Architecture in its Continuums distils three decades of Leon van Schaik's thinking on architectural practice into a precise and quietly provocative argument: that spatial intelligence — the architect's particular skill in crafting space and light — is both undertheorised and urgently necessary.
About This Book
Van Schaik's premise is direct: most architecture writing addresses history, sociology, or environmental science, but very little concerns the actual practice of architecture itself. This book addresses that gap. Drawing on a lifetime of teaching and mentorship at RMIT University, van Schaik presents his philosophical framework through 21 hand-drawn ideograms that work in concert with the text — not as illustration but as argument. The result is a manifesto for spatial intelligence as a discipline with genuine stakes, one capable of connecting architecture to broader human experience. Winner of the Australian Book Designers Association Award for Best Designed Educational Tertiary Book in 2019, the book is itself a considered design object.
Key Features
- 144 pages combining written philosophy with 21 original hand-drawn ideograms by van Schaik
- Forewords by Kate Heron, Professor of Architecture at University of Westminster, and Vivian Mitsogianni, Associate Dean of Architecture and Urban Design, RMIT
- Book design by Stuart Geddes; published in a paperback format with semi-opaque perspex cover
- Published by Uro Publications, 2018
What You'll Discover
- Van Schaik's argument that a shared human experience of space and light is the foundation from which architecture derives its capacity to connect with people
- How 21 hand-drawn ideograms function as a parallel philosophical language, enriching and extending the written argument rather than merely decorating it
- A framework for understanding what venturous and innovative designers actually do — with implications for how design practice research is conducted and taught
- A model for architectural writing that addresses practice from the inside, distinct from the dominant modes of historical and sociological criticism
About the Author
Leon van Schaik AO is Professor of Architecture at RMIT University, a position he has held since 1987, and holds the title of Innovation Chair of Design Practice Research. He studied at the Architectural Association in London and has spent three decades as a mentor to generations of Australian architects.
Specifications
- Format: Paperback with semi-opaque perspex cover
- Pages: 144
- Dimensions: 240mm x 170mm
- Language: English
- ISBN: 9780994269799
- Publisher: Uro Publications
- Publication Date: 2018
Perfect For: Architecture academics, design educators, and practitioners interested in the philosophical foundations of spatial intelligence and the theory of architectural practice.