Introduction

At the turn of the next formative decade of the century, societies across continents experience with immense intensity the fluidity of time, the preciousness of human life, and the fragility of relations with the material environments we occupy. The need is apparent of this publication baring meaningful energy and influence—we are filling the void of fundamental knowledge.

Most recent revisions of records in our discipline foster transformative developments toward nature, harmony, and humanity in architecture and design, and inspire an unprecedented rise of creative environmental initiatives. Anthroposophy, whose research methods reveal holistic organic ties between the society, the material culture, and the human spirit, has often been considered to be an esoteric ideology. This tended to prevent the architecture that it inspired from developing widely. Presently there are no books that integrate anthroposophical ideas on architecture with mainstream ideas, illustrate Rudolf Steiner's concepts, and show the influence of his visionary impulse on the built environments and creative processes across the globe.

Architecture and Anthroposophy, the first anthology on alternative modernism in architecture inspired by the philosophy of spiritual functionalism and holistic societal construction, has a special vitality in that it presents not only the origins and the history of the movement, but also integrates the professional discourse on aesthetic conflicts of the twentieth century, and introduces the contemporary situation as researched by recognized scholars and architects in Europe and the United States. The "living encyclopedia" on philosophically, socially, and spiritually inspired architecture aims not only to expand general architectural studies but also to illuminate new perspectives safeguarding green developments, and to endorse the spread of much-needed architectural ideas. The volume confronts the dominant doctrine of utilitarian modernism by acknowledging the integrity of this sustainable movement enduring built environments for humanity.

The book is designed for 268 pages in an 8 x 12 inches hardcover format with a colorful dust jacket and 348 illustrations (189 in color). It is structured as a monograph, frontmatter contains a Preface and Acknowledgements; the Table of Contents is followed by editor’s Introduction; the core of the volume contains 29 chapters, organized chronologically and structured in two parts: “Origins,” providing an overview of the historical beginnings of the movement conceived in the contexts of twentieth-century modernism, uncovering trailblazing contributions of Rudolf Steiner and the roster of pioneering architects, landscape and interior designers, craftsmen, and artists, and examining early goetheanistic structures; and ”New Impulses,” featuring the recent developments across continents inspired by Anthroposophy. The backmatter includes a Bibliography, a Summary, Photo Credits, and an Index. The number of copies printed—First edition: 1,500 in Russian with a Summary in English; Second Rare edition: 500. Editorial and design supervision: Anna Sokolina, © 2001 (RF), © 2002 (USA), © 2010 (RF 2nd edition). Open e-access to Architecture and Anthroposophy was generously supported by the Board of Editors of The Library of Spiritual Science and provided by BDN in 2019.

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