Elements of Architecture explores new ways of engaging architecture in archaeology. It conceives of architecture both as the physical evidence of past societies and as existing beyond the physical environment, considering how people in the past have not just dwelled in buildings but have existed within them. The book engages with the meeting point between these two perspectives. For although archaeologists must deal with the presence and absence of physicality as a discipline, which studies humans through things, to understand humans they must also address the performances, as well as temporal and affective impacts, of these material remains. The contributions in this volume investigate the way time, performance and movement, both physically and emotionally, are central aspects of understanding architectural assemblages. It is a book about the constellations of people, places and things that emerge and dissolve as affective, mobile, performative and temporal engagements.

This volume juxtaposes archaeological research with perspectives from anthropology, architecture, cultural geography and philosophy in order to explore the kaleidoscopic intersections of elements coming together in architecture. Documenting the ephemeral, relational, and emotional meeting points with a category of material objects that have defined much research into what it means to be human, Elements of Architecture elucidates and expands upon a crucial body of evidence which allows us to explore the lives and interactions of past societies.

About the Author

Mikkel Bille is Associate Professor at the Department of Environmental, Social and Spatial Change, Roskilde University, where his research centers on the role of things and technologies from the recent past in contemporary society.

Tim Flohr Sorensen is Assistant Professor at the Department of Archaeology, University of Copenhagen, where his research is focused on archaeological theory and themes in prehistoric and contemporary archaeology.

Reviews

"[...]the concepts worked with here are crucial to emerging ideas about atmosphere, the senses, movement, and assemblage in archaeology. If you are looking for new ways to think about the discipline and how we come to know things, this pretty, curious, and deliberately vague volume will be useful."
Dr. Corin C.O. Pursell, Gardener

Book Information
ISBN 9780367869625
Author Mikkel Bille
Format Paperback
Page Count 462
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 860g