: 25 August 2019
  • Revise Date: 03 January 2021
  • Accept Date: 23 January 2021

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