"If we trace the artistic forms of things made by man, to their origin, we find imitation of nature."

—W.R.Lethaby

Bronze I-beams for the Seagram’s Building tower in midtown New York, 1956. Frank Scherschel The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

The term ‘archetype’ emanates from the psychological work of Carl Jung and his theories concerning the ‘collective unconscious’.

It describes an original notion or image from which other forms might be contrived. Therefore, an archetypal image is a deeply rooted, primitive symbol, motif or schema which becomes distilled as prototypes to constantly influence our world of imagination.

Although not scientifically confirmed, certain archetypal forms are thought to be inherited from humankind’s earliest ancestors and are presumed to be present in the collective subconscious.



One such image is the mandala (a square contained by, or enclosing, a circle). Described by Jung as holding a deeply emotional significance, the mandala provides a footprint upon which many buildings have been formed. Other basic archetypal images include the ‘arch cross’ (cruciform), the ‘arch clew’ (spiral), and their superimposed combination, the ‘cross-clew’.


The arch cross motivates those bent on right angles, i.e. the pragmatic and mathematically orientated. Those driven by the spiral arch clew favour circular forms; they are more romantic and emotional than their pragmatic arch cross counterparts. The cross-clew archetype compels those who work with a combination of the two archetypes.


If Mies van der Rohe’s work is representative of the arch cross, and that of Erich Mendelssohn’s the arch clew, then the architecture of Alvar Aalto presents a prime example of the cross-clew.

Alvar Aalto : Viipuri Library Lecture Hall

shocken-department-store-erich-mendelsohn

Julani Pallasmaa describes Aalto’s architecture as often exhibiting sensuous associations that appear to derive from the image of Primordial Female or Earth Mother.

Also, a particularly recurrent aspect of Aalto’s work is the repeated appearance of certain patterns, such as the wave-like flowing Line—drawn from the fox’s tale in Finnish folklore, the distorted grid and the tree-like radiating fan which denotes the dynamism of growth. Pallasmaa further suggests that the frequency with which these archetypal images occur in Aalto’s work invites psychoanalytic interpretation.

Alvar Aalto, New wave of curved wood

 Image Reference:

https://carljungdepthpsychologysite.blog/2020/05/27/carl-jung-after-this-dream-i-gave-up-drawing-and-painting-mandalas/#.YaVojNBBzb1

https://www.life.com/arts-entertainment/mies-van-der-rohe-and-the-poetry-of-purpose/

 https://amzn.to/32OKUHX