19modern, mobile, and unstable society. Dwelling is in the first instance associated
with tradition, security, and harmony, with a life situation that guarantees connect-
edness and meaningfulness. Considerations such as these underlie the dilemmas
that architecture is faced with.The Dilemmas of Architecture
Architecture inevitably has to deal with the tension that exists between modernity
and dwelling. Architecture designs dwelling, giving it form; its task is the material-
ization of the world in which we dwell. It would seem to go without saying that this
principle must constitute the vanishing point of architectural discourse. But what is
one supposed to do if modern conditions mean that dwelling itself has become im-
possible? What if the diagnosis of “homelessness” is correct? What approach can
architecture possibly adopt? The answers that have been given to these questions
are far from unequivocal, and opinions about what exactly is (or ought to be) the role
of architecture and what position it takes (or ought to take) vis-à-vis modernity are ex-
tremely disparate.
Two different lines of thought, for instance, have been followed in interpreting
the texts of Martin Heidegger that I just discussed. The utopian and nostalgic con-
cept of Christian Norberg-Schulz and the radical and critical approach of Massimo
Cacciari referred to above represent the two poles of this debate.
Norberg-Schulz takes as his starting point Heidegger’s notion of the thingas
that in which the fourfold is assembled. From this he infers that a thing has to pos-
sess three qualities: it has to evoke an image, be concrete, and have significance. By
means of this operation he translates Heidegger’s metaphors into a plea for a figura-
tive architecture, an architecture in which one can recognize these three qualities. He18
1House in the Norwegian forest:
architecture as the embodiment
of belonging and rootedness.
(From Christian Norberg-Schulz,
The Concept of Dwelling.)