Space And Imagination In Gaston Bachelard's The Poetics Of Space

In many architectural instances space can represented by nature as well, and not just restricted the interiors and this is how the garden was then understood as a space. Space, being conceptual or literal, is the core foundation in any architecture because it is space that creates setting. In architecture there can be different kinds of space whether it be enclosed or not they can form empty and filled spaces or gaps and holes, which create a void space. The most general idea of architectural space is an enclosed area and this is because the general population tends to only understand something that they can actually visualize. It is space that is formed by the structure itself, the walls and roof and construction barriers and they create …show more content…
It is a phenomenological analysis of the underlying connections we have with our feelings and the spaces within our homes. To analyse his understanding on the relationship between space and imagination one must first understand his own ideas and concepts of the word ‘space’. He interprets space as anything that has been inhabited by a living being, a mental concept of space. “All really inhabited space bears the essence of the notion of a home” (pg5 of poetics of space). It can be anything like even a birds nest, as small and un noticed as it is, it holds life and a family of birds inhabit it, so he defines it as a space. It does not necessarily have to be literal, made up of walls and a roof, but Bachelard’s findings examine how we alone can create spaces with our imagination and our presence and this comes about when he discovers this bird’s nest in his garden. He referred to the understanding of a persons soul through domestic architecture as topophilia, the meaning of the love of place. His main purpose is to separate the general description of a house as an object of shelter but somewhere that holds personal memories and experiences. He aims to re create the basic connection we have with rooms as a space we just use, to concentrate on the different feelings and thoughts these different spaces give. Each separate room is influenced by its inhabitant and they way they …show more content…
The attic as an architectural space, gives us a feel for the house structure in its entirety. Because of its separation from the main areas of the house, it becomes a space which one can find complete solitude, freedom to use your imagination and feel free within your own home. He uses the attic to highlight the connection we have freedom, imagination and creativity. When we are completely free our minds can truly be free. The house overall, is a place which provides shelter and houses memories, and these memories are created by the people which inhabit it. So like how people are different from each other, spaces become different to each person that enters it and as he states; “The house we are born in, is more than just a house and surrounding shelter, but an embodiment of dreams” (page51) Bachelard does not consider the house an object at all but a manifestation of the soul. How we understand each house is how we understand each other so therefore each space is a glimpse into a person’s soul. The creation of a space depends souly on the occupant and how they chose to occupy the space and live within it. To try and pin point a certain kind of imaginative thought the attic creates would be impossible because as he continuously confirms, every heart soul and mind is never the same so each different being inhabits the room differently and gives it a different kind of life. He continuously