Water as Aesthetic & Narrative Device: Temple of Debod & Bosjes Chapel
Abstract
Water and architecture have a mildly complicated relationship. To consider water in
relation to architecture in the way one considers the plan, verticality, light, climate, and
acoustics is difficult.1 In that, water is typically the embodiment of the primary element to
be excluded from architecture’s most primitive consideration, shelter. Water can serve a
powerful sensory device, affecting light, climate, and acoustics to influence the feel of
an architectural space.2 Beyond these elements of architectural design, water can be an
imperative literary device, showing metaphor and facilitating interesting commentary on
the architecture itself, culture, and narrative. The Temple of Debod (now in Madrid,
Spain) offers an example of commentary on the architecture’s history and what its
current scenario says about society. The Bosjes Chapel in South Africa offers a
powerful metaphorical reading using water, similar to its ambiguous form and the
multiple readings of its meaning.
Department
ArchitectureCitation
Baaske, Benjamin (2022). Water as Aesthetic & Narrative Device: Temple of Debod & Bosjes Chapel. Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /196885.
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