EFFECT OF ARCHITECTURAL REPRESENTATION, INTERPRETATION AND SPACE ON MODERN LITERATURE

Architecture is a social form of art while literature can either be written or verbal form of art.

Reflecting on the literature of a particular region can help to better understand the

fundamental basics of the architecture of such region. Just as the Architecture of a region is a

reflection of the people’s culture and way of life, Literature more often than not is also a

written or verbal documentation of life experiences and narratives that may cut across culture,

lifestyle, traditions, and historical values which in a way has shapened the way we holistically

view life today. The art in architecture and literature therefore has a meeting point which is

culture, people’s unique values, traditions or lifestyle. One of the oldest travel literatures

written in Farsi, Nasir Khosrow’s Safarnameh, is considered to be a valuable source of

information on buildings, architecture, history and geography. His documented views on

urban architecture and the way buildings are expressed is so elaborate that one can easily pick

out necessary information on the buildings discussed by mere reading the travelogue. There is

therefore a relationship between architecture and modern literature.

The aim of this research paper is to find the convergence point between architecture and

modern literature and to also explore the effects of Architecture on Modern Literature using

representation, interpretation and space as a yardstick. The methodology for this research is a

review of related documented literatures on the concepts of architecture and literature in the

modern sense. It was established from all literatures reviewed that a relationship thus exists

between the two concepts and that the interpretation given to a building is a function of how

well such a building and spaces therein have been properly represented using the various

representation medium which technology has afforded us. It was also noted that

documentation of literary works as it relates to buildings is borne out of the meaning and

interpretation which the writer gives to such building thereby making the concept of

representation very important in the overall context of modern literature. The research

concludes that the advent and growing rate of technological inventions has influenced

immensely the concepts of Architectural representation and interpretation which thus have an

overall effect on the quality of the generated building Literature. It was recommended that

architects especially the older generations should endeavour to stay relevant by forming

partnerships with younger generations of architects who can better harness the advent of

technology and internet for better representation of their works and circulation of same via

several social media platforms which is the prevailing avenue of modern literary

documentation and storage.

Keywords: Architecture, Modern Literature, Representation, Interpretation, Space