EARTH WATER AIR FIRE The Four Elements and Architecture

Description

This research addresses the archaic or permanent conditions of architecture. According to Pre-Socratic tradition, since earliest times, when human kind began to analyze the universe, there was this important proposition lasting until today that nature and life are connected to the four principles of earth, water, air and fire. This thesis not only relates to basic conditions of man on earth, but also targets the fundamentals of architecture.
From time immemorial, the natural elements have determined and influenced man’s thinking and expression of his being in the world. They lost the status of being the “root” of everything in existence only during the Enlightenment’s chemical restructuring of the universe. Nonetheless, in terms of their physical presence they remain at the forefront of our encounter with the world.
Published with ETH Zurich

217 pages / 17 x 22,5 cm / English