The Dwelling and the Cosmos

Homogeneous Space versus Sacred Space

Cosmogeny - the mythical birth of the universe Vertical Axis - linking heaven and earth Centre - where the vertical axis touches the earth

‘A house is not an object, a “machine to live in”; it is the universe that man constructs for himself by imitating the paradigmatic creation of the gods, the cosmogony.

Since the habitation constitutes an imago mundi [image of the world] it is symbolically situated at the Centre of the World.’

Mircea Eliade, The Sacred and the Profane, 1957

The Nomadic Yurt

Hierarchy and Gender

Caroline Humphrey, plan of a traditional yurt

Geometrical or Spatial(after Jean Cusenier in Paul Oliver, ed., The Encyclopedia of Vernacular Architecture)

Spatial:• Orientation• Frontality• Laterality• Centrality

Orientation:• ‘inscription of the

built area within the cosmic order.’

Geometrical or Spatial

Spatial:• Orientation• Frontality• Laterality• Centrality

Frontality:• ‘the relation

between front and rear. All cultures set a different value on the front and rear parts of a building. Round buildings are no exception.’

Geometrical or Spatial

Spatial:• Orientation• Frontality• Laterality• Centrality

Laterality:• ‘the distribution of

loci on the right or left hand according to the main direction of the built space and the direction it has been given.’

Geometrical or Spatial

Spatial:• Orientation• Frontality• Laterality• Centrality

Centrality:• ‘the characteristic of

centrality can be seen in the yurt… in the Greek temple, the English mediaeval manor house, the Navajo hogan and the Dogon dwelling.’

Caroline Humphrey The Traditional Tent

Caroline Humphrey, The Present-day tent

The Navajo hogan: South West USA

‘To the Navajo, their round winter dwelling made of wood and earth is much more than a house or even a home: the round structure is a representation of the cosmos, with all the sacredness and beauty built in.

Therefore a structure can be built out of cement, tarpaper or earth, and still be a hogan – its only criterion is to be round and to have been blessed during construction.

The hogan retains its sacredness even during its mundane use, which comprises most of its occupation and describes most of the activities performed inside.’

‘In the hogan, the east is associated with Dawn, west with Yellow-evening-light, south with Day Sky, and north with Darkness or Night.

As is the cosmos, so must be the hogan. During everyday use, male and female space in the hogan are conceptually partitioned: no physical divisions or boundaries exist, any more than any exist in the Navajo cosmos.

The hogan opening must always always be towards east to greet the rising sun, an area associated with things sacred.’

Susan Kent in Paul Oliver, ed. The Encyclopedia of Vernacular Architecture of the World, pp.1935-6