Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Existence, Space
Architecture
Christian Norberg-Schuiz
X
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Christian Norberg-Schuiz
Existence,
Space &
Architecture
PRAEGER PUBLISHERS
New York Washington
Series Editor:
Mary
Kling
35
by Studio Vista
WCiR 4SG
Number: 70-128598
Contents
in
architectural theory
12
14
Existential space
The
Geography
Landscape
17
18
20
23
24
27
28
28
29
3
3*
32
34
3 Architectural space
Domain and
district
Elementary interaction
The
Landscape
The urban
The house
The
level
interaction of levels
37
39
49
56
59
69
7
75
86
96
Conclusion
114
Photo-acknowledgements
115
Bibliography
116
Index
119
Foreword
Architecture
in
(1963)
tried
which deter-
as well as
semeiological
chcir logical
totality,
interrelations.
approach
is
at
scholars, based
tural form.
discussion
spaccm av^c'7iffli!iSI5flil-ii:L-a
coiKretiz ation
^EnSiQmiicimL^LbmiiiLLQLimig!>j-^J?ich
fom^^jlj^g^sarv part of man's general
^pa^
to
which
ideas:
is
Lund (Oslo),
(Zurich)t, Kjell
Colin St John Wilson (Cambridge), George
Baird (Toronto), Charles Jencks (London),
Giedion
book
is
dedicated.
CNS
Any
functional action
has particular spatial
implications
'Like the spider with its web, so every subject weaves relationships between itself and
particular properties of objects; the many strands are then woven together and finally form
the basis of the subject's very existence.'
Jakob von Uexkiill
is
^jnctijyi_fljl]jaULJlilifltIStajniiULJlflJtJfi
"-^"*"* ""-"'
fp
JQinuYliiil urirni If'""
act. In the languages of early or primitive
"
same word
for 'eye'
and
The
space of the ancient Egyptians was determined by the particular geography of the
country, and their language introduced the
directions
'downstream' and 'upstream'
rather than north and south. In both cases
it is clear that a cognitive concept of space had
not been abstracted from the direct experience of spatial relations. The spatial
intuitions of the primitive are concrete
orientations
localities
tional colour.
The Greek
T. Parsons
Socieiies
1966, p. 5
H. Werner Ewfiihrung
in die
Entwicklungspsychohgie
'953. P- 120
,
3
De Rerum Nalura
I,
420
left
Aristotle
to
to
develop
theory
of
Gesammelte Werke
(Akademie-Ausgabe),
P-376
5
II,
A. Einstein Geometrie
For
more complete
category
priori
different
of
human
understanding,
matter.''
The
faithful
'When mathematical
propositions refer to
reality they are not certain; when they are
certain, they do not refer to reality.'^
The
We
The
physical and mathematical space concepts, however, satisfy only a small part of
man's
10
original
need for
orientation.
By
^jfl S'"'^
Hp;^rrihf g
rVip
prnrp<j<^
ac
?nReorganism on surroundme
objects, ancT
'accommodationl.to_the_ogEOsite_stai,. Thus
fhi organism, rat!ie^!i^ submitting passively to the environment, modifies it by
imposing on it a certain structure of its own.
'Mental assimilation is thus the incorporation
of
objects
PinP|et
patterns
into
ends hv
of behaviour.'"
conceptsi.^ii^jiagamik^gaai
plT^TW^ffffonT t he perceptual snar " "*
Psy10
J. Piaget The
chology of Intelligence 195.
p. 8
//
]. Piaget and
B. Inhclder The Child's
Conception of Space 1956)
^1Tysica^o?fr3HS^mi^^Ei^iHir'
TclaTiom ^SgmaiiSpacSnEgrater
sa:anic
erceptual space
moaation'.'"
and
adaptation
.1
T^^^Sii^^^^^^^^^i^iiw^/uj^^nd^^he
;>tlblC-jLp!itc'
"Wfflinn'^i^^]
sche niLiia.
The
f.
latter are
a certain
have so
far di;^tjnp'"^'^-''^
h.^tu-,^,'p[
fiv
12 The
schemata
Inletligcnce p. IS6ff.,
space at the^
the 'lowest' level to logical
_
''''"
Tup
'^
rinr'
,,^IU^
ri'-ics
''\
c'''"'"''ng
'
lE
rnii"''''"' ''"'firm"'.
yt"""-"-"""]- '>''A-^nr.
ft,^
rp
'h<- tpri.^>,
j.^
come
rr>n-
enerpjY
his
We may
/J
.'
(p. 164)
'System of Aaion'
His system
(Societies p. 28).
space
We
environment to
settle
and
live, is a
purposes
modates
at
to the conditions
it
offers.
then are the relations between architectural space and the other members of the
system? Architectural space certainly has to
adapt itself to the needs of organic action as
Vi'hat
II
is
more
group
One
to
iin
social basis of
is discussed by
Piaget in The Psychology of
are
We
p. 6
growing '^hstradjQD-Lmm-DragmalitL-SDatie
at
more
vironment
toSrt^escnD^n^otTTp!^^HffTffff!^Rows
is
'
to
space
different
orientation
r^
and accom-
oj Intelligence 195) P- *
iiTWHAiiTin
Ttffm?3iaT^^neruatiot
lorms ma
L'nVir^nmcruTTBc cogniiivc__space__of_Ulg_
^wtTcIT
space
^^
satisfy
cretizatioinTman^existeritial snace7
B. Zevi Architecture
own
trans)
16 P. Frankl
Die Entwicklungsphasen
der neueren Baukunst 1914J
A. E. Brinckmann Baukunst
1956; P. Zucker Town
and Square 1959
S. Giedion Space,
Time and Architecture 1 941
//
Much
We
of early
concentrate
on the actual use of the term. Recently, as a
matter of fact, 'space' has become a catchword, which to many critics seems to explain
without further qualifications what architecture is all about. Bruno Zevi, thus, defines
architecture as the 'art of space', but he does
not really define the nature of the space he
talks about.'' Obviously his concept of
space is naively realistic, as is the case with
most writers on the subject, to whom space
to discuss the spatial implications
we should
S.
made on
to the
this basis; I
may
of Architecture 19643
pp. 522fr
20 S. Giedion 'Die
Ungreif barkeit des Raumes'
Neue
Ziircher Zeitung
Zucker.'* After
all,
the ques-
is
22/8-1965
is probably the writer who
has contributed most to the actualization of
the space concept. In his book Space, Time
and Architecture^'' he put the problem of
space at the centre of the development of
Sigfried Giedion
modern
architecture,
and
in later
works he
'^
in architectural theory
lem of space
The dome
him
is
changed by
It forces
it.
own
him
to
position
if
it.'^
some
references
to
the process
of visual
perception.
Most
studies
suffer
from
of architectural
space
still
which
on the
The
show
will try
and
it
defines as follows
space.^^
The
cool
limited
many
words
criticism as
Vogt-Goknil takes
her point of departure, and
critic
this
tries
it is
in
no sense neutral,
in other
to
man
finite,
distances
relative
.'-"
.
way
Swiss
and
heterogeneous,
subjectively defined and perceived;
writers to
The
'It
and
that
to arrive at the
'architecture
absurd
comes
into
when
the
21
Neumann,
Ficlitz,
group,
22
E. Schultzethe Archigram
etc.
See
W.
Netsch 'Forms
as Process' Progressive
Architecture
March 1969
C. Alexander Notes
on the Synthesis of Form
23
1964
24 H. Januen 'Ueber den
kunsigeschichtlichen
Raumbegriff' Sitzungsbenchte der Baverischen
25 U. Vogt-Goknil
Architektonische Grundbegriffe und Umraumerlebnis
1951
26 G. Nitschke 'Anatomic
der gelebten Umwelt'
Baueu -f Wohnen^
September 1968
2y
J.
Joedicke
'Vorbemerkungen zu einer
Theorie des
architektonischen Raumes,
zugleich Versuch einer
Standortbestimmung der
Architektur' Bauen +
Wohnen, September 1968
M. Leonard
'Humanizing Space'
28
Progressive Architect
April 1969
The same
Leonard says
:'
...
it is
man who
creates
and
We may
What he wants
to talk
about
is
exists'(!).
Joedicke,
thus,
starts
with
the
well
later
An
characteristic
made man
'enter'
for-
are
getting tired of the problem of space in
architecture and want to talk about 'structure',
little
historian
a look at the
as its
an architecturally
the specific possibilities
of movement and the drives towards
movement as one proceeds from the
entrance through the sequence of spatial
entities
is
and
one experiences the space accordingly. But
architectural structuring of that space
at
its
relation to the
from
it.'2
We
forward by
Rudolf Schwarz in his magnificent but somewhat esoteric books The Church Incarnate
and Von der Bebauung der l-rde." His
carefully worked out concepts will be discussed in more detail later, but it should
already be pointed out that his aim is to
fundamental structure of
describe
the
existence, of 'being in the world', and to
translate this structure into concrete properties of architectural space. A few quotations
Related
may
were
ideas
brought
ment of a
space in general.
has been said above,
understanding of existence as a
for
is
dependent upon
existential
space.
on
a better
To
it
is
clear
architectural space
understanding of
at such an
arrive
and anthropologists.
?o
Renaissance als
Onmdlagen
R. Schwarz The
Church Incarnate 1958;
Von der Bebauurig der Erde
31
1949
32
33
34
J.
Piaget
Lc Structuralisme 1968
pia:::a.
From what
J9 D. Frey Grundlegung
zu aner vtrgleichenden
Kiimitiisscrachaft 1949, p. 6
'
15
1932
36 M. Merleau-Ponty
The Phenomenology of
Perception 1962, p. 256
3y M. Merleau-Ponty
The Phenomenology of
Perception 1962, p. 285
38 M. Merleau-Ponty
The Phenomenology of
Perception 1962, p. 293
M. Heidegger 'Bauen
Wohnen Denken' p. 31
39
40
M. Heidegger
p.
'
29
p. 32
M. Heidegger 'Bauen
Wohnen Denken' 1954,
43
35
20
C. Norberg-Schulz
Intentions in Architecture
1963, P- 97
depth
is
dimensions'.^'' Later
in general
of place, which
... I arrive in a
my holidays, and it becomes the
my life
Our body and our
precedes "perception"
centre of
M. Heidegger 'Bauen
Wohnen Denken' 1954,
45
all
103
42
p.
of
village for
M. Heidegger 'Bauen
Wohnen Denken' 1954,
P-
Being
41
p.
tial;
we might
existence
is
just as well
spatial'.^*
detail,
'spatiality
of
human
Being speculative
life'.
work has
from
references
nature,
literature,
art,
anthropology,
psychology
and
philosophy. His arguments are weighty and
history,
existence.'"
16
is
substantial,
and create
most inspiring
In Intentions
it
Architecture
ought
to
have
in architectural theory.
space
2 Existential
Vale of Blackmoor was to her the world, and its inhabitants the races thereof. From
stiles of Marlott she had looked down its length in the wondering days of
infancy, and what had been a mystery to her then was not much less than mystery to
her now. She had seen daily from her chamber-window towers, villages, faint white
mansions; above all the town of Shaston standing majestically on its height; its windows
shining like lamps in the evening sun. She had hardly ever visited the place, only a small
tract even of the Vale and its environs being known to her by close inspection. Much
loss had she been far outside the valley. Every contour of the surrounding hills was as
personal to her as that of her relatives' faces; but for what lay beyond her judgment
was dependent on the teaching of the village school.
Thomas Hardy Tess of the d'Urbervilks
The
We
have
space as a
perceptual
^?n7!TBT 3, or irnUgL' IlI tni' I'nVin'mnent.
izatioi
ahstractcJ lioin the
Bemg a generalization
similarities of many phenomena, existential
space has 'object-character'.' Piaget says:
'An object is a system of perceptual images
endowed with a constant spatial form
throughout its sequential displacements and
constituting an item which can be isolated
in the causal series unfolding in time'.- He
demonstrates that the idea of a structured
world gradually develops during childhood
(perhaps on the basis of a few a prion
defined
"^lam^v
intuitions),
and
existential
system
stable
that,
necessarily,
com-
it
'
This means,
firstly,
is,
to
construct the world as a system of similarities, and, secondly, that he connects the
things recognized with particular places,
'
in the intelligence
sensations'.''
'Space
totality, a space.
situating
them
in
more comprehensive
ticular
structure
in
detail.
The problem
17
C. Norbcrg-Schuiz
Injcniions in Architecture
1963, p. 28
2
J. Piaget The Child's
Construction of Reality
'955. p. 92
J. Piaget The Child's
Construction of Realitv
"955, P- 91
6
J. Piaget The Child's
Construction of Reality
1955. P- 2'2
7
J. Piaget The Child's
Construction of Reality
I955>P- 217
C. Norberg-Schulz
Intentions in Architecture
1963, pp. 43ff., also Piaget
and Inhelder The Child's
M. Wertheimer 'Laws
of Organization in
Perceptual Forms', A
Source Book of Gestalt
Psvchologv (ed W. D.
Ellis) 1938
10
M.
Eliade Patterns
in
The world of
the child
Motorically and
is
'subjectively
perceptually a
child has little ability to 'reach out' into the
surroundings, and the environmental image
consists of few stable elements. But this does
not mean that a child's world is different
from the world of other individuals. Psychologists have shown that the elementary
structures are interpersonal, and that the
development of schemata follows a normal
course. Piaget thus demonstrates that the
infant's space can be described as a collection
of separate 'spaces', each entirely centred on
centred'.
a single activity.
The
first
relations
that
which
bring
closure
and
continuity.**
The
topological schemata are in the beginning tied to the things themselves. The most
say
schemata__consisnrr"tE^^allEEsEmn^^r'
iiii't'crlons
or
iS
we want
_ffiaffiiQLJ2laSLP..ro^imitY}j.
is
it
is
difficult
To
to achieve a consecration,
is
an
an
'The place
created by
word 'home'
also
easily lost
is
and that
it
takes a 'hard
is
always limited,
it
has been
place'.
experience
places. An ever-changing
world would not allow for the establishment
of schemata, and would therefore make
human development impossible.
move
what
is
the world!'
arc differentiated
centres therefore
place
would lead
to a final liberation
We
place attachment.
lem of 'mobility' in
should
point
out
from
here
that
structured
environment
recognize it,
tively invariant
place
We
is
:2
O. F. Bollnow Atimch
und
Raum
13
O. F. Bollnow
1963, p. 58
affairs
//
M. Eliade Paiurns in
Comparative Religion 1958,
p. 382
should
19
Memch
p. 41
194
O. F. Bollnow
Mensck und Raitm 1963,
16
p. 131
17
p.
50
Within
his
small.
The
surrounding 'outside'.
The
recall
is
world around."*
The
more concrete
existential concept, the conof place, and places are the basic
elements of existential space.
cept
infinite
20
place
is
many
history
Any
its
dynamism.
The
between
difference
the
horizontal
and
It is interesting to
;9
notice that the sphere
appears in architectural
projects to express a
model of man's
horizontal
axis.
behind,
foundationless) to
characterize the spherical
projects of I.edoux, BouUee
and Tatlin. He quotes El
Lissitzky, "One of our ideas
for the future is to overcome
the foundation, to no
longer be earthbound'.
!
The
20 E. Kastner Olberge,
Weinbergc i960, p. 95
up
or falling
The
earthly existence, or
succumbs
to
it.
The
axis
mundi
is
from one
The
vertical direction,
21
M. Eliade Paitcrns in
Cotnparalivc Religion 1958,
p. Ill
22 O. F. Bollnow Mensch
und Raum p. 171 says,
'By standing up
he
the
home
it
man's
leads
man's
thus,
activity,
ability to
'conquer
Master Builder
the tower becomes the symbol of victory and
defeat, and Serlio already interpreted the
vertical column as an expression of man's
power of creation.-- Gaston Bachelard
defines the basic properties of the house as
'vcrticality'
and 'concentration', and he
discusses the cellar and the attic as particumeaningful places.-' Quoting Joe
larly
Bosquet he also characterizes modern man
as 'having one storey only'.
nature'. In Ibsen's play The
If verticality has
is
man
it,
21
Going
to sleep
means
we
lie
down
we
stretch out,
world
2}
of
give
.'
.
to sleep,
24
Particularly significant
are the German words
'Scheideweg', 'Worsicht'
and
'Fortschritt'
literally
2$ O. F. Bollnow Mensch
imd Rautn 1963, p. 81
26 E. Cassirer The
Philosophy of Symbolic
2, p.
27 W. Miiller Die
Stadt 1961, p. 16
28
99
heilige
Bebammg
p. 15
finding
this fact in
movement
The
by man's actions.
contains directions which in-
29 K. Lewin 'Der
Richtungsbegriff in der
Psychologic. Der spezielle
und allgemeine hodologische
Raum
Nature, too,
dicate
qualitative
Psychologische
directions
cit.,
31
O. F. Bollnow Mensch
und
Raum
1963, p. 197
Thus
the
including
differences.
are limited,
for
Kurt Lewin studied this problem introducing the term 'hodological space' (from the
Greek word hodos meaning way),-" which
could be translated into 'space of possible
movement'.
Rather
than
straight
lines,
domains such
several
'security',
'minimal
experience'
etc.
mined
as
'short
work',
The demands
distance',
'maximum
are
deter-
con-
When
different
The
possibilities
of people's movement in
His
foothold.
individuals
cities
show
often chose
that
different
are in a hurry."
word
'orientation'
death. '^''
22
is
space.
lakes,
NMcm
EAST
somv
are
'places',
or by proximity and similarity of the constituent elements. For this reason Frey and
others do not introduce the concept of
more pronounced
'figures'.
there-
The domain
by
-3
32
W. Mullcr
Die
38
heilige
34 W. Miiller Die
Siadi 1961, p. 227
heilige
33
Siadt
96 1,
p.
35
K. Lynch
Thi:
Image
36
O. Spengler The
and
on
helpless, as
map
his personal
general
When
'characteristics'.
we
are
we
have relatively
visit
little
meaning
for us.
No
make up
a
image
cosmological
in different ways.
and
people
two
are
ends of
many
climate
creates
distinguishable
as
such.
tions
were 'place-oriented',
a great
living a
static
domains
Modern
as
factors, that
is,
well
to orient.
Elementary interaction
Places, paths and domains are the basic
schemata of orientation, that is, the con-
24
gives
come together
factors
he has
not
but
When
37
SS
inside-outside relationship
see Bachclard The Poetics
of Space 1964, ch IX
'^
39 O. F. Bollnow Mensch
und Raum 1963, p. 154
to be' in relation to
Any
circular.
Geometriza-
in
and
its
environment.
'star'
beyond, that
the outer.'^''
outside more
again that a
25
40 O. F. Bollnow Mensch
und Raum 1963, p. 100
M. Heidegger 'Bauen
Wohnen Denken 1954,
41
p.
26
42
Kampf der
1964
more
or
uniform
less
and
geometrical,
"
lower
define
densities
more
neutral
of the problem
is
mentioned
to stress that
environment
presupposes varying densities, and above all,
dense foci which serve as basic points of
human
reference.
therefore
is
com-
in characteristic ways.
this
detail,
and interpreted
in
human and
more
cultural
The
character
is
determines
environmental
present,
images
making them
most
of
feel that
people
they experi-
Norbcrg-Schulz
41 See
'.\lbic med IsianbuP
liyggekuml 1967, p. 104
44 M. Heidegger Being
and Time 1962, p. 146
Rome,
Istanbul, Paris,
therefore,
ist
raumlich'."
amusing
effect.'
"I'hi
Inn r
'
I'-'y'
's
.<.-t.-r-
:ln.^
K-inp
i\c,\\r\^
its dimenIrom th^ i^6rc e xienjej pouiiy inovemmi and m\^A^. ^^ wen .t^ \rm territorial'
demands. The urban level which comprises
>uh-levelsi 's mainly ii.nprmini-.1 hv \nruil
iiitcracium. 'hat k hv thr mmmon 'form of
life'. The landscape level results from man's
The
sions
interaction
ivith
the
natural
environment.
We
of
27
In thcatrc-decoraiion,
;
thus, we find 'large
furniture' or dolls' houses',
as well as 'miniature
landscapes'. Palladio in his
psychic
'
di'-
Kathedrah 1950,
p.
that of the Vroiind' on which the configuraof existen fial sparp [[{^y^ developed.
We
tions
'
125
is
der
4 P. Haggett Locational
Analysis in Human
Geography 1965, p. 18
5
Geography
The
This
fact
the
is
expressed
names of towns
ending with
and
the_
"
p. II
all
some sense
mmmW.
<
in
geo granhical level has a roirnitive chartourist, without, thougn, pecoming entirelv_
'^l^niight' rather t han 'lived', hut ~
acter. It
nilt^rs a limitecT
different As ax^'J
may influence the more directly and fully
range of possibilities for orientati on and
exnerienced levels. In the past the geojHpntifirpitjpp^ we may say that 11 _nas a
graphical level hardly existed. Instead we
^^p-^^-'-y' HPtPrminPd hy its smir-
by
is
real to
'ford'
Furt), meaning
'shallow place where a
may be crossed by
(German:
man
more concrete
ceived his
river
as
See C. Norberg-Schulz
'Mote med Istanbul'
'imitated. I'Afh^r
it
p iy"^
'Europe', the
inpntity
'p^^]frt-;'
or the"
doing assures a considercultural importance.^ It
also furnishes economical and ecological
infr^rmation ,hinh intllipnrp'j pan S Orieif^
tatinn in the widest sense of the term. The
places and paths ot geographical space have
an abstract character they do not represent
what is directly known, but are potential
elements of existential space. Thp r-r)j^pnf r.f
such
as
'country'
'region', and in so
^ple- pnlitiral pnd
life
situa-
tions,
'node', 'surface'
(i.e.
landscap e
The
^
28
of
been
~^-^^~-~-
level
tural properties.'
These
structural properties
existential levels
wading'
rrrr'''"
Although being primarily background, landscape thus has a structure of its own. It
offers areas where the development of places
is
particularly favoured, and it indicates
possible paths and natural domains. If we
bring together the different human needs
which are satisfied by the place concept, we
arrive at a formula
leads to activity.
where identity/security
place is formed where
(genius
topological
we
relationships:
may,
for
path,
Deviations from the straight line, however,
are usual, either to obtain something ('positive deviation') or to evade an obstacle
chain of mountains'
or 'a glade in the forest'. Let us repeat that
landscape always has the function of forming
the continuous background of our environmental image (as well as of our visual field).
If this condition is corrupted, wc stop talking
about landscape.'"
particular,
In
domains are defined by natural elements.
Slopes, edges, variations in texture (vege-
The urban
movement
that
('negative
deviation').'
tation
strongly
etc.)
suggest
On
MC
results.
indi\idiinl
is
such as a
lake,
DurinL'
place'.
find structures
development
his
iiisi(ners
structurci.1
:i
The elements
have a clear definition,
he
i-
lsc
relation to the
particular
properties
the
same
Mount
significance:
may
exist,
possibilities
but
it
tor
identification as a landscape
small
nriprir;.- qn:ilitv
fore,
Fuji
in
dimensions
reciprocally,
where
accentuate
large
each
the
tin-
single
iirh^in
\ny^\^^c.
identifiable
there-
place,
ought~
riM-
..-itl.-m.-nr in riny
il.^nsiTv
ih:m
li:is
to l-javc a higher
its s urroundings.
mean, however,
that
the
T his
town
is
does'not
closed
and
and
other
communication presupposes
town has someth ing to contnnute,
levels. _But
is
orientation
the
whole
sh:ircs wii
iinvihinp
llvin
which
must be admitted,
only occasionally
we
mosllv delcimiiu d bv man's own activities, that IS. bv his mlcractiun with a nianniadc environment. On this level, therelorc,
"
the basic form is what could be called 'our"
whuh
it
level
which
areas
become
'a
the
that
tlTat
li:!'-
:i
I'Ic'.irlv
Liii'^uiiuu iidiimk.
Wc
quality, therefore,
seems to
satisfy a basic
29
9 P. Haggctt Localional
Analysis in Human
Geography 1965, pp. 32,
62ff
10
For a further discussion
of the properties of
landscape sec C. NorbergSchulz 'II pacsaggio c
Topcra deH'uomo'
liJilizia
Modcrna
78, 1966
11
See 'Giglio Castello'
Byggekunst 6/1969
12 A. E. Brinckmann
Deutsche Stadtbaukimst der
Vergangenheit 1 9 1 1
Stadtbaukunst 1920; P.
Zucker Tozim and Square
1959
13 C. L4vi-Strauss
Structural Anthropology
1963, ch. VIII
In Appendix A to his
14
book, Lynch refers to rich
anthropological material
providing further
confirmation of the point
15
Lynch The
Itnage of
16
For the concept of
'sociaUzation' see NorbergSchulz Intentions in
Architecture 1963, pp. 37ff
We
When
warm
known
coat
as
is
like
may appear on
'it
all
sub-levels.
and
'districts';
conventowns usually refer to
squares {piazza, Platz, place), streets and
quarters and we may quote the writings of
A. E. Brinckmann and Paul Zucker as an
example.'- But he has given these well
known terms a new existential dimension,
'paths'
tional descriptions of
them to aspects of a
problem. His approach finds significant confirmation in an essay by Claude
Levi-Strauss, who discusses the image
natives have of their village." Levi-Strauss
shows that the image is based on simple.
rather than reducing
'visual'
@0
relations, but that it varies
according to the individual's position in the
social structure. He also points out that the
image-types correspond to real arrangements
found in primitive villages.'^ The inner
urban structure is thus a complex result of
individual and social functions which 'take
place'. The same basic elements are found
everywhere; they can, however, be combined
into several typical urban images. The most
30
also
human scale.
topological
'togetherness'.
often
did
The
'nodes',
who
but
still
arrives at the
more
is
understood
as part
of a
born
in the village
The house
The p pvate
spaces
common urban
idiuaMd-M
situated. Rut
we
fi'^jj
'"'^liin
^^"^
rl^^re
_2&
which
means
[j^pTT-pr
,it
va[-
^UiOS,
fact, give prime
range. Some forms ol' life,
importance to the common, public environment; the inhabitants dwell togerher as one
large community, whereas elsewhere the
house of the/uw;7v is the basic element.. In
both cases however, the fundamental func-.
tion oi Jtct'lling is fully expressed. Heidegger
.1"^'
:l
says:
'Dwelling
is
existence.'"*
The
piu-,-
house, therefore,
i.t
human
drum hab
Feme
cs gerne.'-"
'~^"^^~~~~^~"~~'
The
which
is
differentiated in
and connecting
house, and
their
co-ordinate
totality
only
table
mean
'to
When
he probably
The thing
ex-
presses a form of
How,
then, should
we consider
the lowest
iH
M. Heidegger 'Bauen
Wohncn Denkcn' 1954.
pp. 20, 21, 35
Quoted by G. Bachelard
The Poetics of Space 1964,
ch. II, 4
;9
H. Broch Gedichte
1953, p. 68.
(In the middle of all
distance stands this house,
therefore be fond of it)
20
21
G. Bachelard The
Poetics of
ch. I, I
22
Space
964,
M. Heidegger 'Bauen
2J
G. Bachelard The
24
This, of course,
a rule.
The
is
not
Hellenistic
2$ O. F. BoUnow Mcmch
tmd Raum 1963, p. 165
26 O. F. BoUnow Memch
und Raum 1963, p. 166
G. Bachelard The
Poetics of Space 1964,
ch. 111,4
27
G. Bachelard The
Poetics of Space 1964,
ch. Ill, 6-7
28
M.
SO
For a discussion of
representation see NorbergSchultz Intentions in
Architecture 1963, pp. i67ff
31
are
left
their
tions, ^Tiings^uauaLbL-liay. a
precise torm.
maximum
ol
the
have already
remembering.
tured
which
form
a struc-
corresponds
to the
structure of existence. Man exists in relation
to many objects: to physical objects, psychic
objects, social objects and cultural objects.-''
All these objects he encounters at several
levels the levels of things, of house, of city
totality
mentioned variation
level
today,
use?
It is
sequence of the
and
On
may
known,
or
from
practical
difficulties
in
is
The
interaction
between man and the environment, therefore, consists of two complementary processes which are directed inwards and
outwards respectively, in accordance with
Piagct's principle of assimilation and accommodation. The level-hierarchy of existential
space is therefore a product of man's taking
possession of his environment.
Existential space can also be described as a
simultaneous totality where the levels interact to form a complex, dynamic field.
Through perception, parts of the field arc
experienced, but the general image exists
independently of the individual situation.
This field is neither continuous nor uniform.
follows that domains may also contain subdomains as well as places and paths. The
fore,
are influenced
32
particular kind of
existential space. \X'c may
also point out the common
root in the words 'island'
that
development and
Yet this
preference for the complex and ambiguous
is
not limitless. Stimuli which are too
simple lead to quick boredom those which
are too complex lead to confusion and avoiddance. This suggests the idea that for each
person there is an optimal perceptual rate.''^
indeed encourages, the
The
expresses
in
the
incessant
tensions
inherent
life.
33
and
The
p.
'isolate'.
See Lynch
Intagt- of tfu
Citv
129
33
R. Vcnturi Complexity
and Contradiction
Architecture
1966, p. 22
in
New York
34 A. Rapoport and R. E.
Kantor 'Complexity and
Ambiguity in Environmental
Design" American Institute
oj Planners Journal, July
1967
A. Rapoport and R. E.
Kantor 'Complexity and
Ambiguity in Environmental
35
Design'
p.
214
A. Rapoport and R. E.
Kantor "Complexity and
36
Ambiguity
Design'
p.
in Environmental
216
M. Heidegger
37
Sein imJ
Conclusion
Zeit, p. 104
3S
wandern
Leben ist Einsamsein.
Kein Mensch kennt den
andern,
jeder
ist allein.
strange to walk
when every bush and
stone stands solitary, no
tree sees the other, each is
alone ... It is strange
to walk in fog. Life is
being solitary. No man
knows another, each is
(it is
in fog
cit.
220
(dusk
above, soon
jga
all
for
not,
instance,
social
integration
be
is
40 H. Sedlmayr
'Ursprung und Anfange der
Kunst' Epochen und Werke
1959, p. 9
41 O. F. Bollnow Menseh
und Raum 1963, pp. 257fF
determined by affective
is
Bollnow refers to the varying
character of natural space, and talks at
length about the forest, which is generally
other
hand,
identification.
relations to
activity implies
movements and
places. Existence
be somewhere'.
We
tential space.
tween one's immediate situation and existential space. When our immediate location
coincides with the centre of our existential
space,
not,
we
we
else',
or
experience being
'at
home'. If
we
are
'lost'.
climatic conditions.
ing
'Dammrung
from
proximity
'to
falls
far)
I,
schon
ist alle
The
34
The
We
To
some
existential
space.
Whereas
the
human
Many seem
development
to
believe
that
this
social interaction.
Thus
the
American
city-
formed ...
It
follows that
New
Babylon
On
the
a stable
out
points
that
'the
social
To
'Heiliger Raum
hciliger Weg'
44
have such an
J.
und
45
.VI.
M. Webber 'Urban
C. Nieuwenhuis
'New Babylon' Architectural
Design June 1964
46
pathologies
See K. Goldammer
Die FormemixU des
ReUgibsen i960, ch. IV, 2
43
47
as a
Mechanism
for
Human Contact'
Environment for Man ed.
sustaining
W.
R. Ewald 1967.
intimate
^'
'nonpatterned encounters with each other'.
In fact, it is a misunderstanding to believe
that a stable world and corresponding environmental images hamper man's mobility.
Kevin Lynch says that 'the environmental
image has its original function in permitting
purposeful mobility', and 'the terror of being
The
make
human
existence.
As an answer
to
this
of a mobile world is
anything but realistic. It confuses psychic
question,
the
idea
48
M. Heidegger 'Bauen
VCohncn Denken' p. 32
49
50
H. Sedlmayr Art
Crisis
in
the lost centre 1957
M. Heidegger 'Bauen
Wohnen Denken' 1954
5/
p. 23
52
p. 12
is not of a
economical, social or political
nature. It is a human problem, the problem
of preserving man's identity. In his 'free'
arrogance he departed from his place and
'conquered' the world. But he is left with
emptiness and no real freedom. He has
forgotten what it means to 'dwell', and
technical,
remember
Rilke's
words
The Odyssey
is still
that this
supposes
possible
which
'O
ich ihnen,
a valid tale.
is
still
Freedom
and
security
through
the
existential space
human
is
still
pre-
only
identity of
is
is
ment, therefore,
and
attitudes.
'Man cannot
is a problem of intentions
As Rudolf Schwarz says:
ing himself.'"
36
the case.
security,
3 Architectural space
It is
its
children,
space
be
PV,
I>1Y
existential
ol
is
d.
incd
as
space. 'nxTs^
psyctiologicaT concept,
denoting the schemata man develops, interacting with the environment, in order to get
along satisfactorily. The result of this interaction, however, will not be a finished,
complete image, it will normally contain
contradictions, and parts will be missing, for
example, the feeling of belonging to a
particular place. W'hen a group of 'lost'
young people in Oslo recently protested
against the commercialized use of land and
buildings in the centre of the city, their
slogan was: 'a place to stay'. The environmental image, therefore, comprises wishes
and dreams. To satisfy these wishes, man
tries to chdnt;e his environment. In other
words, architecture concretizes an image
which goes beyond the already existing
environment. It always reflects a wish to
improve man's conditions. Man's existential
space is thus determined by the concrete
structure of the environment, but his needs
and wishes create a feedback. The relationship between man and environment is therefore a
two-way process,
We
its
there
between
be
existential
an isomorphic
and architectural
needed
to grasp
its
structure,'
and when we
spaces which
concretize our existential space, the result
may not be liked by others. Man's relation
to architectural space therefore consists, on
try
to
create
architectural
must necessarily
a real interaction.
should
Ideally,
relation
physical counterpart.
is obviously based on a
of generalizations, as we order our
experiences according to their similarities.
But the concepts or 'objects' we arrive at
have relatively imprecise boundaries and a
low degree of articulation. Our conception
Our
private world
series
37
To
simplify the
2
This does not mean,
however, that we reduce
architecture to its physical
aspects. Architectural space
represents existential space,
and thereby the 'higher'
social and cultural objects
of man's world
J
tirst
1931
liiibM'dtuf
T^tblrc
MorM
ivcrM
SciMh'tit
wrl4
Ccj
4
Interference leads to
Schulz hnentions
in
See C. Norberg-Schulz
in Architecture'
Alcaning in Architecture
ed. C. Jencks and G.
Baird 1969
5
'Meaning
See C. Norberg-Schulz
Intentions in Architecture
1963. p. 31
38
call
'qualities',
the scientific
world as 'quantitative'. If the public world
corresponded to the scientific all meaningful
feelings and expressive activities would
become impossible.
it
is
natural
to characterize
One
To
make our
actions intentional.
When we
lay stress
is
on the word
intention,
it
them
pluralistic
'intentional
society
depth'.''
A modern
systems interfere,
the intentional depth. We therefore ought to
have knowledge of value systems other than
public existential
many
private
space which
existential
includes
spaces.
It
is
basic properties in
conflicts in
structural
are 'expressive',
from a
naive depiction. 'Expressive forms' and
'symbolic forms' are, therefore, synonyms,
signifying that measurable physical forms
different
domains and
paths,
whereby the
similarity,
levels
places,
of existential space
which follows
a fact
logically
from the
dis-
meaning.
The symbol-function
is
basic to
all
human
The
tural
How,
then,
docs
architecture
enter
this
pond
As it
Should
it,
public world?
one of the purposes of architecture
first
problem
to discuss
definition of 'centre'.
been shown
is
It
Lynch
into
centrations of
some
characteristic'."
Lynch
D. Frey discusses the 'mass-centre' or .\talMotiv extensively. He points out that the
mass expresses the condition of hcin^
39
See C.
7
"Intention
Norberg-Schulz
und Meihode
in
P-
59
10
K. Lynch
Tlic
Image
Byimckiinsl 2 1965 p. 32
life.
Tombs,
in fact, generally
12 D. Frey Gnmdkgung
zu einer vergleichendcn
Kioistzvissenschaft, pp. 6, 58
centration
is
a function of the
main shape,
as
Stepped pyramid
Saqqara, Egypt 2600 BC
III dynasty
(2)
^s.-;
t^^3j
t-K.-.-:
^^^^^:.
40
'-SisSw
(3) Acropolis
Athens,
fifth
century BC
it
surface
when
mass
surroundings,
is
lifted
up
vertical
in relation to its
axis
is
implied,
around
which
space
is
organized.
The
41
clustering
Bohemia
his
need
The
The
enclosure, in fact,
may
be considered
(5)
42
'
'Man's
domam
to these forces.
the
14
G. Bandmann
Archinkiur
Miililatlerliche
ah
Bedt'ututtgstriigt'r
1951,
pp. 133ff
(6)
Roman
amphitheatre
Wusserhiirg
Bavaria
(7}
43
am
Inn
(8)
Sinan
his ozvn
tomb
Istanbul 1588
abstract,
character,
(9)
Bernardo A. Vittone
<iOi
Bernardo A. Vittonc
the enclosed single space forms a complement to the concentrated mass, the enclosed
settlement corresponds to the cluster of
The boundaries of
such settlements may be natural or artificial,
but in both cases a clear distinction between
inside and outside is essential to the character of place. In many cases we find denseclosely spaced elements.
environmental
levels.
The
contradiction, as
is directed towards
.Mecca
it
(ii)
begun
in
1966
R. Schwarz
The Church lucarna te 1958,
16
p.
29
'centre'.
however,
centre because
tential space.
it
We
46
12)
Civic Centre
interior
(13) Le Corbusicr
La Tcurcttc Evcux, near
Lyons 1952-60
9 ^iHr-^Ufi
47
Michelangelo
Buonarotti Capitolinc
(i4)
Hill
Rome
1560
John Neponiuk
Gbllersdorf 1733
17
Michelangelo's
*S^'
details
4S
in the centre,
it
a 'tragic' note.
Few
people escape the fascination of the Capitoline Square, which touches the deepest
ground of our psyche.
The
place
all
man-made
18 R. Schwarz r/i<r
Church Incarnate 1958
/g
11/
settle-
along
occasionally,
or
potentially
'the channels
customarily,
moves'.'"
We
among
'ideally'
them
to
and
abstract axis
as well as vertical
components. In general.
axis
more
In
is
logical properties.
are identical.
(16)
Temple of Queen
Haishcpsut Thebes,
Egvpt 1400 BC
(XVIII dynasty)
49
Temple of Forlima
( 1 7)
Praeneste (Palestrina) first
century Bc
^fli^^^^^^^^^^l
Chapel
Cambridge 1446-1515
The
be interdependent.
In the early Christian church the interior
space is a 'place' apart and.different from the
world outside, but it is interpreted as a path.
Like a colonnaded Roman street the nave
leads towards the altar in the apse, expressing
that the path is the essence of existence. The
path of the Christian church, however, is not
without hope, like that of the Egyptian
temple; it has a beginning and an end. The
end is represented by the altar, which tells
us that the path of life has found, and contmues to find, its end in Jesus Christ.
People become part of a history that they
(2i)
Mediaeval
Street
Einbeck, Niedersachsen
particular path structures. In garden architecture, for instance, the path has always
Jacapo Barozzi
Vignola I'illa Lante
(22)
begun
must
has already
We
22
R. Schwarz The
Church Incarnate,
p. 102
52
/i.T^
(23) J- C. Schlaun
Project for Schloss
new
existential
feeling
late,
ot
but par-
found
in
thing.
>X'e
to
53
13 See E. N. Bacon
Design of Cities 1957,
pp. 180-181
(25)
Charles Bridge
54
Built to
arc basically vertical. Giving the feeling of
cases,
'26
Jacapo Barozzi
1558-73
55
spiral staircase
(27)
Francesco de Sanctis
Spanish Srcps
Rome
1723-25
Domain and
district
4istnc!^^E
MSmaS^SntTiTTTitie^^Iiic^SS-JiQnsist of
an endless variety of components: texture.
25
(28)
Le Corbusier
Cambridge, Mass.
spacCjfbnTTjdetail^symbol^buiy^^
26
domam m
relation to
its
surroundings,
(29) Eero Saarinen
Colleges Yale University,
New
57
Haven, Connecticut
(3o)
Norwegian landscape
Norwegian coast
(32)
tory of architecture.
straight or a pass,
We find
it
in nature as a
to civilization.
The
history of
physical and
its
Somalia
Elementary interaction
level as
from nature
Villagi:
content
In architectural space,
space, place, path and
as
in
existential
domain form an
what we may
The concept of
used in natural science to designate
the spatial aspects of a system of interacting
forces, and has been taken over by Kurt
field
call a 'field'.-"
is
59
K. Lewin Principles of
Topological Psychology 1936
28
Lewin
to describe
social context.-^
man's location
An
in a
psycho-
consists offerees
in a state of
may be
(33)
i'isa,
Austria
show
a high degree of
Renaissance architecture the idea of integration by means of
repeated, simple geometrical units, resulted
in principle in the establishment of a continuous field of Euclidean character. Analysing the buildings of Brunelleschi, however,
we find that organizing centres play a decisive role, thus contradicting the general
great
cathedrals,
spatial integration. In
^>^i^^^^l
2g See C. Norberg-Schulz
'Le ultime intenzioni di
Acta Institulum
this
Alberti'
Romanum
Norvegiae, vol.
I,
1962
30 See C. Norberg-Schulz
Michelangelo som arkitekt
1958
Architects:
Bramante,
Michelangelo, Maderno,
Bernini
whole.
The same,
for St Peter's in
Rome,
in spite of
Michel-
tion
fact,
and
is
centralized.
illustrates
the
Baroque architecture
solution.
consisted
elements,
(38) Leone Battista
Alberti 5. Andrea Mantua,
begun in 1472
62
Up
oval shape, in
aim of
to arrive at a synthetic
of
a
Its
characteristic
relatively
state
of
affairs
heterogeneous
which
is
still
1642
by inflecting
bounding surfaces he created a new
the
The
dynamic
zones
used for movement, in particular for entrances." Borromini's ideas were developed further by
Guarini who repeated the interrelated
centres and interfering zones systematically
to form extended patterns which interpret
the continuous space of Renaissance archi-
centralized
where the
fields.
tecture in
fields
not
new
tion expresses a
which
unifies
psychological synthesis
traditionally
distinct
char-
acters.
The
See P. Portoghesi
SI
Borromini, architttura
come hnsuaggio, pp. 384ff.,
also C. fsorbcrg-Schulz
possibilities
culminated
in
European architects of the eighteenth centurv, Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt, C.hnstoph and Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer and
'Borromini c
il
barocco
boemo' Accadcmia
di S.
Luca, 1970
32 Sec C. Norberg-Schulz
'Lo spazio nell'architet-
di Torino,
tura posl-guariniana'-
system
(41) Francesco Borromini
5. Carlino Rome: spatial
field of facade 1667, after
Portoghesi
^'
63
Christoph
Dientzenhofer
St Margareth Bfevnov near
(42)
Prague 1708-15
Ignaz
Dientzenhofcr combinatory
(43) Kilian
Kilian Ignaz
Dientzenhofcr iomhinatory
f44
Filippo Raguzzin)
Piazza di S. Ignazio Rome
(45)
1728
urban spaces.
Late Baroque architecture thus arrived at
integrated architectural fields, where centres,
dynamic
totality
sion
in
late
Baroque
architecture
materially
Norberg-Schulz Kiltan
Ignaz Dientzenhoftr e it
baroceo boemo 1968
(46)
Andreis Scandriglia
1965-1967
possible. ^^ In the 1920s the ideal was a continuous, flowing space almost completely
freed from defined centres and from the
distinction between inside and outside.
S.
first to
previous
exploiting
man's
with architectural space.'*' In
accordance with the task set - to build a
'week-end house' - Casa Andreis shows a
free and continuous space, with a strong
ingeniously
experiences
3S R. Venturi Complexity
and Contradiction in
Architecture 1966, p. 72
P. Portoghesi and V.
Gigliotti 'Casa Andreis a
Scandrigha, Rieti'
L'architettura 137, March
j6
tative differences
1967
collects
66
(48)
(49)
Casa Andreis
Casa Andreis
See C. Norberg-Schulz
'Die Architektur von Paolo
Portoghesi und Vittorio
37
Gigliotti'
Hochschule
fiir
(50)
Casa Andreis
{51)
Casa Andreis
(52)
Casa Andreis
(53)
Casa Andreis
demonstrates
The
concrete
is
architectural
(54)
all,
genius loci
Such
means
distinct character.
The
character
is
Casa Andrcis
first
to
my know-
problem. Rather we should ask how landscape, city, building and thing are able to
concretize the existential levels. The cosmological level can be largely ignored; it
cannot be concretized as such, but has to be
represented by structures appearing at one
of the 'lower' levels. The structure of the
geographical level however can, to some
69
/
H. Sedlmayr 'Zu einer
strcngcn Kunstwisscnschaft'
Ktmstzcisscnschaftliche
Forschung
193
1,
p.
27
'
2
See P. Haggett Locational
Analysis in Human
Geography 1965, passim
The same
Landscape
The
tect
Landscape Sogn,
western Norway
(55)
Norway
(centre above)
70
level of
more
directly.
3 The temple of
.Vlcntuhotep III represents
3 transitory solution, while
Queen Hatshcpsut abolished
the pyramid altogether. The
problem, certainly, also has
to be discussed in terms of
development
(57)
Landscape central
Norway
(58)
G. B. Bellucci(?)
a port-population
and an
Thus Luther
said 'Eine
feste
exemplified in countless
the port has the
character of enclosure, usually consisting of a
continuous row of houses around the water,
the real core of this type of place. For people
who grow up in a port, the boat, therefore,
becomes the meaningful means of movement, offering great freedom in the choice of
concentration, as
Mediterranean
is
villages,
Through
paths. "
articulates the
his
man
activities
domains implicit
also
in the land-
structure.
instance,
we
find
The
spiritual pilgrimage
is
made
just
difficult
as
72
Umbria 1228
(6o) L.
von Hildebrandt
720-24
farm Heidal,
Norway. Houses from the
end of the eighteenth century
(61) Harildslad
%^
periods aimed
geometrization of landscape. This first
led to the creation of small formal landscapes, which contrasted with the virgin
nature around. Later a fusion of formality
and nature was attempted (as in Villa Lante
mentioned above) until the Baroque park
realized a seemingly limitless taking possession of space by means of a system of geometrically organized paths. The structure of
the Baroque landscape, however, is more
at a
74
varied
general public.
Any environmental
structure presupposes a
general continuity of landscape space.
have defined landscape as the 'ground' on
We
stretched the idea to its extreme, by suggesting that the populations of Europe be con-
centrated in a limited
number of very
See Y. Friedman
large
The urban
and the
of our time.
level
Yona Friedman
Europe
63)
<:.
1965
Village near
Luxor,
Egypc
(64) Pitigliano
75
Tuscany
(65)
Village of the
Dogon
eighteenth century
L>.
Ring,
Row
.i!:iiji'imKf^
^^
The same
round
See E. A. Gutkind
International Encyclopedia
of City Development vol. I
8
villages of
Cameroun, where
Japan. Even in countries where the individual farm acts as a substitute for the
village, analogous types are normal.
In
Norway, thus, are found three basic farms
78
man's
nomads group
cretize
is
existential
their tents.
Today
ture.
new
Halen Berne
its
ciples.
As we have
seen,
its
general prin-
(yo)
Manhattan
aerial
view
planning.
The dense
district
is
today gener-
by a scattered distribution of
slab-like buildings, which hardly can be
recognized or imagined as a totality, except
perhaps from an aeroplane. The modern
street has become nothing but a means of
communication, lacking architectonic definition, and has accordingly been abolished by
a theorist like Hilberseimer. Even if the
pedestrian is separated from the cars, the
general belief is that he ought to move
freely among trees and flowers. And the
square, Lynch's 'distinct and unforgettable
place', has become a parking lot. As a con-
ally replaced
New
York presents
districts.
The
division
in
of Manhattan
being an island.
is
natural
character
Its
thus determined by its
defined circumscription gives us a frame of
reference which is basic to the formation of a
satisfactory image. Manhattan also shows
that districts may become very large without
losing their image. It goes without saying
that .Manhattan itself is divided intp several
subordinate
become the
intellectuals. In this
district-structure
hierarchical
consisting
of superior and subordinate parts. The varying character of city districts gives the
townscape the most elementary kind of
variation, and guarantees man's possibility
of choice. So far, the neighbourhood has
been considered a meri" functional unit. The
idea of characteristic districts, on the contrary, follows from understanding the basic
structure of existential space.
The
street
is
form
that
is
more
easily
imagcable. In the past it was a 'small universe', where the character of the district and
of the town as a whole was presented in
condensed form to the visitor. The street
represented, so to speak, a section of life history had shaped
its
details.
Today, how-
aspects,
such
is
as
We
the
new immense
New
scale
Avenue
in
(73)
Champs
Elysees Paris
"^^^
L^m^j
pect. It
is
them the
street
is
reduced to a subordinate
of
certain proportions, or the emphasizing of
properties common to several houses, such
as a typical roof, or an arcade on the ground
floor. The theme should, however, allow for
full freedom in the details. To make the
street wall appear as a varied repetition of the
same theme, a subdivision into relatively
small units is necessary. The large units
common today, therefore, do not only
destroy human scale, but prevent the street
from prcscrvmg the varied continuity which
is its essence. The principles outlined above
were commonly employed up to the nine-
theme might
consist
in
the
repetition
83
1492-1503
the buildings
themselves.
The
square,
finally,
is
the
most
distinct
'modern'
II
P. Zucker, op.
cit., p. I
view
thus,
needs.
coc.ditions,
the
square
satisfies basic
human
The
square
is
(76)
late fifieenth
the
buildings
should
form
continuity
tuated.
ings
reduced in order
continuous surface. According to
their form, many squares appear to be
composed of different 'zones'. This facilitates the simultaneous presence of several
activities, and also gives the experience a
ot'
to obtain a
variation.
Such subdivisions are
accentuated by introducing elements such
as fountains and monuments, by articulating
the pavement, or even by placing a whole
building within the space. Because of its size,
the square provides the necessary perspective
in which to admire main buildings of the
town, whose functions as physical and
psychological 'landmarks' are thereby accen-
certain
The elements
discussed
the geometrization
is
hardly perceived as
85
'
(77)
12
Tele
Moravia
87
were drawn on an
sheet;
directions
The house
While urban structures have
relatively
something
very concrete and palpable, which is, apparabstract character, a building
ently,
more
easily imageable.
interest of architects
is
The
conscious
86
theory of architectural form. Such a discussion, however, is not possible within the
limits of this book. Let us only say a few
words about the 'essence' of the house. To
find a common denominator for all houses
(buildings)
may seem
futile. If it
makes any
87
community.
Interior space is primarily thus defined by
topological enclosure. But it has also been
maintained that any enclosure has to com-
in,
as
well as
from the
These
points
R. Venturi Complexity
and Contradiction in
Architecture 1966, pp. 88f
7J
out
structures
surface
is
the
which
interesting
result
determined
'double'
wall-
the bounding
both from within
when
(8 1)
century BC
14
R. Veniuri Complexity
iind CofUrodietion in
Archiicciurc
(82) S.
Maria
delta
iiOL:.
iiiij
89
90
(84)
La Mariorana Palermo
1148
still present, hut the concaveconvex movement of the wall indicates that
the interior thus defined forms part of a
larger context. S. Ivo also shows a completely
new vertical integration; the space form has
been carried without change into the dome.
Baroque architecture thus provides a convincing synthesis of the two fundamental
surface arc
In orthodox
modern
house was
91
(85)
(86)
National Gallery
interior
92
(87)
VC'ingsprcad'
Wind
Point,
93
l6
When we
exclude the
new
ideal of
ever, this
ideals,
how-
into practice.
Even the
'neutral'
attempt
inside
Like
In Scharoun's Philharmonic
Hall in Berhn the core is a topologically
'both-and'.
Le Corbusier
Dame du Haitt
Ronchamp 1950-53
(88)
Notre
94
(89)
H. Scharoun
1956-63
H. Scharoun
Philharmomc Hall 1956-63
(90)
is in turn
foyer which,
in a fascinating way, expresses the action of
coming from outside in and being 'distributed'.
surrounded by
To
a labyrinthine
more
eighteen! h century
95
iSoulevard de Montparnasse,
Paris (Bouvier 1906)
96
The
'interior decorator'
meaningless
is
'differentiation'.
interaction of levels
The
all
The
landscape
level, thus,
t-OKlt.
is
regarded as
(93) Le Corbusier
La Tourellc Eveux, near
Lyon 1952-60
action:
identity
its
continuity.
depends upon
The urban
level
is
a general
distinguished
to
Kahn.
In general, the levels form a hierarchy. The
house, for instance, is essentially interior
Mai, that
is,
its
properties
A>
,M
X*''
i?iass
r't:p
%'^*
century BC
as
do not have
to introduce a 'collective
sub-
We
They
stantial
totality
signifies
that
life
is
both
The
'field'
of existential space
is
represented
"
fully
articulated.
Hellenistic
town
iS
S.
Giedion 'Constancy,
like
landscape structure in
the dual elements of sloping settlement and
I'ricne incorporates a
99
Francesco di Giorgio
Martini Ideal City 1451-64
(97)
*"-w*V'"'''^ t'm*rAt^,
a^l^
-TiA^
fort
>
P<
(<->
'
y \
\ /
1KI f^xr^inaMft 3
21
hill-top Acropolis.
still
level
shows
The urban
and
on building
fundamental interaction
a
between urban and landscape level by means
incorporates
them
in a
(98)
Illinois Insliiiite of
101
(99)
Louis
Kahn
A. N.
Richards' Laboratories
Philadelphia 1957-61
102
different levels,
form
in
spaces,
its
use as a general
modern environment
act
How
then can
whole'?
either a
we
'difficult
over-
22
See R. Wittkower
Architectural Principles in
the
Age
of
Humanism 1949
What we
103
(loi)
Paolo Portoghesi
E.U.R.
Rome
1961
often
iciid
i. ill v
deteranalyse a situa-
to a circiinist.ini
mined complexity.
When we
and domains,
more or
less 'open'
and more or
less
complex
Paolo Portoghcsi
and V. Gigliotti
(102)
lOs
more
or
The
situation.-'
ture, that
less
is, its
determined by
inarticulate
contents.
Paolo Portoghesi
and V. Gigliotti pro/'fcr
(103)
Parliament
Rome
1967
106
the
is
degree of articulation; an
If
satisfy
articulation
inarticulate
is
'general'.
(104-105) p. Portoghesi
and V. Gigliotti project for
the cxfftision of Parliament
Rome 1967
Rome
Contemporary
architects
are
greatly
pre-
meanwhile
creating
more
or
less
open
It
geometry
shown
that
concretize
existential space rather than playing with
geometrical patterns for their own sake.
Projects by Portoghesi and Gigliotti also
the
latter
uses
to
tures
arc
integrated
109
1969
Georges Candills,
Alexis Josic and Shadrach
Woods, with M.
(loy)
IIO
-^i
U^
i^
-^
c\
\i:\
:i^:\
III
(io8)
Henning Larsen
University
West
Berlin 1965
112
M
"
"
(109)
Yona Friedman
Paris 1965
Paris 1965
-
.-^^-t^'
1:
city, possibly
Conclusion
men^ji^jflggniiiiil-aff.^^ph^^j^t^iw Trorr
^Is^nowntnatsucr^niniage presupposes
the presence of certain concrete environmental (architectural) structures, refusing
to accept that these principles lose their
significance because of television
and rapid
means
of communication. Architectural
space may of course contain mobile elements,
and its complex structure comprises levels
and sub-structures which offer varying
degrees of 'freedom'. But it cannot as a
totality become mobile. Its general speed of
change has to be so slow as to allow for
history. When history is not related to a stable
system of places it becomes meaningless.
And, as a matter of fact, a stable system of
places offers more freedom than a mobile
world. Only in relation to such a system can
a 'milieu of possibilities' develop. As Louis
Kahn said, 'A city is a place where a small
boy, as he walks through it, may see something that will tell him what he wants to do
his
whole
life'.
man may
still call
Dossibi]jtJ^gij^^^2i^Er^'^^^^'^^^'^
g^atworKsofart
consists
their allowing
their identity.
offered
by
The
different 'interpretations'
a 'chaotic form',
on the contrary,
of the self,
burst like soap-bubbles. In ambiguous, complex but structured architectural space we therefore see the alternative
to the fatal ideas of mobility and disinte-
which
26
It is thus present in
Venturi's 'difficult whole',
in van Eyck's 'intermediate
spaces', in
Oskar Hansen's
own
Intentions in Architecture
1963, pp. I79ff)
M. Heidegger 'Bauen
Wohnen Denken' 1954,
27
p.
28
gration.
not a
new
The
24
A. de Saint-Exupery
are
new
114
still
'open' environment
and make
it
possible
for us to
become
citizen of the
world has
The
Photo-acknowledgements
like to thank all the architects who so generously supplied illustrations of
buildings, together with the following for permission to use their photographs in
30; A.
this book: Aftcupostcn 6; Rene Burri-Magnum 13; Wideroe's Flyveselskap
Winkler, Zurich 69; Freed-Magnum ; 70; Alain Perceval 73; Hcrsteller und Verlag, Lubeck
The
their
author would
own
AS
101-106.
"5
Bibliography
Alexander,
Synthesis of
Human
Rome
1965
Haven 1944
The Philosophy of Symbolic Forms (trans
by R. Mannheim) (Vol 2) Oxford University Press,
Press, 1955
Cook, Peter
Architecture
action
in
and plan
Van Nostrand
Space London
1969
Gaudenz 'Weg-Ort-Raum'
Bauen + Wohnen 9/1968
Doxiadis, Constantinos Ekistics Hutchinson and Co., London 1968
Einstein, A. Geometric und Erfahrung Berlin
Domenig,
1921
116
Frankl,
P.
Die
Entwicklung
der
neuen
New York
1968
I,
J. Macquarrie
and E. Robinson) SCM Press, London
1962; Harper and Row, New York 1962
Hilberseimer, Ludwig The New City
Chicago 1944
Jammer, Max Das Problem des Raumes
Darmstadt i960
Jantzen, H. 'Uber den kunstgeschichtlichen
Raumbegriff Sitzungsberichte der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften 1938
Jaspers, K. Von der Wahrheit Munich 1947
Jencks, Charles and Baird, George (eds)
Meaning in Architecture Barrie and
'
Leonard,
Association
Michael 'Humanizing
Space'
Werner
Die
heilige
Stadt Stuttgart
as
Process' Pro-
MoJerna 87-88
'Intention und Methode in der Architcktur' Der Architekt 6 1967
Ignac Dientzenhofer e il barocco
1968
'Sted, rom og eksistens' Byggekunst 1968
'II concetto di luogo' Controspazio June
Kilian
boemo
Rome
1969
'Borromini e
di
Torino 1970
'Paolo Portoghesi Vittorio Gigliotti Archi-
1960-1969' Hochschule
dende Kiinstc Hamburg 1969
tcktur
fiir
bil-
1969
New Jersey
1966; Prentice-Hall, London 1967
Piaget, Jean The Child's Conception of the
Parsons,
Taicott
Societies
'II
postnell'architettura
'Lo
spazio
guariniana' Accademia delle Scienze di
Gigliotti,
Scandriglia,
V.)
Rieti'
'Casa Andreis a
L' architettura
137
March 1967
Rapoport, Amos and Kantor, Robert E.
'Complexity and Ambiguity in Environmental Design' American Institute of
Planners Journal ]\i\y 1967
Reichcnbach, H. The Rise of Scientific
Philosophy University of California Press
1
95
World n.d.
Schwarz, Rudolf The Church
Incarnate
i^trans
il
1949
117
in
Crisis
the
lost
by B. Battershaw) London
1957
Die Entstehung der Kathedrale Ziirich 1950
'Ursprung und Anfange der Kunst'
Epochen und Werke I Vienna 1959
'Zu einer strengen Kunstwissenschaft'
Kiinstwissenschaftliche Forschimgen I Berlin
193
Sommer,
Jersey 1969
Unwin
Ltd,
Knopf,
New
(2 vols)
118
Uexkiill,
Jakob
Umwelten
von
Tieren
und
Menschen
Hamburg 1956
Venturi, Robert Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture
Art,
New
Museum
of
Modern
York 1967
Webber, Melvin M.
Wertheimer 'Laws
don
1949;
House,
revised
New York
ed.
1962;
Random
1965
Zevi,
1957
Index, persons
Alexander, C. 13, 35
Kant, I. 10
Kantor, R. F. 33
Aristotle 10, 21
Bandmann, G. 43
Bernini, G. L. 62
Bollnow, O. F. 14, 15, 16, 19, 20, 21, 22, 32,
Larsen, H. 109
Le Corbusier 94, 96
Leonard, M. 14
Leucippos 9
Levi-Strauss, C. 30
34
Borromini, F. 63
Brinckmann, A. E. 12, 30
Brunclleschi, F. 61
Lynch, K.
Woods
109
Cassirer, E. 22
Descartes 9, 12
Dientzenhofer, C. 63
Dientzenhofer, K. I. 65
Diirckheim, Graf von 16
Einstein, A. 10
Frankl, P. 12
Frey, D. 14, 15, 39, 40> 5
Haan, H. 39
Haggett, P. 28, 29, 70
Hansen, O. 114
Heidegger, M. 16, 26, 27, 31, 34, 35, 36, 115
Hilberseimer, L. 80, 103
Hildebrandt, L. von 49, 63, 74
Ibsen,
H. 21
Jantzen, H. 13
Jaspers,
Lucretius 10
15, 23, 24, 30, 33, 34, 35, 39, 49,
56, 57, 80, 86
Brunswik, E. 38
Candilis, Josic,
Lissitzky, E. 21
Merleau-Ponty, M. 15, 16
Michelangelo 46, 48, 62
Mies van der Rohe, L. 94, 103
Miiller,
W.
22, 23
Netsch,
W.
13
Nieuwenhuis, C. 35
Nitschke, G. 13
Parmenides 9
Parsons, T. 9, 11
Piaget, J. 10, 15, 17, 18, 27, 33, 35
Plato 9
109
Rapoport, A. 33
Rilke, R. M. 36
Rossetti, B. 83
Saint-fixupery, A. 115
Scharoun, H. 94
Schlaun, J. C. 53
Schwarz, R. 14, 15, 20, 22, 25, 28, 30, 36, 39,
45>52
Sedlmayr, H. 21, 34, 35, 37, 69, 72
Sinan 45
Venturi, R. 15, 33, 66, 88, 98, 109, 114
Vitruvius 22
Vittone, B. 46
Vogt-Goknil, U. 13
K. 20
Joedicke, J. 14
Jung, C. G. 31
Kahler, H. 50
Kastner, E. 21
Kahn, L. 98, 103, 109, 114
Webber, M. 35
Wilson, C. St John 46
Wittkower, R. 103
Wright, F. L. 94, 96
Zevi, B. 12
119
Index
accommodation
lo, 27, 33
action 9, 19
archetype 11, 99
architecttiral space 11, 13, 37, 59, 69, 114
articulation 91
meaning 38, 39
caput mundi 48
cardinal points 22
character 69
centre of the world 18, 19
closure 18, 20, 22, 39, 57, 78, 88, 99
opening 25
outside 20, 25, 45, 88, 94
cognitive space 9, 1
continuity 18, 22, 50, 78, 83, 85, 89, 95
edge 24, 29
Euchdean space 10, 12, 13, 15, 21, 22
existential space 11, 15, 16, 17, 18, 21, 22, 24,
27, 32, 34, 37, 114
experience 11, 13, 15, 34
expressive space 11, 39
extension 21
path 14, 18, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 31, 33, 35,
49, 50, 5i> 52, 53> 81
ring 20, 78
role 39
row 78
sacred space 21, 34, 72
schema
field 33, 59,
99
37
science 38
separation 91
symbol 39
genius loci 27, 28, 32, 68, 69
goal 14, 19, 22, 23
territoriality 19,
topography 22
topology 18, 25, 29, 30, 85, 86, 88, 100, 103,
105
home
human
unification 91
value 38
identity 25
120
20
vertical 21, 91
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