Nature and the Idea of a Man-Made World: An Investigation into the Evolutionary Roots of Form and Order in the Built Environment

by Norman Crowe

Over the course of this century, nature has increasingly been relegated to the province of environmentalists while cities and towns have been turned over to developers and planners. Norman Crowe seeks to overcome this division into the respective realms of specialists by recognizing the independence of both the natural and the manmade through an understanding of the often hidden roots of the world we contrive for ourselves. Crowe argues that we have lost a vital balance by neglecting our traditional motives for building in the first place. He argues for a symbiotic theory of man's making and nature's activity that views the built environment as a form of nature, one that nourishes the generative power as well as other enduring qualities of nature. In this sweeping view of architecture and urbanism across cultural boundaries, Crowe evaluates the connections between the natural and manmade in our towns and cities, farms and gardens, architecture and works of civil engineering. He draws on the lessons to be learned from the buildings and cities of the past in restoring critical traditional values that have been lost to modernism which tends to see the built world almost exclusively through the abstractions of postenlightenment science. Crowe's starting point is indigenous architecture, the origins of our cities and towns where the first geometries were imposed on nature. He traces our separation from nature over time, from the long period of human history when nature served as a paradigm for creation. The first chapter considers the psychological and practical origins for the practice of what amounts to building an "alternative" nature. Crowe then explores the likely historical roots of this world and investigates our intrinsic quest for unity, the ancient idea that we are responsible for maintaining a harmony between ourselves, what we make, and nature. He traces the effect of our responses to the passing of time and the inevitability of change in the built world and then considers its opposite, the quest for timelessness in response to the inevitability of time passing. Crowe concludes by looking at the idea of the city as the culminating expression of all of these characteristic responses to nature that manifest themselves in what we build.

Genres: Architecture, Nature

290 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

Reviews

[James Taunton · Rating 3 out of 5]

While Crowe has many great insights: the chief among them is how the human orientation affects how we perceive the world. Our upright position gives us a front, back, left, right, all because of the position in which we see the horizon line of the earth.

He conveys great truths in architecture’s connection to the earth and our pursuit of beauty and value. Though, I think he can be a little closed minded. He has found the beauty in the classical and traditional, but, outside of Frank Lloyd Wright, he sees little value in modern architecture and thought. Certainly there have been massive failures, but people like Louis Khan, Carlo Scarpa, and Sverre Fehn, to name a few, are great examples of more contemporary designers who embody many of the values Crowe seeks to highlight. Therefore there seems to be an unintended propaganda of classicism as a style, despite his explicit desire not to do that. I feel there was a more robust discussion to be had of what constitutes meaningful architecture that is less dependent of previous eras, and more so on timeless architectural effects and actions.

His conclusion didn’t sit well for me either. The idea that ethics have to be rearranged by a evolutionary humanism, I believe, misses the mark. There is an undergirded assumption that man creates meaning and truth embedded in that line of thinking that, I think, stands in direct opposition to what Crowe is searching for. Much falls outside of human agency, and perhaps we need to be more careful and humble; knowing that much evil has been achieved in our attempts to do good. I do not think Crowe is far from the truth, he certainly knows more on the subject than I, yet I felt that there was too much emphasis on what man can control, as opposed to what we can’t. And therein lies what makes a truly meaningful and timeless architecture.

[mahatmanto · Rating 4 out of 5]

ini buku selalu kudekap he..he..
menerangkan gagasan arsitektur dari dalam konteks kulturalnya. yakni sebagai tempat dan sekaligus buah dari manusia berbudaya, yakni adaptasinya di alam.
kebutuhan untuk menata alam, mengubahnya menjadi cocok dengan kebutuhan manusia, dilangsungkan dalam kendala iklim, bahan-bahan setempat, juga kemampuan teknologinya.
asyik ajah...:-)