Following Norberg-Schulz: An Architectural History through the Essay Film
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Overview
This book examines the ‘window’ in the life and work of the seminal architectural thinker Christian Norberg-Schulz (1926 – 2000). It draws new attention to his architectural designs and re-examines his acclaimed theoretical work on the phenomenology of architecture and place within the context of a biography of his life, linking him with other historical figures such as Helen Keller and Rainer Maria Rilke, and framing him within the modernist tradition of the latter.
Taking a novel, experimental approach, the book also explores the potential of the essay-film as an innovative new approach to producing architectural history. Bridging archival research and artistic exploration, its ten chapters, written by an architectural historian who is also a film-maker, are each accompanied by a short documentary film, hosted online and linked from within the chapter, which use the medium of film to creatively explore and delve deeper into little-known aspects of Norberg-Schulz’s theory of genius loci and the phenomenology of architecture. The book questions what it means to ‘follow’ those who came before, exploring the positionality of the architectural historian/filmmaker.
Offering an insightful account of the life, work, and theory of a key thinker, Following Norberg-Schulz is also essential reading for those interested in practice-led research methodologies, particularly in the practice of film-making and the essay film, providing a highly innovative example of scholarly research which bridges the text-film gap.
The life and work of the seminal architectural thinker Christian Norberg-Schulz – innovatively presented through text and essay films.
Despite Norberg-Schulz’s influence, little has been written about him to date
Each chapter is accompanied by a short documentary film, hosted online, and linked to from within the chapter by a QR code and accompanying discussion
There is growing interest within academic architectural research in practice-led research methodologies, particularly in the practice of the essay film
List of illustrations
Framework
Christian Norberg-Schulz (1926-2000)
The Essay form in Film and Writing
Itinerary
Acknowledgements
Maps
Window 1 | Trondheim
Place
Practice
Essay: The Sound of a Windowpane Shattering
Window 2 | Oslo
Place
Practice
Essay: By the Window
Window 3 | Journey
Place
Practice
Essay: At the Window of a Train
Window 4 | Hamburg – Basel
Place
Practice
Essay: Three Windows on Europe 1945
Window 5 | Rome
Place
Practice
Essay: Fill in that window! Move into that Frame!
Window 6 | Piazza Navona
Place
Practice
Essay: A Campari-Moment by the Water Fountain
Window 7 | Calcata
Place
Practice
Essay: Are we not here to Say…Window
Window 8 | Sierre
Place
Practice
Essay: Les Fenêtres – en norvégien
Window 9 | Oslo
Place
Practice
Essay: Returned, X-rayed and Exposed
Window 10 | Trondheim
Place
Practice
Essay: Beyond the Network – ‘Upon’ Return
Coda
Appendix
Christian Norberg-Schulz’s CV
Books by or about Rainer Maria Rilke in Christian Norberg-Schulz’s Library
References to Rainer Maria Rilke in Christian Norberg-Schulz’s Authorship
Bibliography
Index
Anna has demonstrated that to follow a fellow Norwegian architect of another generation, is to find similarities, to seek coincidences, to shadow, to re-enact, to track, to go along (often in faith), to act under the influence of, to act under the shadow of, to carry the weight of this person, and in so doing, to put her own writing self at risk. To follow is also to admire, to support, to understand. The book ... has qualities of a detective novel where clues are allowed to travel their distance, to expend their conclusions, and to spin more questions about the missing protagonist.
Andersen’s approach is unconventional, but also compelling and timely. On the one hand, it draws on recent attempts at developing critical spatial practice in postgraduate practice-based research programs, where the designer’s skillsets and creative output are utilized as research method. Simultaneously, her book is published amidst a wide-ranging questioning of the assumptions underpinning the field of architectural phenomenology. Yet Andersen manages to practice phenomenology in an open and self-reflective way, able to critically re-engage the difficulties and failings in Norberg-Schulz’s approach while displaying a poetic sensibility that allows for a more refined appreciation of his position.
Anna Ulrikke Andersen’s wondrous book is many things at once: a window onto the work of the Norwegian architectural theorist, an artist’s probing journey of discovery and persistent self-examination, a portal to imaginative interventions that frame and reframe Norberg-Schulz’s legacy from ever different angles. A true tour de force, as insightful and critically demanding as creative and aesthetically playful!
A truly original piece of work with an innovative methodology that combines archival historical research with artistic and documentary film practice. Andersen provides a situated critical evaluation of the work and ideas of an influential, yet misunderstood, figure in the history, theory and practice of 20th century architecture, approaching the subject matter with intelligence and care.
- Title: Following Norberg-Schulz: An Architectural History through the Essay Film
- Author: Anna Ulrikke Andersen
- Publisher: Bloomsbury Visual Arts
- Print Publication Date: 2021
- Logos Release Date: 2024
- Pages: 240
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781350248380, 9781350248403, 1350248401, 135024838X
- Resource ID: LLS:9781350248380
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2025-04-22T12:11:17Z
Anna Ulrikke Andersen, Post-Doctoral Researcher at the University of Oxford, UK, is a Norwegian architectural historian and filmmaker.