“Inhabited space transforms geometric space”...but how? Gaston Bachelard’s book, The Poetics of Space, contends with this question through a phenomenological and oneiric exploration of the built. Spanning a seemingly impossible scale of the universe to the miniature, Bachelard brings an understanding to the experience of space that we feel but often find hard to describe. The design fields have made significant theoretical advances since the publishing of Bachelard’s work in 1957. However, this foundational text introduces key philosophical debates while elucidating concepts and theories within the history and theory of the built environment. Following the chapters of the book, we will imagine space through language, and language through space, exploring as a cohort the possibilities and contradictions in theory and the consequent emotions of understanding space through experience rather than rote rationale.

This course will suit all undergraduate students looking to challenge the way they think, speak, and write about design. First year students are welcome. Fourth year students and above will also find great value in this exploration. Students who are fond of poetry, philosophy, and design (architecture especially) will likely suit the curriculum, but all fields are welcome (and encouraged) to join.

Lecture and discussion for 50 minutes once a week, with low stakes creative assignments.

Email isabellaisles@berkeley.edu for enrollment code