In contemporary architectural discourse, the concept of space is ubiquitous, yet its historical genesis and theoretical underpinnings in Gottfried Semper's seminal theoretical work remain under explored. This study investigates the reception and integration of Semper’s architectural theory into modern discourse, tracing its trajectory from August Schmarsow, to Nikolaus Pevsner, to Sigfried Giedion. While Semper’s “cladding theory” had initially been understood in terms of both its relation to physical properties and structural and functional values, leading to an expansion of cladding as a new genre of art, i.e. arts and crafts, Semper’s “architectural theory” instead explained cladding theory in terms of space. In disseminating Semper’s theoretical work, Schmarsow was especially important as he himself played an increasingly prominent role in expanding the boundaries of modernist architectural theory and practice from the beginning of the 20th century on.

Historically, rhythm has played a key role not only in musical composition, but also in architectural design. In 1893, architectural theorist and art scholar August Schmarsow, in "The Essence of Architectural Creation,” created a new definition of architecture as space-creation and characterized rhythm as a design principle. However, this new idea was confronted by Heinrich Wölfflin. While Schmarsow’s theory represents a dynamic world-view based on anthropomorphism, the architectural theory of Wölfflin is based on the notion of harmony, displaying a kind of conservative stasis. These two main streams have greatly influenced the development of modern architecture. The concept of space has prevailed in the discourse of modern architecture, but the principle of rhythm has seldom received any positive recognition. This article introduces and develops the concept of rhythm and disputes whether Behrens and Frankl in particular, two who dispute Schmarsow’s theories, have used the concept of rhythm in terms of space. I conclude that they could not overcome the notion of the physical—the body —, thus their use of the term rhythm is incongruous with the notion of space. The idea of rhythm in architectural creation remains an up and coming idea.