Skin, clothing, and dwelling: Max von Pettenkofer, the science of hygiene, and breathing walls

Ekici, Didem

Abstract

Gottfried Semper is often credited with originating the concept of the building as skin in architectural theory, but an alternative trajectory of this idea can be found in the mid-nineteenth-century science of hygiene. In Skin, Clothing, and Dwelling: Max von Pettenkofer, the Science of Hygiene, and Breathing Walls, Didem Ekici explores the affinity of skin, clothing, and dwelling in nineteenth-century German thinking, focusing on a marginal figure in architectural history, physician Max von Pettenkofer (1818–1901), the “father of experimental hygiene.” Pettenkofer’s concept of clothing and dwelling as skins influenced theories of architecture that emphasized the environmental performance of the architectural envelope. This article examines Pettenkofer’s writings and contemporary works on hygiene, ethnology, Kulturgeschichte (cultural history), and linguistics that linked skin, clothing, and dwelling. From nineteenth-century “breathing walls” to today’s high-performance envelopes, theories of the building as a regulating membrane are a testament to the unsung legacy of Pettenkofer and the science of hygiene.

Citation

Ekici, D. (2016). Skin, clothing, and dwelling: Max von Pettenkofer, the science of hygiene, and breathing walls. Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, 75(3), 281-298. https://doi.org/10.1525/jsah.2016.75.3.281

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 24, 2016
• Publication Date: Sep 1, 2016
• Deposit Date: Jun 2, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 1, 2016
• Journal: Journal of Society of Architectural Historians
• Electronic ISSN: 0037-9808
• Publisher: University of California Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 75
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 281-298
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/jsah.2016.75.3.281
• Keywords: Max von Pettenkofer, skin, dwelling, clothing, hygiene, Gottfried Semper, Adolf Loos
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/802812
• Additional Information: Published as Skin, Clothing, and Dwelling: Max von Pettenkofer, the Science of Hygiene, and Breathing Walls, Didem Ekici Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Vol. 75 No. 3, September 2016; (pp. 281-298) © 2016 by Society of Architectural Historians. Copying and permissions notice: Authorization to copy this content beyond fair use (as specified in Sections 107 and 108 of the U. S. Copyright Law) for internal or personal use, or the internal or personal use of specific clients, is granted by [the Regents of the University of California/on behalf of the Sponsoring Society] for libraries and other users, provided that they are registered with and pay the specified fee via Rightslink® or directly with the Copyright Clearance Center.