The sense and non-sense of Rudolf Steiner's architecture

According to Rudolf Steiner, within the sensory world there exists a spiritual world that remains concealed from our consciousness to the extent that our perception is limited to our senses and sense bound thinking. He argued that ignorance of this supersensible realm was the result of a limited understanding of the senses. Rather than the usual five senses, Steiner differentiated twelve sense functions through which, he believed, human beings were capable of perceiving subtle dimensions of life beyond the immediately apparent physical realm of being. His theory of the senses elucidated the potentiality for an understanding of the way the spiritual world creates its image in the physical world and he saw artistic activity as a means of making this hidden union manifest. As such, Steiner advocated a multi-sensory architecture that articulated its spiritual presence experientially through an active engagement with its forms, colours, textures, light and sound. However, due to the esoteric overtones of Steiner's writing, his theory of the senses has received very little scholarly attention, particularly in relation to its relevance to architectural creation. This paper aims to peel back the layers of jargon and mysticism that Steiner employed in order to reveal how his unique insights into the nature of the senses informed his architectural products. Such an approach will provide a more comprehensive understanding of Steiner's distinctive architectural forms as well as the significant philosophical ideas that inform them.