A richly illustrated exploration of humanity’s drive to shape life as a spatial project, from Plato’s time to the digital era.

Place is something real, but space is generally conceived as abstract and immaterial. In The Feeling of Space, Christopher Bardt explores this damaging modern binary and traces the contradictory impulses that have dematerialized our sense of space through history: fear and wonder; a yearning for the infinite and the intimate; and the need for autonomy and for belonging. Using rich illustrations and examinations of art, technology, and philosophy, Bardt argues that if we can get back to first feeling space, then we can treat space as the substance that gives agency to our intersubjectivity—our exchange of conscious and unconscious thoughts.

Expertly connecting ideas with clear examples from lived experiences, Bardt’s revolutionary framework will appeal to a broad readership, particularly those who are interested in the theoretical and philosophical aspects of spaces. In an age when digital media have dissolved, not increased, our sense of connection, The Feeling of Space shows that when we learn to experience space as a medium as real as a place, we not only see ourselves as inherently spatialized beings but can rebuild the bonds that tie us together.

“The Feeling of Space is a thorough and carefully constructed exploration of an old but crucial question in philosophy that has affected modern architecture since the late nineteenth century. Bardt untangles modern misunderstandings of spatial philosophy masterfully with timely analysis.”

Alberto Pérez-Gómez, Saidye R. Bronfman Professor Emeritus in Architecture, McGill University; author of Attunement: Architectural Meaning after the Crisis of Modern Science and Built upon Love: Architectural Longing after Ethics and Aesthetics

“Christopher Bardt’s The Feeling of Space is an inspiring argument for the intertwining essence of space and place, of subjectivity and objectivity. Bardt’s new book addresses one of today’s greatest challenges: the divorce of thought and feeling.”

Steven Holl, Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, Principal, Steven Holl Architects

“Bardt takes us from place to place, space to space, lingering at each stop to reflect on its substance and meaning, specific and generic. Nuanced and thought-provoking.”

Barbara Tversky, Professor of Psychology, Emerita, Stanford University, author of Mind in Motion: How Action Shapes Thought