Dalibor Vesely facts for kids

Dalibor Vesely (born June 19, 1934 – died March 31, 2015) was an important Czech-born teacher and writer about architecture. He helped people understand architecture better by using ideas from hermeneutics (the study of understanding) and phenomenology (the study of experiences).

Vesely was known as one of the best architecture teachers of his time. He inspired many students and taught famous architects and historians like Daniel Libeskind and Alberto Pérez-Gómez. He taught at the University of Essex, then the Architectural Association in London, and from 1978, at the University of Cambridge Department of Architecture. At Cambridge, he started a special program in the history and philosophy of architecture with Peter Carl. Their ideas became very important at the Cambridge Architecture School in the 1980s and early 1990s. Even after retiring, Vesely kept teaching at Cambridge and also at the University of Pennsylvania. In 2005, he won an award for his book "Architecture in the Age of Divided Representation." In 2006, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) gave him the Annie Spink Award for his great teaching, and in 2015, he became an Honorary Fellow of RIBA for his lifetime work in architectural theory and education.

Early Life and Studies

Vesely was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia, in 1934. He studied many subjects, including engineering, architecture, art history, and philosophy, in cities like Prague, Munich, Paris, and Heidelberg. He earned his PhD from Charles University in Prague. He also studied with the philosopher Hans-Georg Gadamer and was greatly influenced by Jan Patočka. These thinkers helped him develop his lifelong interest in how we understand and experience architecture.

In 1968, Vesely was in England with his brother when Soviet tanks entered Czechoslovakia. He decided to stay in London. He first taught at the Architectural Association, then moved to the University of Essex where he and Joseph Rykwert created a master's degree in architectural history. In 1978, Colin St John Wilson invited him to Cambridge. There, Vesely, Rykwert, and Peter Carl started new courses that brought a fresh way of thinking about architecture to the school.

Vesely's Big Ideas on Architecture

Vesely's work helps us understand how culture shapes our view of the world. He looked closely at how we represent things, especially in art and architecture. He explored ideas like perspective (how we draw 3D objects on a flat surface) and anamorphosis (distorted images that look normal from a certain angle). He argued that modern science changed how we see and understand the world, creating a "divided" way of thinking.

Vesely believed that before modern science, people saw representation as a natural part of understanding. But with modern science, things became more separate. In his main book, Architecture in the Age of Divided Representation (2004), Vesely talked about the idea of "ground." This "ground" isn't just the physical ground we walk on. It's a deeper, continuous connection between what we see and a "latent world" of hidden possibilities. He thought that by understanding this connection, we could heal the "fragmented" way we see the world today.

Architecture in the Age of Divided Representation

In his book, Vesely explained that architecture constantly uses different ways of showing things, including the actual "built reality." He felt that our current culture, especially in architecture, is "divided" and unclear. He argued that 20th-century architecture relied too much on modern science and technology, which led to cities and suburbs that are just functional.

Vesely's research looked back at the history of modern science. He wanted to show how our modern idea of knowledge developed and how it became separate from older ways of representing the world. He believed that understanding this history was key to understanding how our concept of representation changed.

How We Understand Space

Vesely explored how architecture helps us understand space. For example, when architects create a building, they move between a project (drawings, models) and the actual built structure. Reading a map also involves connecting a flat drawing to the real buildings and spaces around us. He thought that understanding these differences could help us communicate better between different ways of representing things.

He also used an interesting experiment where people wore special glasses that turned their vision upside down. Even though everything looked flipped, people eventually started to make sense of the world again by relying on their bodies. This showed that our bodies are a basic way we understand space, even when our vision is confused. Vesely used this to explain that we can find our "ground" or orientation even in unusual situations. This "ground" isn't a fixed point, but a continuous flow of references from what we see, touch, and experience.

The Hidden World of Architecture

Vesely talked about a "latent world," which is like a hidden understanding of the world that is not immediately visible. He believed that what we see is connected to this deeper, hidden level. This connection is important for understanding how things become visible and how we use symbols and metaphors in architecture.

He argued that the visible world doesn't give us all the answers by itself. Instead, our understanding of space comes from things like knowing our orientation, recognizing shapes, and understanding the relative positions of objects. These things create a "provisional ground" for us. This ground is not still; it's a constant stream of references. This means that while the visible world is important, it's just a starting point for understanding the rest of our world, much of which is beyond what we can see. The visible world acts as a symbol, helping us to see and imagine beyond what is directly in front of us.

See also

• Marco Frascari
• Daniel Libeskind
• Alberto Pérez-Gómez
• Joseph Rykwert
• Nader El-Bizri
• David Leatherbarrow
• Robert Tavernor
• Eric Parry