Rudolf Steiner : occult crank or architectural mastermind?

Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) saw architectural creation as a means of apprehending our place in the cosmos and his esoteric system of Anthroposophy aimed to demonstrate the correspondence between the spiritual and material worlds. Much of the literature available on Steiner tends to polarize him as either a creative genius or eccentric oddity, with architectural historians generally tending to adopt the latter view. Despite the fact that Steiner's architectural conceptions have remained marginal, the highly acclaimed works of many Anthroposophically inspired architects suggest that his gnostic perceptions may have something worthwhile to offer contemporary architecture.