Overview

Nietzsche’s philosophy is provocative and complex and has been hugely influential on modern intellectual history and European culture. But his critical approach and writing style invites misunderstandings, sometimes with disastrous consequences. His ideas—or those loosely associated with him—are often briefly cited in scholarly studies in architectural theory and history. His ideas are thought to have influenced the theories and designs of such iconic architects as Le Corbusier, Henry van de Velde, Bruno Taut, Louis H. Sullivan, Lebbeus Woods, and Peter Eisenman, as well as competing approaches to architecture and design, such as those adopted by the Bauhaus School and the Nazis. In the bewildering array of architectural positions that lay claim to Nietzsche as an influence, how can we begin to make sense of Nietzsche’s own approach to architecture? And how can we identify within his complex philosophy the key ideas and themes we require to make sense of his contribution to architecture? This first introduction to Nietzsche’s philosophy written specifically for architects locates his evaluation of appropriate and inappropriate architecture in the body of his writings and presents a clear overview of Nietzsche’s insights into architectural design alongside his advice for architects and designers.

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9781032589084

Table of Contents

Reviews

""In this spirited, uplifting and assured book, Lucy Huskinson carefully and lucidly exposes Nietzsche's timely call to reanimate built form. As an invitation to 'listeners and seekers' to transcend functionalism and spent symbolism, it lifts architecture from its contemporary malaise, reviving it as a vital agent of cultural ambition and personal introspection. This book is a fascinating read and essential for all those who are designing and building for the future."" Dr. Martin Gledhill, architect, senior lecturer in architecture, University of Bath, UK, and author of The Bollingen Tower: Constructing a Jungian Sense of Place (Routledge, 2025) ""Architects will understand with Lucy Huskinson’s eloquent study that art is not a result of a flourishing culture, but its fundamental requirement. Only a completely unchained 'Will to Build' and a highly intense 'dance of design' can focus our imagination on 'an organic singleness of idea,' required by the architectural framework of life lived as a total art. By recognizing 'thinking as creating', our contemporary nihilistic culture, which is still fixated on ‘Being and Truth’ can open itself to the vast potentials of eternal human 'becoming' based on architecture understood as vigorous 'science of fiction'."" Stephen Griek, author of Nietzsches Architektur der Erkennenden. Die Welt als Wissenschaft und Fiktion (transcript: Bielefeld 2023) and lecturer of Philosophy of Architecture at Geneva's University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HEPIA), Switzerland

""In this spirited, uplifting and assured book, Lucy Huskinson carefully and lucidly exposes Nietzsche's timely call to reanimate built form. As an invitation to “listeners and seekers” to transcend functionalism and spent symbolism, it lifts architecture from its contemporary malaise, reviving it as a vital agent of cultural ambition and personal introspection. This book is a fascinating read and essential for all those who are designing and building for the future."" Dr. Martin Gledhill, architect, senior lecturer in architecture, University of Bath, and author of The Bollingen Tower: Constructing a Jungian Sense of Place (Routledge, 2025). ""Architects will understand with Lucy Huskinson’s eloquent study that art is not a result of a flourishing culture, but its fundamental requirement. Only a completely unchained “Will to Build” and a highly intense “dance of design” can focus our imagination on “an organic singleness of idea,” required by the architectural framework of life lived as a total art. By recognizing 'thinking as creating', our contemporary nihilistic culture, which is still fixated on ‘Being and Truth’ can open itself to the vast potentials of eternal human 'becoming' based on architecture understood as vigorous 'science of fiction'."" Stephen Griek, author of Nietzsches Architektur der Erkennenden. Die Welt als Wissenschaft und Fiktion (transcript: Bielefeld 2023) and lecturer of Philosophy of Architecture at Geneva's University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HEPIA)

Author Information

Lucy Huskinson is Professor of Philosophy at Bangor University, UK. Her interests lie in the intersections of philosophy, psychology, and architecture, and in the idea that buildings shape us as much as we shape them. She is author of several books in these fields, including Architecture and the Mimetic Self: A Psychoanalytic Study of How Buildings Make and Break Our Lives (2018) and Nietzsche and Architecture: The Grand Style for Modern Living (2024). Her books have been translated into Turkish, Serbian, and Portuguese.

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