Nietzsche and Architecture: The Grand Style for Modern Living

Nietzsche and Architecture explores Nietzsche’s relationship to the architects, buildings, and modern architectural movements he went on to inspire, and situates his philosophy more appropriately and comprehensively within the field of architectural studies, architectural history, and theory.

Divided into two parts, the book first examines Nietzsche’s philosophy of architecture, exploring his notions of rhythm, ornament, style, and power. It then goes on to examine Nietzsche’s ambiguous architectural legacy, scrutinising iconic architects, thinkers, designs, and cultural movements to ascertain their relationship with Nietzschean ideas, from the crystal architecture of Bruno Taut and Peter Behrens, to the ’new styles’ of the Bauhaus and Le Corbusier, Louis H. Sullivan’s desire for the heights, and the cultural propaganda of ’Nazi architecture’.

Clearly explaining the subtleties and complexities of Nietzsche’s architectural thought, Nietzsche and Architecture provides an accessible insight into Nietzsche’s philosophy and its significance to the development of modern architecture in the 19th and early 20th centuries, shedding vital light on the continued relevance of Nietzsche to architecture today.

Lucy Huskinson is Professor of Philosophy and Deputy Head of the School of History, Law, and Social Sciences at Bangor University, UK.