The dissertation deals with ideas about Japanese architecture in the Western, namely European discourse between 1945 and 1970. Architects and critics identified striking similarities between the Modernist architectural principles and the Japanese tradition from the 1920s; after the World War II, these similarities sparked a wide interest among the architectural public, which led to numerous publications on Japan unprecedented in scope and depth when compared with any other non-Western culture. The goal of this work is to map the discourse that occurred this way, identify the main themes connected to Japan, and show their significance. The sources for the study are prevalently printed media: architectural magazines and books. The notion of 'image' of Japan proves useful since we study interpretations of a different culture; history of ideas as well as visual representation in photography. At the same time, work also follows the of general issues of understanding the 'other'. An analysis of these various representations of Japan in the printed architectural media makes up the main part of the research presented here. To examine the origins of these ideas we go back to the 1930 with architects-writers Tetsurō Yoshida and Bruno Taut, and subsequently look into of writings about Japan by architects who...

Et si l’architecture pouvait être vécue comme élément d’intercession orienté entre l’homme et son environnement ? Cette idée a été soutenue par un mouvement architectural cohérent, l’architecture organique, formant une tradition constructive alternative traversant tout le XXe siècle et repérable dans le monde entier. En considérant qu’une pratique architecturale adaptée favorise une relation apaisée entre l’homme et son environnement bâti ainsi qu’une reconnexion entre l’homme et son environnement naturel, l’organicisme peut véritablement être considéré comme une architecture environnementale. Cependant, en dépit de ce que nous pensions à l’origine, cette tradition architecturale ne se définit que difficilement par sa forme. Il faut plutôt en passer par la théorie architecturale pour voir émerger une vision commune à un ensemble de théoriciens ou d’architectes. Cette manière de pratiquer ou d’envisager l’architecture est lisible dans les idées de Kenneth Frampton ou de Christian Norberg-Schulz, dans les positionnements sur la question centrale de la fonction en architecture ou à travers la théorie de la pure visibilité et son corolaire, la connaissance corporelle. Bruno Zevi, entre autres, apporte également sa pierre à l’édifice théorique mais c’est Frank L. Wright qui est le grand bâtisseur de l’architecture organique au sens propre comme au figuré. Il n’en est cependant pas le seul pratiquant et les carrières d’autres architectes majeurs comme Eladio Dieste, Hassan Fathy, Gaudí, les époux Griffin, Hundertwasser, Alistair Samuel Knox, Rudolf Steiner ou Gustav Stickley notamment, peuvent être examinés avec intérêt sous l’angle de l’architecture environnementale. / What if architecture could be lived as an oriented element of intercession between human and his environment ? This idea was supported by a coherent architectural movement, organic architecture, forming an alternative building tradition through the entire 20th century and noticeable throughout the world. Considering that an appropriate architectural practice promote a peaceful relationship between man and his built environment and a reconnection between man and his natural environment, organicism can truly be considered as an environmental architecture. However, in spite of what we thought originally, this architectural tradition is not easy to define by its formal aspect. Rather, it is necessary to go through architectural theory to see the emergence of a common vision to a group of theorists and architects. This way of practising or considering architecture can appears in the ideas of Kenneth Frampton or Christian Norberg-Schulz, in the opinion on the key question of function in architecture, or through the theory of pure visibility and its corollary, physical knowledge. Bruno Zevi, among others, also contributes to the theoretical edifice but it is Frank L. Wright who is the great builder of organic architecture both literally and figuratively. However, he is not the only proponent of this type of architecture and the careers of other major architects such as Eladio Dieste, Hassan Fathy, Antoni Gaudí, the Griffin’s, Friedensreich Hundertwasser, Alistair Samuel Knox, Rudolf Steiner or Gustav Stickley, especially, can be analyzed with interest from the perspective of environmental architecture.

This project is called “Searching for the Grandiose” and consequently dives into this both historical and contemporary field of architecture. With a basis in architectural history, architectural theory and popular culture the project aims to understand and create grandiose architecture.  Both built and imaginary, this area of architecture has always inspired and pushed the boundaries for the possibilities of our profession. Furthermore, in the search for the grandiose also follows a possibility of the limitless – both economically, technically and mentally. In trying to design the grandiose, the architect must loosen the chains of reality and strive for the impossible and awesome. Consequently – a vast architectural fantasy is here created on an imaginary site with no restrictions in regards to size, program or economy.

The Caveat For many reasons, names have had to be concealed within this document. The events depicted are real and the discussions true. This is an attempt to legitimize the informal, seemingly mundane and sometimes personal: the author’s experiences bringing a folly to the physical, while trespassing into a new world: Islam. This thesis documents a series of interventions at different scales within that world. There is a book, the chair, and the city of Makkah. The events themselves are superimposed onto the traditional language, or professional conventions, used to justify them. Here, they are relegated to the margins of each page. This is akin to how some of the first books were produced, by students in the confines of dark cloisters or hot desert temples, struggling to maintain historical integrity while fighting the natural tendencies of youth. Their master’s voices always looking over the gutter from the opposite page. The sketches for a new Makkah and a monumental demonstration in Canada unfold in parallel to a body of formal research. Together, as seemingly independently as they are, they paint the portrait of an Islam, while building a personality between the lines. That being said: there isn’t a correct way to read it.

The Caveat For many reasons, names have had to be concealed within this document. The events depicted are real and the discussions true. This is an attempt to legitimize the informal, seemingly mundane and sometimes personal: the author’s experiences bringing a folly to the physical, while trespassing into a new world: Islam. This thesis documents a series of interventions at different scales within that world. There is a book, the chair, and the city of Makkah. The events themselves are superimposed onto the traditional language, or professional conventions, used to justify them. Here, they are relegated to the margins of each page. This is akin to how some of the first books were produced, by students in the confines of dark cloisters or hot desert temples, struggling to maintain historical integrity while fighting the natural tendencies of youth. Their master’s voices always looking over the gutter from the opposite page. The sketches for a new Makkah and a monumental demonstration in Canada unfold in parallel to a body of formal research. Together, as seemingly independently as they are, they paint the portrait of an Islam, while building a personality between the lines. That being said: there isn’t a correct way to read it.