Gates

p
f
Territory and Form Combined

the l i m i t s o f the definition. Thus, the interpre-

i n any thematic way nor specifically articulated

tation o f what constitutes "covered" space may

i n any architecture.

The gate simultaneously engages f o r m and ter-

vary. What, f o r instance, is one to make o f the

r i t o r y I t encloses and connects physically de-

giass-covered street, the passage o f nineteenth-

(i), however, does serve a clear purpose. The

fined

settlement

century Paris, w i t h its celebrated equivalents i n

border between nations, guarded by customs

draws boundaries w i l l determine whether or

M i l a n and Brussels? Is the exterior door open-

agents i f not by the military, is also doubled,

not it has territorial meaning.

ing onto a partially enclosed covered porch an

opening only w h e n both sides agree. O n a lower

inside/outside gate?

level, this k i n d o f gate is atypical and anecdotal,

spaces. The way i n w h i c h

Even w h e n the gate does not constitute an

The open-air horizontal territorial gate

actual entrance into territory, its f o r m conveys

The horizontal rows correspond to three

protection, separation, seclusion, or the begin-

ways a gate may be territorially defined. I t is ei-

f r i e n d l y neighbors, a garden gate or an opening

n i n g o f another space. I n the suburban house,

ther a gate w i t h territorial meaning, or i t is not.

i n a hedge may offer unrestricted passage, par-

for instance, the entry door is not the territorial

I f territorial, i t may establish a vertical connec-

ticularly f o r children and pets. Adults may casu-

gate. Nonetheless, as the entry i n t o a home, it

tion (i.e., between public and private space) or

ally visit as well.

is sturdier, more solid than the interior doors.

a horizontal connection (i.e., between neigh-

Even w h e n other perimeter doors present vul-

bors), Accordingly, n i n e kinds of gates can be

not

nerable glazing to terrace, garden, or yard, the

distinguished.'

environmental balance. Our world therefore

f r o n t door is treated as a symbol o f strength and

and i t is not developed themafically Between

Thus, o f the n i n e possible gates, two do

generally occur, because they destabilize

knows seven gates, w h i c h seems just right.

security, belying its lack o f territorial f u n c t i o n .

Exploring the roles a gate can play be

Seven Gates

Seven Gates

tween f o r m and territory reveals the m u l t i p l e

interactions between f o r m o f enclosure and

The top o f the matrix highlights the reluctance

control o f space. A matrix w i l l server to orga-

of built environment to allow horizontal rela-

nize our inquiry, to map the range o f meanings

tions: two cases have not been numbered be-

related to the gate f o r m .

cause they are extremely unlikely to occur:

Gated space, when covered by a roof, is

Internal doors between neighbors ( i n / i n

denoted as "inside"; otherwise, i t is "outside."

horizontal) rarely exist. The closest environ-

This terminology conveys strictly physical

mental approximation occurs i n communicat-

nonterritorial-meaning. Combinations o f "in-

ing

side" and "outside" establish the three columns

t h e m to be joined into a single suite. The hori-

doors between

hotel rooms, p e r m i t t i n g

o f the matrix. Examples, i n sequence, are the

zontal nature o f their relationship is c o n f i r m e d

exterior house door (in/out), the door between

by the presence typically o f two opposing doors

two rooms (in/in), and the garden gate (out/

set w i t h i n the single frame: to open passage i n

out).

a horizontal territorial situation, both parties

Ambiguous situations w i l l predictably be

must agree. Yet the example is weak: once the

encountered; some interpretations that rely o n

doors open to create a u n i f i e d suite, territorial

conventional w i s d o m may prove debatable at

and vertical distinctions vanish. Otherwise, the

doors r e m a i n closed.
Gates or doors giving directly onto a

10.2

Matrix of gates.

in/
out
horizontal territorial

Suzhou, ChinaMoon gate, Zt)UO Zheng (Humble

Administrator's) Garden (page 180).

one's o w n house (in/out horizontal) may exist

here and there. But this f o r m is neither present

out/
out
1

vertical territorial

not territorial

neighbor's garden or courtyard f r o m w i t h i n

10.1

in/
in

Inside/Outside, Type 2

dows, corners, roofs, chimneys, and so on. But

Gate 2, leading f r o m the outside i n , crossing a

cidence o f boundaries at the door is a territorial

vertical territorial boundary, appears to be the

rip-off:

most straightforward example o f what gates are

represent inhabitation. Rather, we see archi-

about. Yet unambiguous residential examples,

tects engaged i n lively but purely f o r m a l , dem-

i n which one passes i n t o the b u i l d i n g right at

onstrations o f design prowess.^

on reflection, we realize that the complete coin-

the architectural elaboration does not

the boundary, are not easily f o u n d . As discussed i n chapter 9.1, the territorial boundary
seldom coincides exactly w i t h the physical gate.

Inside/Inside, Type 3

I n decidedly urban environmental fabrics such

as the Amsterdam canal house, the Georgian
terraced house, or the Bolognese arcade house,
territorial boundaries simply do not coincide
w i t h the door or gate into the building.

Territorial Gates

Paris o f Turgot

all o f t h e territorial meaning that implies, does

not follow c o m m o n daily usage. Yet even the
boarder's modest door constitutes a true territo-

Shops and zero setback townhouses, as i n

the eighteenth-century

To label the inside/inside passage a "gate," w i t h

rial passage. The landlady m u s t knock before

(see

opening i t . She is not to cross its threshold u n -

figure 8.1) do create a street wall w i t h doors

invited. I t is equally reasonable to also attach

leading directly into houses, shops, and work-

territorial meaning to a household

places, w i t h i n that urban environment, w h i c h

bedroom d o o r Adolescents as well as parents

consistently exhibits such gates, there are also

have persona! territories that others may not ca-

many courtyard b u i l d i n g types, w h i c h do not:

sually penetrate.

i n the latter, the gate is usually o f the outside/

outside type.
Architecture generally recognizes

Unambiguous

inside/inside

member's

vertical

gates abound i n the workplace. Offices along a

both

corridor all have vertical gates. These doors

the territorial boundary and the actual gate, and

have nameplates and w i l l be closed or opened

creates distance, some transition zone, between

to the pubhc as the inhabitant decides. Simi-

t h e m . This zone combines architectural articu-

larly we see inside/inside gates i n the shopping

lation and territorial meaning. The complete

mall, where each shop abuts covered pubhc

coincidence of territorial boundary and gate

space.

eliminates the possibility o f m e a n i n g f u l architectural elaboration.

Finally, still discussing examples o f type

3, we have the apartment door. Typically, there

Examples o f such coincidence are f o u n d

is no ambiguity: territory begins at the apart-

in the otherwise exuberant residential architec-

ment's gate. Corridor, stairs, and elevator land-

ture of the Amsterdam School. I n many cases,

i n g constitute public space i n the b u i l d i n g .

house doors are placed flat into the plane o f t h e

Both public and private space are inside. Oc-

street wall, w i t h o u t mediation between public

and private space. This poverty o f expression is
initially surprising, because the overall architecture is so highly articulatedconsistently
elaborated and expressively detailed at w i n -

10.3

Amsterdam SouthAmsterdam School entrance

doors to apartments. The building's edge coincides

exactly with its territorial boundary.

casionally, recesses i n the corridor wall may

street may be no more than we find i n the Latin

constitute private space, separating territorial

American

zagudn.

I n fact, the passage may not lead male vis-

boundary f r o m actual gate.^

itors to the courtyard at all. Before reaching it,

there may be a door, or a flight o f stairs, leading

O u t s i d e / O u t s i d e , Type 4

to the r o o m where the master o f the house entertains guests and conducts

Doors set flat i n a street wall are also f o u n d i n

outdoor covered spaces o f courtyard houses,

courtyard.

whether i n T u n i s i a n u r b a n fabric, classical ex-

The classical Beijing courtyard house

amples f r o m Pompeii and Delos, Chinese com-

clearly fits i n type 4. Its gate leads directly i n t o

pounds,

particuUers.

the first courtyard, where a gate b u i l d i n g stands

D e t e r m i n i n g whether the transition f r o m cov-

or

French

i n the axis o f t h e m a i n court. The two gates

ered passage to street constitutes an outside/

one at the street and one between forecourt and

outside gate w i l l depend on the way the pas-

m a i n courtare not aligned o n axis. The re-

hotels

sage is configured as m u c h as on individual

sulting offset prevents evil spirits f r o m enter-

judgment.

ing. The Chinese entrance gate is a b e a u t i f u l

I n Spanish colonial courtyard houses o f

Latin America, the zagudn
18 6

business. Fre-

quently, only relatives are allowed i n t o the

or connecting pas^

example o f an architectural gate i n an otherwise

unadorned wall. I t is usually decorated and i n

between

m o r e elaborate cases has a curved r o o f o f its

courtyard and street. The passage is perhaps a

o w n . I n r u r a l areas, the house gate also enters

r o o m deep. A dark space connecting two lighter

directiy i n t o a yard.

sage provides

unobstructed

views

spaces, i t constitutes an extended gate. Indeed,

the Spanish w o r d zagudn

Town gates throughout history may also

denotes the entire

be classified under this type. Medieval gates o f

configuration. The entrance itself is often a

smaller towns i n France and Italy often stand

double wooden door, each leaf o f w h i c h has a

i n the axis of a m a j o r street. But there are also

hinged wooden plank behind a single pane o f

m o r e elaborate examples; one may flrst be led

etched

glass. To facilitate surveillance f r o m

i n t o a forecourt, f r o m w h i c h the t o w n is entered

w i t h i n , the kitchen door is o f t e n placed o n axis

t h r o u g h a second gate. Invaders who penetrate

w i t h the zagudn,

at the rear o f the courtyard.

the first gate, trapped before they can proceed,

conflguration allows visitors to

can be assaulted by defenders atop the massive

gaze w i t h i n as m u c h as i t allows inhabitants to

walls. This c o m m o n ancient defensive prin-

m o n i t o r the street: an unblocked view through

ciple shaped the Lion Gate o f Mycenae and is

the pane signals that inhabitants are at home.

also f o u n d i n the remains

The zagudn

The M i d d l e Eastern courtyard house, by

o f the gates o f

Pompeii.

contrast, can best be classified under type 2.

However, as already noted, m u n i c i p a l ter-

Here, the passage f r o m street to court is never

ritory generally extends beyond the town's pewalls,

just

as

the

estate

extends

10.4

LeftBank, ParisView from the street into a

courtyard.

straight, f o r reasons o f privacy. Visitors t u r n

rimeter

two times before arriving i n the courtyard. This

territorially by virtue o f its open lands. The

transitional device reinforces the experience o f

t o w n gate's defenses are real, but become terri-

house. Within the entrance building a Z-shaped path

leaving the street and entering a building, al-

torial only at night, when the actual boundary

ensures visual privacy for the courtyard.

t h o u g h the actual distance between court and

withdraws to coincide w i t h the t o w n wall.

10.6

Village near Taiyuan, Shanxl Province, ChinaGate

leading to the yard of a newly constructed home. From

the air, scores of new rural villages In the surrounding

10.5

Village near Teheran, tranEntry gate to courtyard

land can be seen. All houses faithfully follow an age-old

vernacular typology.

10.7

San GImlgnano, ItalyTown gate.

Gates

Inside/Outside, Type 5
Doors opening onto a balcony are clearly inside/outside nonterritorial gates. A m i n i m a l i n terpretation o f this variant is f o u n d i n the
"French window," a narrow double door that
opens i n w a r d and leads out to a balcony reduced i n depth to no more than a foot.
Patio and garden doors are f a m i l i a r renditions o f the inside/outside nonterritorial gate.
They mediate inside and outside hving space
and invite various methods o f softening contrast. Awnings, vines, or trees may shade the
opening. Flagstone, tile, or wooden p l a n k i n g
may separate grass f r o m carpet. Glazed doors,
folding

or

shding,

may

open

entire

wall

sections.
Lack o f territorial m e a n i n g may dissolve
the gate f o r m i n t o a transition zone. I n other

10.3

Gates w i t h o u t
Territorial M e a n i n g

cases, such a zone may become quite extensive,

10.8

tracing a building's entire footprint, as is beauti-

ParisBoulevard elevation witii so-called French

windows. The windows reach the floor and have double

f u l l y articulated by the overhanging eaves and

casements opening as doors behind a metal banister

the extended p l a t f o r m s u r r o u n d i n g the traditional Japanese house, sitting i n its o w n garden.

Recessed paper sliding doors, combined w i t h
sliding shutters,

p e r f o r m the physical gate

function.
This transition zone can become more
and more immaterial. I n Malaysia, woven bam-

o f a gate f o r m have disappeared. But the tran-

boo screens allow the tropical breeze to pass

sition f r o m one

t h r o u g h the house and also filter light. Here en-

unmistakable.

place to another

remains

than six feet wide is sufflcient to make a single

space out of two. The pocket doors are drawn
together or apart to serve daily f a m i l y life as use

closure itself articulates transition, i n a differ-

demands. But they also allow more ceremonial

ent way t h a n i n the Japanese house. A m o n g the

interpretationas, f o r instance, w h e n enter-

more f o r m a l pavilions is the pendopo,

used by

Inside/Inside, Type 6

Javanese royalty f o r audiences w i t h common-

t a i n i n g guests, the doors are thrust apart to display an a r t f u l and elaborate dinner service.

ers, courtiers, and f o r e i g n dignitaries, as w e l l as

The inside/inside variant includes any house-

The inside/inside gate serves purely sym-

f o r performances o f dance and music. I n the

hold door devoid o f territorial meaning. This

bolic purposes. I t neither responds to territorial

shade o f a large tiled roof, held up by slender

type becomes particularly interesting w h e n i t

needs nor provides shelter. I n many Catholic

wooden posts, screens have dissolved: there is

ritualizes the uses o f space. I n the Victorian

churches, the choir screen and screens i n f r o n t

only a cool tiled floor raised a f e w feet above

house, we often flnd pocket doors between the

o f chapels serve this function.-*

ground, open to all sides. The last vestiges

parlor and d i n i n g room, A n opening no more

Outside/Outside, Type 7
The f i n a l type is, as m u c h as the previous one,
an invitation f o r architectural play and pomp.
The Arc de Triomphe, adapted f r o m the Roman
ceremonial gate, clearly belongs to this type. So
do many o f the arbors, pergolas, and additional
gate f o r m s f o u n d i n gardens solely f o r reasons
o f spatial delight.
The ancient Chinese, w h o mastered the
subtleties o f t h e gate f o r m , invented the "moon
gate" by m a k i n g a circular opening i n a garden
wall. T h i s pure and d e l i g h t f u l expression o f
the nonterritorial external gate type cannot be
closed, w h i c h is appropriate f o r a gate w i t h o u t
territorial meaning. I n m a k i n g the wall continue by our feet as well as above our head, the
designer lets us k n o w that the opening enters
i n t o another world.
ig o

In and O u t of T e r r i t o r y

n and Out of Territory

II.I

Supply Form and

Territory

I n t e r a c t i o n Between Territory and

many factors, i n c l u d i n g p r o x i m i t y to existing

ries into lesser ones. Tree f o r m s accordingly

Supply Forms

infrastructures o f supply and transportation.

branch out over territory. Supply f o r m and terri-

Decisions regarding supply f o r m follow.

torial levels roughly correspond at lesser levels

The relationship between f o r m and territory is

Once territory has been decided on, the appro-

o f territorial structure. Sewage pipes, telephone

inherent i n f o r m s o f enclosure: housing com-

priate connection to existing supply systems

fines, and power fines r u n f r o m the house i n t o

pounds, halls, and rooms are defined by p e r i m -

adding a branch at the lowest possible level to

the street, then toward m a j o r branches i n pre-

eter walls. Network f o r m s , such as the street net

an existing t r e e w i l l somehow be achieved.

sumably

that defines urban blocks, still represent enclo-

Configuration and reconfigurafion o f depen-

horizontal

sure f o r m s . But at a scale larger than physical

dent branches do not disturb existing supply

territories are avoided i n b u i l t environment, so

enclosure, networks and supply f o r m s may i n -

f o r m at higher levels.

similar territorial caveats apply to establishing

greater

territorial

crossings

space.

between

|ust

as

neighboring

vite territorial interpretation i n their o w n right.

The i n f r a s t m c t u r e o f supply thus i n f o r m s

I n the city, real estate desirability and value i n -

the establishment o f territory. Territories con-

crease w i t h proximity to a metro stop or access

nect to existing forms o f supply, thereby trig-

Supply lines that traverse private lots may

to a freeway. I n the country, we b u i l d close to

gering lower-level supply f o r m extensions. To

come f r o m easements controlled by public or

highway, canal, or railway station.

directly correlate supply f o r m and territorial h i -

private utility companies, w h i c h are protected

Settlement adjusts to l i n k w i t h favorable

erarchies remains impossible: the two exist i n

by law, Utilities need not be owned by the m u -

topography: the flow o f a river, solar orienta-

distinct, overlapping domains, Nor does supply

nicipality that controls the public space they

tion, prevailing winds, and site slope all i n f o r m

f o r m directly echo territory. As the cycle prog-

use, but they are o f necessity granted some spa-

territorial decisions. New development

resses, supply f o r m m u s t ultimately increase

tial control w i t h i n territories they do not own.

capacity, affecting all levels o f its hierarchy.

Thus, changes i n control w o u l d not be synchro-

simi-

larly sites itself to l i n k w i t h existing settlement

infrastructures, i n a n t i c i p a o n o f tapping into

physically echo territorial f o r m (which i n fact it

Crossing T e r r i t o r i a l Boundaries

seldom does).

Territory is containment: the f o r m s we control

f o r m hierarchy w o u l d coincide w i t h changes i n

structure, w h i c h is itself extended.

Connections to nearby supply f o r m s are

c u r r i n g at the same level.

nous w i t h branching, even i f supply f o r m d i d

access and supply lines. As new settlements develop, hues extend to feed f r o m existing infra-

permanent cross-links between utility lines oc-

Ideally, changes at each level o f supply

inevitable. I n f o r m a l development, roads, sew-

are kept w i t h i n the space we control. But supply

territorial depth: as we move f r o m slender

age lines, water, gas, and communications are

is conveyance; supply f o r m s transport things

waste line to thicker stack, to sfiU thicker house

made available right after lots are subdivided

f r o m one territory to another. Crossing territo-

collector, to increasingly larger mains, each

and put up f o r sale. But at the i n f o r m a l fringes

rial boundaries i n the process is, by d e f i n i t i o n ,

w o u l d correspond to a territorial level. But such

o f the urban world, territorial decisions occur

inevitable. I n branching d i s t r i b u t i o n f r o m a

isomorphic disposition o f two hierarchies s i m -

well i n advance. Settlers dig wells and waste

single source or line to many, numerous bound-

ply does not reflect reality: supply f o r m hier-

pits, and tap nearby power lines illegally while

aries are crossed,

archy is determined by technology. The capacity

I t seems natural that the supply f o r m

o f pipes, lines, and cables is one thing; the terri-

tension o f t h e infrastructure. T h o u g h the t i m e

should spring f r o m a source i n a greater terri-

torial depth they operate i n is another. Control

f r a m e f o r the meeting o f territory and supply

tory, branching to distribute itself to many

distribution over the supply f o r m is yet a t h i r d

varies greatly, the process remains the same:

lesser territories. Power produced at a regional

independent factor Nor are supply nodes coin-

territorial decisions come first, i n response to

plant must eventually service every r o o m i n ev-

cident w i t h territorial boundaries. U r b a n resi-

ery b u i l d i n g . A sewage treatment plant, con-

dential water fines c o m m o n l y connect to the

versely, must be reached f r o m every bathroom

m a i n under the street, not at the boundary o f

and kitchen.

private lot and public space.

b u i l d i n g a power base to eventually demand ex-

11.1

ChicagoInbound approach from the highway.

Photo by Landslides. Printed with permission (page 192).

I n a conceptual branching diagram, ser-

Agents i n control o f supply f o r m s fre-

vice supplies flow vertically f r o m greater territo-

quently operate i n f o r e i g n territory i n other

words, supply f o r m s are commonly/oreign ele-

Large-scale

utility infrastructures con-

ments i n each territory ("foreign" relative to the

tinue to move across and t h r o u g h setdements

territory they traverse). Utility companies claim

w i t h similar autonomy. I n the countryside,

access to the spaces where these elements are

high-voltage power hnes are strung as the crow

f o u n d , A t the regional and m u n i c i p a l level, con-

flies: steel towers m a r c h straight across land-

tracts, laws, and regulations protect the supply

scape, undeterred, f r o m one h o r i z o n to the

f o r m f r o m threats o f interference throughout

other. Where land ownership has not been con-

the various territorial jurisdictions i n w h i c h i t

solidated

under

the

power

authority, they

matter-of-facfly cross lot after lot o f private

m u s t reside.
The power d i s t r i b u t i o n line that runs to

land, sanctioned and even invited by ease-

the b u i l d i n g is owned by the electricity com-

ments. Above a certain scale, supply f o r m s

pany, up to the d i s t r i b u t i o n panel. Only after

inevitably

interrupt

human-size

territorial

compulsory inspection and approval o f t h e i n -

structure, exhibiting true dominance by higher-

ternal installation (and its installer) may private

level f o r m . They do not therefore escape terri-

m a n i p u l a t i o n o f the f o r m be permitted at the

torial structure but rather relate territory on a

deepest levels o f the private building.

provincial and national scale.

As technology becomes more f o o l p r o o f

and as a globally networked citizenry becomes
m o r e technologically savvy, such authority is
s h i f t i n g . Thus, Dutch and American telephone
companies have finally relinquished control o f
telephone Unes and systems w i t h i n the building. The user now freely strings together a netw o r k f r o m a single access point, removing the
utility, and any service obligation, f r o m that
deepest territory. Power, gas, and sewage systems, however, pose hazards that make the relat i o n between technical control and territorial
control more complex,'
Supply f o r m and territorial structure do
ultimately correlate o n the scale o f the small
b u i l d i n g and the street, however contrapuntal
or syncopated their combined r h y t h m may be.
But the parallels entirely disappear as scale i n creases. This is n o t h i n g new. I n gently sloping
to m a i n t a i n water flow, aqueducts have crossed
valleys, roads, and private estates f o r m i l l e n n i a .
As part o f t h e landscape, they operate o n a scale
that transcends small settlement

boundaries.

Even i m p e r i a l Rome's geometric subdivisions

o f land were likewise ignored.

In a n d O u t o f T e r r i t o r y

High-Rise A p a r t m e n t D w e l l i n g

Alternative systems that distribute sewage

Supply Form and

Dwelling

within

the

territory

they

o f t h u m b . As long as the house remains a

serve,

single household territory the match is near

Territorially, the high-rise apartment b u i l d i n g

avoiding encroachment o n downstairs neigh-

perfect. But w h e n it behaves more like a large

represents a neighborhood, encompassing

bors, are currently being instituted experimen-

b u i l d i n g containing many territories, a gross

o f included territories. But supply

tally i n the Netherlands. Inhabitants' demands

m i s m a t c h between the house and its supply

f o r m d i s t r i b u t i o n does not suggest any such

for autonomy i n deciding on layout w i t h i n ter-

f o r m s easily comes about.

model, as horizontal boundaries are continually

ritory, f o r the right to customize dwelling, i n -

crossed. Sewage lines f r o m an apartment com-

teriors, is providing the incentive. The new

override efficiency i n civil engineering solu-

monly occur i n the territory o f the downstairs

technology that makes this possible is also

tions. I n the row house, downstairs bathrooms

neighbor, r u n n i n g horizontally above the ceil-

proving more efficient and cost-effective than

and kitchens are usually located i n the center

i n g , toward a stack. Whenever repairs or m a i n -

current systems.

or rear o f t h e house, R u n n i n g sewer collectors

number

lines

Territorial

considerations

sometimes

tenance are required, the downstairs neighbor's

Building technology research and devel-

across backyards along the rear facade, and

territory is entered; should leaks occur, her

opment to date have focused primarily on the

simply increasing their w i d t h incrementally as

property w i l l be damaged.^ Central hot-water

performance

systems.

total drainage volume increases, w o u l d dramat-

heating systems i n apartment buildings also

Clearly, i n the large building, whose structure

ically reduce pipe lengths and diameters. Yet re-

c o m m o n l y r u n supply and r e t u r n lines verti-

o f territorial control and inhabitation resembles

pairs to the sewer m a i n would then occur at

cally behind the facade, l o o p i n g to and f r o m ho-

that o f a small neighborhood or street, the para-

back doors, patios, decks, and gardens, necessi-

rizontal mains i n the basement. Again, a single

m o u n t issue is redistribution o f control. Where

tating

supply or return line runs across a n u m b e r o f

this has occurred, i t has also entailed rethink-

r u n n i n g the sewer mains horizontally across

territorially horizontal boundaries.

i n g a complex process of professional interven-

territories w o u l d create an unattractive chain o f

tion that has been i n operation f o r a long time.

dependency among home owners.

Inhabitant and professional alike still

of

appliances

and

territorial

encroachment.

Moreover,

model the large apartment b u i l d i n g concep-

Neighborhoods o f private owners there-

tually as an overgrown and overcomplicated

fore readily adopt the "less efficient" solution,

house. Therefore, these f o r m s o f deployment

Row House D w e l l i n g

appear as logical as they w o u l d be i n a single-

i n w h i c h relationships between hierarchically

equivalent branches are mediated through a

f a m i l y residence. But w h e n the b u i l d i n g is per-

The m o d e l o f the traditional urban row house

higher-level branch occurring i n public space,

ceived to be a three-dimensional neighborhood

on its o w n lot offers a clear relation between

under control o f a public authority For ex-

containing a n u m b e r o f independent dwelling

supply, territory, and enclosure f o r m . U t i l i t y

ample, streets i n the Netherlands are generally

units, technological deployment differs. Thus,

supply f o r m s r u n i n the street or above i t . Each

public

European hot-water heating systems were de-

house has its o w n branches. Ideally, a solitary

whereas yards r e m a i n quite private. U t i h t y

veloped to serve each i n d i v i d u a l

agent w i t h i n each house controls subsequent

companies accordingly install all lines under

apartment

f r o m a heating u n i t that fits easfiy i n a closet,

distribution.

property

under

m u n i c i p a l control,

the street, categorically r e f u s i n g to enter pri-

territory

This standard arrangement f o r m s the ba-

and supply f o r m . Distribution occurs w i t h i n a

sis o f m u c h o f our technical and legal h a n d l i n g

I n the United States, the suburban devel-

single territory and the u n i t is under the con-

o f supply f o r m s . The house u n i t thus served

oper responsible f o r sewer fines and i n control

t r o l o f the inhabitant. Water and gas are piped

is conceptualized not as a territory but rather

o f both levels o f f o r m o f street and house

f r o m a m a i n i n a c o m m u n a l vertical chase that

as an object. Relative size and contents o f the

l o t s w i l l routinely r u n the lines across lawns

is, ideally, both an extension o f and accessible to

object do not substantially affect residential en-

(preferring backyards

the public corridor. As this system has rapidly

gineering. Nuclear or extended families, reluc-

driveways must be crossed). Even then, ease-

overtaken older alternatives, i t has also turned

tant or aggressive electronics consumers, are all

ments occur only at lawn's edge, where their

out to be the most cost-effective solution.

supplied according to generous universal rules

presence constitutes a m i n i m a l territorial i n -

providing a perfect match between

vate territory.

to f r o n t yards,

where

f r i n g e m e n t . I n public housing schemes, however,

sewage

lines

frequently do

traverse

backyards, as close to the buildings as possible,

o n purely economic grounds. Impliciy, the
housing authority considers all backyards to fall
w i t h i n its own territory and w i l l operate there
w i t h i m p u n i t y whenever repairs are needed.
The conflict between territorial interests
and installation costs is thus resolved i n various
ways, depending on the control pattern at hand.

In a n d O u t o f T e r r i t o r y

Discontinuous Foreign Elements

Continuous Foreign Elements

As we have seen, technology, economics, and

Discontinuous f o r e i g n elements deliberately

situations of control all play a role w h e n local

arrayed i n diverse territories include conglom-

territory is occupied by extraneous elements o f

erates o f subsidiary m a n u f a c t u r i n g facilities,

infrastructure i n c l u d i n g supply systems. Such

dealerships,

foreign

may occur on all scales and

representatives o f religious and political net-

dements

need not always be damaging. A distinction

works, and m i l i t a r y bases. Such configurations

o f discrete and dispersed f o r e i g n elements are

that spill over f r o m neighboring territories, i n

by definition under control o f a single agent

defiance of horizontal boundaries, and those

outside the territory o f their location. That

that belong to larger territories and serve gen-

agent can unUaterally decide to withdraw t h e m .

eral c o m m u n a l interests (or even specific local

I n the U n i t e d States, businesses that orig-

interests). The f o r m e r are problematic, while

inate elsewhere require no specific permission

the latter foreign elements may be inevitable or

environmental organization.

Limitations O
Territorial A u t o n o m y

franchises,

must be drawn between those supply f o r m s

even desirable, constituting an integral part o f

I I .

retail outlets, chain

per se f r o m local authorities i n order to cross

jurisdictional boundaries and establish them-

certain universal and inalienable c o m m o n law

for utilities are ideally positioned i n public

rights to settle freely among all entities. They

space, accessible f r o m the corridors. I n Japan,

are thus constrained only by local zoning, plan-

general practice.

:>

selves locally. Commercial enterprises enjoy

I n apartment buildings, vertical chases

^^^^^^^^^^^

Elsewhere,

ning, and other environmental control entities,

such a solution is o f t e n considered too expen-

b a n k i n g boards, licensing boards, and so on.

sive. I t is also often technically possible to place

Distribution o f such "foreign elements" is o f t e n

all bearing structure i n public space, avoiding

seen as m u t u a l l y beneficial, b r i n g i n g jobs and

freestanding columns w i t h i n dwellings. B u t t h e

"outside" money to be spent locally. M u n i c i p a l i -

increased expense o f long span construction

ties offer substantial tax benefits to woo outside

produces no sizable benefits i n relation to inte-

commercial investment and job creation.

rior articulation.

But external control o f local shops and

I n the case o f federal highways r u n n i n g

facilities has its price. There is frequently little

t h r o u g h states and counties, there rarely exists

confluence o f interests between local territory

alternative public space available on that territo-

and the far-flung commercial network. A t the

rial scale. Highways and the land they occupy

very least, territorial power remains vulnerable

thus must be carved out o f included territories

to sudden withdrawal of the very benefits that

to become pubhc space, and solutions are sel-

made inclusion so desirable.

d o m f o u n d to the satisfaction o f all involved.

A conceptual model of distribution of foreign ele-

This holds true more generaUy f o r afi infra-

11.2

structures distributed throughout state, county,

ments within a territorial structure:

Territorial Access f o r Goods

and m u n i c i p a l levels. Recent vast increases i n

(a) Foreign elements organized according to hierarchy of

the variety extent, and density o f supply and

Admission into territory may be required to i m -

web f o r m s have added a new d i m e n s i o n to this

port goods f o r use,

venerable phenomenon.

Goods sold extraterritorially must

management.

consumption, or trade.
move

up

(b) Location of elements within territorial structure.

In a n d O u t o f Ter ri t o r y

t h r o u g h territorial structure then descend again

Paradoxically the proliferation o f exten-

i n t o included territories. W h e n the distance be-

sive and unmediated large-scale infrastructure

eminence of dispersed foreign elements, evi-

tween the point o f departure and point o f deliv-

has gone hand i n h a n d w i t h explosive growth

dencing

ery is increased, so too territorial depth to be

i n acts o f settlement at the small scale o f a sin-

commercial

crossed may increase. The issues related to this

gle r o o m , house, or neighborhood. The two are

This also signals d i m i n i s h i n g scope o f local ter-

movement, paralleling those having to do w i t h

closely related, feeding and j u s f i f y i n g one an-

ritorial control.

foreign elements, are as old as trade.

other, indeed to a large extent creating one

O n overland routes, each crossing into a

another Territory experienced as an environ-

local municipality or fiefdom occasioned taxa-

mental structurerather t h a n as a political,

tion, i f not harassment. I n the Netherlands, f o r

market, or military domain^occurs at the rela-

instance,

tively smaU h u m a n scale, tied to such fields o f

medieval castles were strategically

placed along delta branches o f the Rhine and

c o m m o n setdement.

Maas rivers to extract rights o f passage. Ancient

institutional

networks

of

organization.

The increasing size o f buildings. Three-

dimensional

expansion

of the

urban

field

brings both a disorderly array o f supply f o r m s

and a denial o f territorial autonomy on the
smaller domestic scale. A n increasingly com-

Everyday personal experience o f small-

plex field is thereby rendered more rigid.

It is too soon to assess the long-term

the risks, they were preferable to the hazards

leagues live, work, or shop. W h e n we exit into

m e a n i n g o f these trends. The observed phe-

encountered i n repeated

the public realm, the w o r l d seems to comprise

nomena are at present intensifying, but not

giant infrastructures and ubiquitous institu-

entirely new: i n environmental matters, new

overland boundary

distribution

seeking to

o f consumer

goods,

tions. W h i l e traveHng, we do not easily venture

beyond

f a m i f i a r networks. V i s i t i n g

distant

there is no m e r i t i n territorial structure. The

cities and countries, we seldom penetrate into

ideal diagram f o r consumerism exists at a

small-scale domestic worlds where we do not

single level: that o f the nuclear f a m i l y w h i c h

k n o w anyone. We may not even notice their vast

consumes w i t h i n a u n i f i e d network o f glo-

extent as we fly over them. We experience the

bal markets (see figure ri.3b). A l l intermediate

m o d e r n w o r l d as increasingly pubfic and large

territorial crossings represent

scale, while i n the actual occupation o f the

only potential

earth's surface, the smaU scale and the local is

g r o w i n g at a tremendous rate.
We have a good deal o f anecdotal knowl-

A S h i f t i n g Balance

edge o f a p r o f o u n d and f u n d a m e n t a l change i n

territorial autonomy W h i l e we tend to equate

Configurations o f foreign elements serving aU

such change w i t h the large scale, we may do

manner o f commercial and institutional pur-

well to scrutinize its smafi-scale manifesta-

poses have become ubiquitous. Vast contempo-

tions. I n historical perspective, we begin to note

rary supply f o r m s , webs and networks, and

several i m p o r t a n t phenomena affecting mod-

widely dispersed institutional and commercial

ern territorial structure:

configurations are increasingly apparent.

Higher-level f o r m s are c o m i n g to define

(b) Lines and crossings in shallow territorial structure.

global

scale settlement is usually fimited to places i n

barriers.

(a) Lines and crossings in deep territorial structure.

and

in

which we or our relatives, close friends, and col-

maximize

Access lines and crossings:

grovi^h

and even the open seas, o f necessity: whatever

For commercial enterprises

11.3

3,

The increasing number, variety, and pre-

ships therefore phed the Mediterranean coast,

crossings.

204

2.

and control all levels of physical environment.

I.

The increasing n u m b e r and variety o f

supply f o r m s penetrating d o w n to the r o o m

Traditional gradations o f territorial structure

level, wdth a concomitant increase i n complex-

appear to shape the emerging contemporary

ity o f environmental systems.

environment less and less.

structures always grow and t r a n s f o r m out o f the

old. Whether present conditions jointly herald
a permanent structural shift to an as-yet undefined and unprecedented environmental hierarchy, Of are merely generating temporary local
disturbances while s h i f t i n g a fundamentally
unchanged environmental structure i n t o a new
balance, remains u n k n o w n .

Shiftsin Territorial Structurf

s h i f t i n g Boundaries
Horizontal

shifts

necessitate

Increasing Density
negotiation

individual

horizontal

shifts

fre-

quently reflect broader patterns o f intensifica-

scale, negotiation may be replaced by force. On

tion. Throughout Latin America, towns were

the urban scale, tensions and disputes between

usually laid out w i t h lots large enough f o r free-

neighbors are c o m m o n . But shifts negotiated

standing houses and gardens. Blocks o f t e n

i n good faith to the advantage o f all parties also

eventually ended up w i t h townhouses on m u c h

occur w i t h great regularity.

narrower lots.

The urban block's inherent

flexibility

is

D u r i n g the nineteenth century, European

readily apparent. I n place o f the initial u n i f o r m

historic urban centers were under intense pres-

lot division, there may be sales o f double lots or

sure. U r b a n population grew, while the city's

larger. Two lots make f o r a large house, three

territory (and its legal possibility f o r expansion,

lots may be divided i n two, and so f o r t h . Similar

throughout m u c h o f Europe} remained severely

moves can be made i n the course o f t i m e after

restricted. Intensification resulted i n backyard

i n i t i a l construction, leading to new b u d d i n g .

i n f i f i i n g . H i d d e n behind older d o w n t o w n build-

But exchanges can be more piecemeal. Jo-

H o r i z o n t a l Shifts in
Territorial Division

Incidental

among neighbors. O n an international or tribal

aters, and schools.' These buildings required

Roman courtyard houses conceived i n a very

dedicated access f r o m the street.

clear and obvious typology.' U p o n closer scru-

entry was achieved by t r a n s f o r m i n g an existing

tiny, we suspect rooms have s h i f t e d f r o m one

sideyard into an afiey or else the ground floor o f

Sometimes
209

house to another. They show a b l i n d wall to the

an older building provided access. Sometimes a

abutting courtyard onto w h i c h they w o u l d once

townhouse was demolished, providing narrow

have opened. A door now links t h e m to the

street frontage for a wide building.^

other side o f t h e presumed demising line.

has

changed i n this regard since Roman times. I n

the historic centers o f Dutch canal cities like
A m s t e r d a m and Delft, we find houses w i t h rear
yards extending behind the house next door; i n

12.2

all probabifity a prosperous owner bought part

to line up along territorial boundaries facing the atrium,

o f his neighbor's backyard to extend his own.

peristyle, or garden. At various places, the territorial

PompeiiFragment of urban fabric Rooms tend

boundary shifts, causing one or more rooms to then face

In the opposite direction. This has been interpreted as the
result of negotiations between neighbors, causing a horizontal territorial exchange. After Overbeck.

12.3

The HaguePart of the nineteenth-century

Density increased during the industrial revolution,

fabric.
while

city limits remained Inflexible. Schools, factories, and even

12.1

Squatter settlement near Monterrey, MexicoThis

ings we find large new ones: workshops, the-

hannes Overbeck's map of Pompeii portrays

We can safely assume not m u c h

public buildings were built in backyard space with a nar-

picture was taken several days after the land was first

row entrance to the street Drawing by H. Reljenga,

Invaded (page 206).

courtesy of SAR.

Increase of Public Space

The balance o f power between a greater territory and its lesser included ones is not necessarily stable. I t is n o r m a l , f o r instance, f o r
public streets to be widened over t i m e under
the pressure o f increasing traffic. The implications o f this move, already discussed i n the context

o f changing

higher-level f o r m

in

an

existing fabric (see chapter 2.1), are inevitably

territorial.
I n the fabric o f Cambridge, Massachusetts, we can still read evidence o f the original
late-seventeenth-

and eighteenth-century

es-

tates and can trace their gradual subdivision to

accommodate more and more individual territories. Sometimes this residted i n adding a new
street to the public realm, as was the case w i t h
Appleton Street, carved out o f the Lee estate.

12.2

Vertical Shifts in
Territorial Division

Sometimes a dead-end street, like Clement Cir-

211

cle o f f Sparks Street, was introduced, the better

to utilize the deep gardens o f t h e original estate.
I n such cases, a portion o f the private space was
surrendered to make the r e m a i n i n g land yield
more revenue.*
A n increase of public space may thus result either f r o m pressure f r o m above or f r o m

witnessed citizens extending structuresand

12.4

intensification o f available land w i t h i n i n -

with

street was laid out across the anginal Lee estate, thereby

cluded territories.

street. Sidewalks were c o m m o n l y occupied,

them, territoryby b u i l d i n g into the

or whole streets were built over at the second-

Increase of Included Territories

extending the pubiic space of the urban fabric. After a

drawing by Susan M. Fogel.

floor level, straddled w i t h columns or walls to

12.5

carry the new construction. The resulting pat-

tesy ofJamel Akhar

tern o f partially covered streets is characterisI n the Western urban tradition, the division be-

tic o f m u c h traditional M i d d l e Eastern u r b a n

tween public and private space is generally

environment.

structural. Although the d o m i n a n t territorial

Appleton Street, Cambridge, MassachusettsThe

Such small-scale

interventions f o r m e d

power may increase public space by asserting

part o f a remarkably sophisticated and deliber-

rights o f eminent domain, citizens i n control

ate process. I n broad general terms, a m a j o r for-

of included territories do not c o m m o n l y usurp

mal principle i n this urban culture was that

large portions o f public space. By contrast, his-

anything was permitted, as l o n g as one did not

toric Middle Eastern urban tissues frequently

h a r m one's neighbors. I n other words, i f neigh-

Tunis, ca. 1900Postcard showing overpass. Cour-

S h i f t s in T e r r i t o r i a I S t r u c t u r e

bors tolerated the proposed change, i t was

done. I t was ultimately possible to block o f f
a street by simply b u i l d i n g across i t . Jamel A k bar reports such actions continuing i n newly
constructed Saudi neighborhoods, though no
longer sanctioned by the Westernized laws o f
Saudi Arabia. Where i n f o r m a l traditional control remains active, age-old territorial transformations still occur, albeit w i t h

concrete

Western-style buildings.^

Sidewalks under O c c u p a t i o n
The M i d d l e Eastern example is the result o f a
bottom-up process. D o m i n a n t top-down control inevitably impUes increased proportion o f
public space. Preoccupation w i t h public space
was already noted w h e n we discussed Amsterd a m School architecture (see chapter 4.3). Cooperatives i m b u e d w i t h the ideals o f a socialist
society were design clients as well as end users
o f these celebrated neighborhoods. Their vision
o f a new w o r l d was shared by their architects
and by the enhghtened technical bureaucracy o f

onto t h e m . To this day gardeners c f i m b down

For a developing country, it is well-nigh impos-

the A m s t e r d a m municipality. Size and quality

f r o m windows to reach their territorial exten-

sible. A state o f general neglect inevitably

o f pubhc space were greatly emphasized. Many

sion, or else detour t h r o u g h the c o m m u n a l hall-

comes to characterize such spaces. Scorched by

streets exhibit very broad sidewalks,

way and street.^

the hot sun, they are at best sandlots f o r soccer

and other ball games. A t worst, they quicldy be-

By the 1960s, the A m s t e r d a m School

come d u m p i n g grounds f o r trash and broken-

neighborhoods' original population o f bluecollar workers was gone. Inhabitants no longer

Expanding Rearward in Public Housing

down cars.
Enterprising

shared the original occupants' pride i n the re-

inhabitants

of

adjacent

12.6

Amsterdam SouthGardens, carved out of the

sidewalk space by citizens in the 1960s, were subse-

nowned social h o u s i n g experiment. D u r i n g the

Public housing throughout the w o r l d is, by

apartments sometimes invade. Surrounded by

era o f student revolts, administrators control-

d e f i n i t i o n , a top-down process. As agents rou-

otherwise barren waste, we t h e n see fenced-in

No communicating doors exist between the gardens and

spaces within the building.

quently accepted by the municipality as private territory.

l i n g the inner-city housing estates were sud-

tinely seek to sofidify and expand their realm o f

gardens w i t h i n w h i c h vegetables and f r u i t trees

denly p u t on the defensive. Inhabitants defied

contro], public space i n such estates is max-

are cultivated. As the fences go up, the vertical

the anonymous m u n i c i p a l bureaucracy and its

imized. Following the modernist canon, public

boundary i n the territorial balance is shifted,

assertion o f control o f all outside space.

estate dweUings are designed to stand a m i d u n -

but no depth is added. I n other cases occupants

fenced lawns and gardens.

of mass h o u s i n g actually b u i l d out, c l a i m i n g

Clearly cooperation was required for neighbors to build

territory f o r rear extensions

extensions on the second and third floor, supported by

I n a clear and deliberate invasion o f public space, sidewalks were converted into gar-

M a i n t a i n i n g that m u c h public greenery is

dens. No ground-floor apartment doors open

d i f f i c u l t even f o r the affluent European state,

r o u n d i n g wasteland.

f r o m the

sur-

12.7

CairoPublic housing occupants have extended

their apartments to the back of the building, which overlooks a street servicing the front of the next building.

columns.

r
Top-Down Action
Increasing density i n an u r b a n environment
leads not just to the intensification o f available
private space, as witnessed i n previous chapters; i t may also lead to an increase i n territorial
depth. Two processes may be distinguished
here. I n the first, a territorial power, i n a "topdown" action, w i l l subdivide its o w n space to
create increased depth, usually to enable more

12.8

intensive use (moving f r o m figure 12.8a to b i ) .

diagrams.

occupy public space to make it their own.

Transformation from (a) to (bl): An Included territory may

Transformation from (a) to (b3): Included territories sacri-

Increase In territorial depthPrincipal

schematic

Transformation from (a) to (b2): Included territones

I n the second, action is "bottom-up": a number

o f included territories j o i n forces and appropriate their o w n public space f r o m the more

in turn encompass included territones.

fice some of their own space to make shared public

space.

general public space, thus increasing depth

(moving f r o m figure 12.8a to b2).
To examine the first process, we may consider the dead-end streets created to subdivide
large private landholdings i n Cambridge, Mas-

12.9

t^Aexico CityBack-to-back housing. Built in the

backyard of an older residential building, the houses are

two rooms deep and one room wide. Light must enter

Increase in Territorial

sachusetts. Initiahy these were privately con-

through the front door The high back room accommo-

Depth

trolled. To reach the inhabitants, one first had

dates a wooden loft for children's beds or storage.

to enter a c o m m u n a l dead-end street, whose

creation constituted an actual increase o f territorial depth. Eventually the dead-end streets
were placed under control o f the municipality
and became an extension o f general public
space, w i t h consequent loss o f territorial depth.
A similar move, i n a more dense urban
environment, has been observed

i n central

Mexico City. Courtyards of large nineteenthcentury urban houses provide access to backyards, now converted into a narrow afiey w i t h
houses one r o o m wide on either side.
Here the forces that created the infamous
"back-to-back" houses o f nineteenth-century i n dustrial cities like B i r m i n g h a m and Glasgow
StiU r e m a i n at work. There, too, the type was
born i n the gardens o f larger houses. Later, i t
was utilized i n new construction, because o f the
extremely high densities i t yields.

215

I n discussing

territory as interpreting

f o r m , reference was previously made to patio

claim, occurring when public authorities can

no longer control public space.

houses that had become small villages con-

A similar development o f t h e 1960s cre-

t a i n i n g a n u m b e r o f individual households (see

ated the Dutch woonerf; inhabitants lobbied m u -

chapter 8.3 and figure 8.6). This way o f increas-

nicipalities to discourage

i n g territorial depth is familiar: conversion o f

residential streets, m a k i n g t h e m safer f o r local

The

municipalities

through traffic on

single-family mansions into apartment build-

use.

ings is part and parcel o f urban intensification.

scaped the streets to discourage traffic, facilitate

obligingly

reland-

The patio house, being a highly territorial f o r m ,

parking, and render public space safe f o r chil-

allowed this change w i t h m i n i m a l physical

dren at play and f o r adults washing and re-

change.

pairing their cars.

I n Santiago de Chile's turn-of-the-century

Compared w i t h the straightforward terri-

fabric, alleys now give onto entire neighbor-

torial s h i f t i n St. Louis, the woonerf is ambigu-

hoods erected i n backyards. Alleys w i t h i n such

ous. Residents undoubtedly consider it their

"cits" are o f t e n separated f r o m the m u n i c i p a l

territory But ability to prevent entry is the u l t i -

street network by wefi-articulated gates.

mate territorial test, and the woonerffmls

i t . Nor

was there a shift i n responsibility. Rather, a benevolent accommodation was agreed u p o n , and
control remained i n the hands o f the m u n i c i -

Bottom-Up Action

pality. Woonerfs are f o u n d i n upper-middle-class

The second way to increase territorial depth oc-

professional neighborhoods whose inhabitants

curs w h e n those controfiing existing territories

have access to those i n control o f pubfic space.

act jointly, c l a i m i n g part o f the general public

Another bottom-up way to increase depth

space and converting i t into their o w n pub-

occurs w h e n included territories each sacrifice

lic space at a lower level (see figure iz.Shz).

In

some o f their o w n to jointly create c o m m o n

St. Louis, M i s s o u r i , f o r instance, neighborhood

space (changing figure 12.8a to b3). B u t ex-

h o m e owners organized to purchase their street

amples

are

uncommon.

Though

neighbors

f r o m the municipality. I n r e t u r n f o r tax abate-

m i g h t convert portions o f their private back-

ment, they agreed to m a i n t a i n the sewers and

yards i n t o a gated c o m m u n a l yard, actual occur-

paving at their o w n expense. I n effect, they cre-

rences have not been documented.

ated a virtual c o n d o m i n i u m . Before long, the

newly created territorial level was closed o f f at
both intersections by wooden booms, operable
only by inhabitants.
Wherever adjacent territories j o i n , comm o n public space must be created. Individual
territories can each contribute a part o f their
o w n to the c o m m o n space, but more often public space on the new level is carved out o f the
larger public space already there. Such moves
o f t e n result f r o m overextension o f the public

Shifts in T e r r i t o r i a l S t r u c t u r e

B o t t o m - U p Change: A Dearth

municipafity assumed control based o n mainte-

of Examples

nance requirements. Given the contemporary

A decrease i n depth does not come about easily.

find technical grounds supplying the rationale

The bottom-up process implies that lower-level

f o r appropriation; but i t remains an exercise o f

agents invade shared public space and reappor-

power all the same.^

primacy o f technology, i t is not surprising to

t i o n i t i n its entirety to enlarge their o w n ter-

More t h a n one and a h a l f centuries before

ritory. The next level up becomes their new

a m u n i c i p a l utility altered territorial structure

public space. Consequently, one gate p r o v i d i n g

i n traditional Tunis, Napoleon's army d i d so i n

access to the original c o m m o n space is replaced

Cairo. Cairo's many territorial levels were i n -

by as many gates as there used to be at the bot-

variably marked by gates: i n addition to individ-

t o m of it.

ual residential entry doors, gates closed o f f the

A l t h o u g h easy to posit i n diagram (figure

Decrease in Territorial
J_2i . A

12.ID, m o v i n g f r o m (a) to (bi)), i t may be topo-

collector streets f r o m w h i c h these dead-end

logically d i f f i c u l t i n practice.

afieys branched

For

instance,

were

also

gated,

marking

when the c o m m u n a l space to be usurped is a

neighborhood boundaries along m a j o r urban

dead-end street, every house on that street may

thoroughfares. Street gates were not symbolic,

not be able to m a i n t a i n direct access to public

as was the case i n i m p e r i a l Beijing. Instead they

space beyond i t . Another case could be the re-

were sealed every night, to be opened again at

,.

. ,,

. .,

verse of one cited earher: neighbors m i g h t con-

'-^^P''-'^

dead-end streets shared by these houses. The

vert a gated

c o m m o n backyard space into

private yards.
Yet another

dawn.
I n 1798 the occupying French army set
about establishing a single u n i f i e d public space
by demolishing aU intermediate gates. Their i n -

single

tent was to extend public space without inter-

lower-level territory first annexing aU others

variant

involves a

r u p t i o n f r o m the m a i n t o w n entry to each

w i t h w h i c h i t shares the use o f c o m m o n space.

residential f r o n t d o o r

Subsequently, there is only one included territory. C o m m o n space consequently loses its purpose and is easily incorporated as well, Again,
it is difficult to find clear peacetime examples.

A l t h o u g h the

act is

clearly documented, the impact o f this drastic

territorial restructuring is not. Moreover, the
French missed many gates o f dead-end streets
because they mistook t h e m f o r more familiar
forms: entrances to private courtyard houses

Top-Down D e m o l i t i o n of Gates

like those i n Paris.^

The French occupation was short-lived,

A decrease i n territorial depth is more easily

but throughout the surviving fabric o f historic

12.10

conceived f r o m the top down, as a greater terri-

Cairo, gates are invariably missing or not i n

diagrams.

torial power appropriates public space c o m m o n

use. A l t h o u g h their absence must i n part reflect

to territories o n the level now removed (figure

the gradual attrition o f lower-level territorial

12.10, m o v i n g f r o m (a) to (bz}).

control i n conjunction w i t h modernization, the

I n the case o f Tunis, d e m o l i t i o n o f the

Napoleonic action that preceded these changes

gates i n dead-end streets occurred d u r i n g i n -

was a deliberate attempt to b r i n g about pre-

staUafion of an urban sewage network. The

cisely such flattening o f territorial structure.

Decrease in territorial depttiPrincipal

schematic

Transformation from (a) to (bl): Included territories jointly

annex and divide existing shared space between
themselves.

Transformation from (a) to (b2): Encompassing territory

Invades and annexes Included terntory.

Napoleon's Perspective

and

dynamic territorial

structures

brought

f o r t h by inhabitation. Their very lack o f func-

in

those

commercial

buddings

The drastic intervention o f Napoleon's army

tional d e t e r m i n i s m made

this possible. Ex-

ant do we begin to find plan layout o f a more

prefigured the highly centrahzed mode o f oper-

amples as diverse as the Loire VaUey chateaux,

open-ended nature. W h e n interior subdivision

ation characteristic o f many contemporary gov-

Diocletian's palace at Split, and the remains o f

o f large floor areas is customized, territorial

ernments,

Knossos suggest spaces arranged directly and

depth may emerge. But this trend toward Open

within

societies

aspiring to

the

administrative power to control citizens o n all

sequentially There may be stairweUs and ser-

Building

social levels. The architecture o f Claude-Nicolas

vice corridors, but the architecture is one of pro-

adopted, nor is it compatible w i t h aU institu-

Ledoux gave clear expression to that assertion

cession, o f a sequence o f spaces.'^ A l t h o u g h it

tional b u d d i n g types.''

o f bureaucratic power, which was already i n evi-

is sometimes hierarchically ordered, i t aiways

dence before the French Revolution.^

creates a virtual landscape

The Salt Works at Arc-et-Senans demon-

220

Only

where fit-out between facades is left to the ten-

f o r inhabitation.

Such buUt environment possesses rather open-

strates an architecture of absolute and central-

ended monumentality, always suggesting f u r -

ized control. Its concentric layout placed the

ther possibilities o f territorial depth.

director at the center. As m u c h as i t actually fa-

This quality begins to waver i n the En-

ciHtated visual control, the design symbolized

Ughtenment, then abruptly disappears w i t h

the presence o f the all-seeing eyeso graphi-

modernism's first large institutional b u f i d i n g s .

cally depicted by the architect h i m s e l f a t the

It is instructive to compare the territorial struc-

center o f this artificial universe. Inside, the

ture o f the Salt Works, the Panopticon, and Na-

buildings have corridors leading to large m u l t i -

poleonic Cairo w i t h the territorial structure o f

purpose rooms. W i t h i n their confines, several

the m o d e r n institutional b u i l d i n g , i n which, f o r

families frequently came to dwell together.

the first t i m e i n history, the corridor acts as the

The concentric layout o f this executed

p r i m a r y structuring space. I t connects to afi

plan relates i t to another architectural icon o f

other floors and entrances via stairs or eleva-

the Enlightenment, the Panopticon o f Jeremy

tors, as a rule r u n n i n g continuously along each

Bentham,

of

floor. Be i t office b u i l d i n g , laboratory, hospital,

space: i t was to be centrally controlled and of

or school, the contemporary b u i l d i n g features a

m i n i m a l territorial depth. Certainly, Bentham's

corridor spine that arrays rooms as expediently

variant o f this m o d e l is perverse: gates that lead

as possible. Its f o r m expresses the shafiowest

to lesser territories are sealed f r o m without, vio-

possible territorial structure i n so direct and

lating the most basic principle o f territorial

immutable a manner that acts o f settlement

structure.'" But Ledoux's f o r m a l l y superior Salt

cannot increase territorial depth.

revealing simUar

conceptions

Works architecture is only a shade removed

Corridors manifestly result f r o m a centrahzed process o f design, refiecting centralized

f r o m such perversion."
numerous

social organization. They have now estabUshed

rooms is o f equal interest. I t signals another

an institutional typology enshrined i n codes

The

corridor

connecting

means to flatten territorial depth. Earfier, we

and regulations as m u c h as i n custom. A f u l l

observed that large bufidings i n the past, such

understanding o f their ubiquitous emergence

as Versailles, frequently comprised relatively

as a trademark o f institutional b u i l d i n g wiU re-

simple f o r m s . But they could contain complex

quire historical perspective.

practice

has

not

been

uniformly