Archi-porn: eroticism in architectural theory as it relates to the adult film genre

The paper examines discourse on the erotic among architectural theorists, as it relates to Andrew Blake’s adult films. Without such an inquiry Blake’s use of architecture could be seen as little more than an aesthetic cloak for an otherwise base medium. But in no sense can Blake be accused of misusing architecture. That is because many architectural theorists themselves eroticise buildings. The Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, from 1499, takes the Renaissance metaphor between buildings and bodies to its ultimate conclusion, and depicts characters admiring and fondling buildings as though they were lovers. Already indigenous builders had viewed columns as phalluses, and doorways as vaginas, but it was the Renaissance metaphor that opened the way for the countless erotic analogies that theorists of architecture have espoused since. A selection of these are brought to bear in the analysis of Blake’s work, to demonstrate: 1. that architectural history and theory can inform our understanding of the workings of adult films, and 2. that adult films, strange as it seems, are an especially suitable medium through which to articulate architecture’s sexual dimension.