Space And Place in Dr. M. Mansour Falamaki’s Architectural Thinking Through Hafiz’s Poetry and Merleau-Ponty’s Phenomenology

2024-3
Kimya, Farnaz
Space and place have been redefined numerous times throughout history by various thinkers. Mansour Falamaki, a contemporary Iranian theoretician of architecture, has elaborated these topics in depth in his works. The present research aims to examine the principal sources of his thoughts, and the way he articulated these in his works. First, an in-depth reading of Falamaki’s writings indicated the influence of Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology of perception on his thinking on architecture. Secondly, the research methodology employed included a systematic review, a thick description, and the use of open, axial, and selective coding to disclose interpretations of space and place in Falamaki’s writings. The case studies consisted of Falamaki’s works, which have been selected through purposive sampling. Texts have been entered into the ATLAS.ti software for coding and labeling. The selected codes reflected the shared thoughts of Falamaki, Hafiz, and Merleau-Ponty on space and place. Based on Falamaki’s references to Merleau-Ponty’s writings, a thick description of the philosopher’s works has been provided. Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology and his ideas on space, place, and bodily perception has made the philosopher’s influence evident in Falamaki’s theory of architecture. Falamaki has extensively referred to Hafiz’s poems not only to demonstrate the significance of architecture in Iranian culture, but also to explain, through poetry, how space and place are formed in architecture. Hafiz made use of architectural symbols in his poems, using finesse in rhythm and melody, described imaginary spaces and places to express ideas and feelings. Mansur Falamaki has creatively articulated a phenomenological approach to architecture with his interpretation of the poetic nuances in Hafiz’s poetry.
Citation Formats
F. Kimya, “Space And Place in Dr. M. Mansour Falamaki’s Architectural Thinking Through Hafiz’s Poetry and Merleau-Ponty’s Phenomenology,” Ph.D. - Doctoral Program, Middle East Technical University, 2024.