Guest Editor: Professor James Dodd

This issue of the journal Khōrein invites papers exploring the philosophical-architectural implications of the concept of the phenomenon and its various thematic cognates, including phenomenality, appearance, manifestation, visibility, spectacle, and display, as well as ways in which these themes intersect with ontology, anthropology, language, symbolic expression, society, and politics.

The philosophical importance of the concept of phenomenon is evident. Any philosophy that takes as its central theme the possibility of human understanding must on some level engage the question of what it means to appear. Further, any philosophy that counts the theme of the human as its own must ultimately engage the question of the relation of the spaces of appearance that define the parameters of human existence and building in all its forms. Also, twentieth-century phenomenology radicalizes the question of phenomenon and rejects all predeterminations that would be presupposed to the very appearance of phenomena. The catchphrase that expresses the core of these considerations now reads “To the things themselves” (Husserl).

Conversely, the importance of the concept of phenomenon is equally evident in the context of architectural theory and practice, including but not limited to the central theme of light, the “giver of all presences” (Louis Kahn). The classic architectural triads of integrity-beauty-utility and space-light-form are all linked to the mystery of phenomenality.

Yet the question of phenomenality for both philosophy and architecture is not limited to its epistemological and spiritual aspects, but also involves social and political factors, including the variegations of the technologies of power. In all these spheres, whether explicitly or implicitly, architecture and philosophy are essential partners in developing a vocabulary sufficiently robust to orient the kind of thinking and building requisite for a responsible philosophy and architecture of the present and the future.

Submissions should be emailed to khorein@ifdt.bg.ac.rs.

Submission deadline: February 28, 2025