EFFECT OF ARCHITECTURAL REPRESENTATION, INTERPRETATION AND SPACE ON MODERN LITERATURE

Abstract

Architecture is a social form of art while literature can either be a 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 sharpened 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 literature 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 literature on the concepts of architecture and literature in the modern sense. It was established from all literature 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.