Now I have come to the realization that I will never experience true happiness until I am able to move into Frank Lloyd Wright's iconic 'Fallingwater'.

Even if that were to happen, I would still require a substantial number of Marcel Breuer armchairs and quite a few Artemide Reeds to truly start feeling good.

This particular book is well-written, with its words flowing smoothly and its ideas presented in an engaging manner. However, I find myself at a loss as to why it was written in the first place. In other words, I am left wondering what the intended meaning behind it is supposed to be.

Is it simply a work of fiction meant to entertain? Or does it hold a deeper, more profound message that I have yet to uncover? These are the questions that continue to萦绕 in my mind as I reflect on this book.

Perhaps with further exploration and analysis, I will be able to解开 the mystery and understand the true purpose of this well-written yet somewhat enigmatic work.

For me, everything will always come back to The Poetics of Space.

In those moments when I half-forget the very reason why I was called to study architecture, I turn to Bachelard. He serves as a reminder, making me sensitive, open, vulnerable, and even a bit giddy.

I first came across this book almost a decade ago. It was so long ago that I have a hard time recalling whether I had known, before then, to consider what a corner feels like, what a door feels like. Drawers and wardrobes, basements and attics, the inside and the outside - all these aspects of space.

Bachelard's writing is both challenging and enchanting for me. His words have a certain sweetness and simplicity, like the earnest purity of a child's phenomenology. However, at the same time, it can get philosophical, dense, and difficult to understand. It can be clear one moment and then impenetrable the next.

I suppose I'll just keep coming back to this book again and again, approaching it from different oblique angles, attempting to circle in on its profound truths.

Each time I read it, I hope to gain a deeper understanding of the poetics of space and how it relates to our experiences and emotions.

Extremely French, that's how French philosophy is. Or maybe it just reminds me of a French friend. He jumps from idea to idea, making it impossible to follow his tracks. He has far too many inspirations! You just have to switch off your brain and feel the connection in it.

A book about how daydreamers fill our surroundings with soul. It's difficult to explain, but our architecture is mostly fantasy. In many ways, this is the exact opposite of what we learn as architecture students. We think of architecture as physical surroundings, but architecture is also a mental construction created by those who live in it. The built is just the inspiration.

That's what we feel when we peek into the corner where our bed stood when we were 8 years old. All the stories that have taken place there and the corner's acquired personality over time. It's also something that is stimulated in us when we move in really good architecture, or when we find a place in the forest that we really like - and yet it's incredibly difficult to talk about, because it's so deeply personal on the one hand, and because we don't have any language or awareness around phenomenology in our culture. Therefore, this book is essential. Not just for architecture students, but for people in general.

This kind of exploration of the intangible aspects of architecture and our experiences within it is truly fascinating. It makes us question the traditional ways we view and understand architecture. The connection between our memories, emotions, and the spaces we inhabit is a complex and profound one. By delving into these ideas, we can gain a deeper appreciation for the role that architecture plays in our lives. It's not just about the buildings themselves, but about the meanings and feelings they evoke. This book seems to offer a unique perspective on this subject, and I'm eager to learn more from it.

I thought this was an extremely interesting book that began very well.

It initially captured my attention and held it firmly. However, as I got closer to the end, I sort of lost interest in it.

Nonetheless, it is certainly worth a read as it’s not a massive book at all.

The book delves into the topic of space and the philosophy surrounding it.

As the book astutely notes, some of our fondest memories, like all things, are placed in a physical space.

If you feel nostalgic and think back to your days of youth, there will often be a specific physical location or space that you associate with that memory.

The book is divided into several engaging chapters such as: the house from the cellar to the attic, and house and universe, drawers, chests and wardrobes, nests, shells, corners, miniatures, intimate immensity, the outside and the inside, and roundness.

Some of the best bits from the book include:
• “To make of this world enough of another world, world enough to again experience for the first time … our world.” This statement makes one reflect on the power of perception and the potential to find new meaning in the familiar.

• “So much of our experience today is processed by digital communication networks and social media, leaving little room for the inner space of reverie and meditation.” It highlights the impact of modern technology on our inner lives and the importance of carving out time for quiet reflection.

• “With poetry the imagination takes its place on the margin exactly where the function of unreality comes to charm or to disturb the sleeping being lost in its automations.” It beautifully describes the role of poetry in awakening our imagination and challenging our routine ways of thinking.

• "In order to advance I walk the treadmill of myself, cyclone inhabited by immobility." This thought-provoking sentence makes us consider the paradoxical nature of progress and the internal struggles we face as we strive to move forward.

Overall, this book offers a unique perspective on space and its relationship to our memories, experiences, and inner lives.

Although my interest waned towards the end, it still contains many valuable insights and beautiful passages that are well worth pondering.

My initial hopes for an intelligent exploration and understanding of both intimate and public spaces were thoroughly dashed by Bachelard's excessive and rather tiresome approach.

His constant quoting of Rilke seemed to overshadow any original thoughts or insights he might have had. Moreover, the seemingly endless pages dedicated to snails in their shells felt like a digression that added little to the overall argument.

The continuous comparisons between psychology, psychoanalysis, and phenomenology quickly became tedious. Once I realized that phenomenology was always going to be presented as the superior or dominant perspective, it took away the excitement and intellectual stimulation I was hoping for.

I understand that this work is considered a classic, but for me, it read more like a drunk man monopolizing the conversation at dinner. He rambled on and on, without really getting to the point or offering anything truly engaging or thought-provoking.

It was a disappointment, as I had expected so much more from a text that was supposed to offer a deep and meaningful analysis of the spaces we inhabit.

This book, which enjoys great popularity among architects, is precisely what its label indicates. It focuses on the experience of poetic images of place.

Moreover, it is a very French book, and not just in a general sense of France. In fact, it doesn't truly deal with the sea or the coast. Instead, it concentrates on the plain, forest, and city. Its poets are almost all French, and the images it presents are of the same origin.

I reside in the American Southwest, and the images of basements, attics, and forests don't resonate with my home. Although Bachelard does mention the desert, it is only briefly, and it represents just one type of desert (while there are countless varieties), and it seems rather cartoonish.

This book is an incomplete catalog of place images. The essence of the book doesn't really commence until after the introduction, which is verbose, pompous, and not nearly as excellent as the subsequent content when the discussion of poetic images begins.

If you find yourself losing interest at the beginning, I suggest you skip to those sections - they are what make this book unique.

I really wanted to like this book. I began reading it with extremely high hopes. I can kind of understand why it is regarded as culturally significant. Maybe it is, or perhaps not? Published in 1958, it undoubtedly achieved a certain level of esteem, likely due to the accolades it received from privileged white men like the author himself. Just like many others, I found the first part of the book more easily understandable and digestible than the last part.

However, I was really struck by the privileged position of the author. He extensively referred to one's long-term, consistent childhood home as a mental model to base so much of his rather long-winded and self-important speeches on. I, on the other hand, moved every two years during my childhood and early adulthood. So, right from the beginning, I felt a sense of alienation. I found a significant portion of the book completely incomprehensible. And mind you, I work at Microsoft on the Excel team, so I know for a fact that I'm not stupid. It reminded me a lot of so many tech bros who seem to talk just for the sake of hearing their own voices. They use far more big words than are actually necessary, stringing them together as a jumble of tangled verbs, prepositions, adverbs, and adjectives in an attempt to sound intelligent. But in the end, they just come across as tired, self-absorbed, and cliched bores.

Overall, my experience with this book was rather disappointing, despite my initial eagerness to enjoy it.

I have a profound admiration for philosophy. It is, however, often likened to riding an Exercycle.

You exert a great deal of effort, pedaling away with all your might, but in the end, it seems as if you haven't really gone anywhere.

Nevertheless, this particular book has served as a reminder of the significant role that my dwellings have played in incubating my thoughts.

The quiet corners, the comfortable nooks, and the familiar spaces have all been the breeding grounds for my philosophical musings.

They have provided the solitude and the peace necessary for me to delve deep into my mind and explore the mysteries of existence.

Even though the pursuit of philosophy may sometimes feel futile, the moments of inspiration and clarity that I have experienced within the confines of my dwellings make it all worthwhile.

Ultimately, the imagination will be our sole task. In a world that is constantly evolving and changing, our ability to imagine new possibilities and scenarios becomes increasingly crucial. It is through the power of imagination that we can break free from the constraints of the present and envision a better future. Imagination allows us to think outside the box, to come up with innovative solutions to problems, and to create something truly unique and original.

Recommended by a very wise and intelligent friend of mine ;). This friend understands the importance of imagination and its role in our lives. They recognize that it is not just a frivolous or unnecessary trait, but rather a fundamental aspect of our human nature. By recommending this idea to me, they are encouraging me to explore my own imagination and to use it to its fullest potential. I am grateful for their wisdom and insight, and I look forward to seeing where my imagination takes me.

The process duurde veel langer dan ik eigenlijk wilde. It was a rather frustrating experience as I had hoped for a quicker resolution. However, despite the delay, we are so back.

This means that we have overcome the obstacles and are ready to move forward once again.

Although the extended duration was not ideal, it has also taught us some valuable lessons.

We have become more resilient and better equipped to handle future challenges.

Now that we are back, we are full of determination and enthusiasm to achieve our goals.

There is a sense of excitement in the air as we look ahead to what lies ahead.

We know that there may still be difficulties along the way, but we are confident that we can overcome them together.

So, let's embrace this new beginning and make the most of every opportunity that comes our way.

If you were to take the charming poem "Halfway Down" by A. A. Milne and combine it with all the wonderful childhood fantasies of hidden nooks and crannies, attics filled with mysteries, cellars that seem to hold secrets, the beauty of trees, the allure of shells, the vastness of big space, the coziness of small space, and even the very concept of what space truly is, and then transform it into a work of French philosophy penned by a natural scientist, you would end up with this remarkable book. Bachelard's intention is to develop a phenomenology of images of intimate space. This means a study of the poetic word pictures that we create in order to capture our experience of home. It is a philosophy that is oriented towards delight and is one of the closest things I have ever read to the inner workings of my own mind when I was a six-year-old. However, it only loses a star due to the quality of the translation and the somewhat excessive mention of Carl Jung.

Halfway down the stairs
is a stair
where I sit.
There isn't any
other stair
quite like
it.
I'm not at the bottom,
I'm not at the top;
so this is the stair
where
I always
stop.

Halfway up the stairs
Isn't up
And it isn't down.
It isn't in the nursery,
It isn't in town.
And all sorts of funny thoughts
Run round my head.
It isn't really
Anywhere!
It's somewhere else
Instead!

Gaston Bachelard, a professor at the Sorbonne University in France, in this book, as can be seen from its name, attempts to delineate the boundaries and dimensions of the imagination using an all-encompassing criterion, namely the house. Of course, he does not rely solely on the factor of imagination, and he examines various works by different writers with this criterion. The author's unique style makes the understanding of the content better. For example, he poses questions that, while being simple and creative, are difficult to find answers to, and yet are equally necessary and useful. He asks how a person can expand into a poetic space that is outside his room and has a more extensive order?

Gaston Bachelard The author also refers to these questions and expressions in his examination of his own psychology and the environment, art, and criticism in a timely and simultaneous manner.

"When insomnia, which is one of the philosopher's misfortunes, is accompanied by the boredom resulting from the hustle and bustle of the city or the late-night noise of cars and trucks causes trouble, I become disgusted with city life and regain my peace by awakening the metaphors of the ocean." (69)

The author of this book is in the process of showing a kind of autochthonous materialism that participates in a dialectic with the human being. Or, in our own language, it is a kind of metaphorical house that is geometric in its structure. This other thinking and self-questioning in the realm of things leads to the discovery of specific thoughts and states in the sense and mind. For example, Bachelard cites this poem from "The Gazelle's Lair" as an example:

A house that has taken its place in my heart,
A silent mosque
Every white breath is dissipated in a dream,
Every dining table is closed after dinner.
The house is covered with the dawn,
Expanded, on the weight of my youthful breezes (95)

This is the best example that can be given to explain the impossibility of space and the relationship between humans and space.

In this identification with space and spatialization, the most important element that comes into play is "imagination." When the poet passes from reality to the boundaries of poetry, he approaches the realm of poetry. First, he must be accused in order to provide a suitable ground for his own imagination. "Poets often lead us to the world of impossible wishes, so impossible that in fact, their author may be accused of creating an uninteresting fantasy. The person laughs and goes on his way. But again, more often than not, the poet does not vulgarize his poem, and a special slowness and sensitivity govern these fantasies." (225)

Riza Baraheni refers to this book in his book "Chemistry and Soil" and says that Yadollah Royaee has considered this book in creating the volume of the poetry current. Most likely, this is the case, and this book can be considered a good and timely gift for Iranian literature.

07/07/99