ARTICLE REVIEW

BUILDING, DWELLING, THINKING

by Martin Heidegger
PUBLICATION: POETRY, LANGUAGE, THOUGHT
Harper Colophon Books, 1971.
Originally in german, translated by Albert Hofstadter


This philosophical narrative explores the lingual and existential significance of the act of
dwelling to put it simply. The author is a noted thinker of the 20
th
century, perhaps
known best for his phenomenological analysis of the "question of Being. Interestingly,
the internet encyclopaedia of philosophy states that his writing is 'notoriously difficult',
because his thought was 'original' and to an extent, oblique. To this, Heidegger stated
'Making itself intelligible is suicide for philosophy.

In this particular text, he talks about what dwelling is, and its relationship with building. To
do so, he first sets out to define to dwell and to build separately. Using etymological
underpinnings, he proves that dwelling and building are not just end-means, that is we
build to dwell and not dwell to build, that to build is to dwell in itself (because it implies
staying in that place). On further analysis, he insists that dwellings isnt inactivity- it is a
continuous state of existence- to cherish and protect, to preserve and care for. To be a
human being means to be on the earth as a mortal- To live is to dwell. This can be
understood as putting ourselves out of harms way- and sheltering our self against the
vagaries of time.
Further, to be at peace- or to be brought to peace and to remain at peace: peace implies
freedom, and that consists of safeguarding and preserving from forces that desire
otherwise. To dwell, now, means to remain at peace within the free sphere that
safeguards each thing in its nature. The fundamental character of dwelling is in this
sparing and preserving.

Architecture and construction, or maybe a part of it can be clearly inspired by this text.
Dwelling is a powerful idea that till now, I had only vague associations with. The domain
of dwelling is not restricted to a physical specific space associated with home, nor is it
necessarily stationary. Heidegger refers to a truck driver at home on the road. It is this
mental state of being that defines what it means to dwell; only, this state has often been
associated with a place of upbringing, households or spaces of comfort. Dwelling
contains a certain emotional state of being attached to building, therefore it is generally
attached to the emotional or psychological state of the user in question.
I interpreted it as an essential checklist for residential structures atleast- where most of us
dwell - which they must satisfy. take, for instance, the Farnsworth house- it might have
heralded a new tomorrow in terms of materiality and stylistic temperament, but it did not
work as a home for Mrs Farnsworth; it failed to become a dwelling simply because it
failed to achieve the intangibles which we as the builders can manipulate to accentuate
the act of (or the implied idea of) growth and living, safety and peace.
ANEESH
NANDI

A/2214/2010
THEORY OF
DESIGN

3
RD
YEAR
B.ARCH
review