What, then, do we mean with the word ‘place’? Obviously, we mean something more than abstract location. We mean a totality made up of concrete things having material substance, shape, texture, and colour. Together these things determine an ‘environmental character’ which is the essence of place. In general, a place is given as such a character or ‘atmosphere.’ A place…
01. Architecture, City, and Landscape as a Total Environment I conclude this series of three articles focused on place, architecture and urban planning. While in The Place of Architecture The Architecture of Place – Part I: The Identity of Places I discussed the concept of place identity, proposing that the identity of a place should be understood in holistic and…
This article offers a critical response to the conventional interpretation of architecture, rooted in the second half of the nineteenth century, which takes space as the discipline’s primary interpretive key.[1] This long-standing view often overlooks a fundamental fact: for any space to exist—whether architectural, sociocultural, or even pseudo-physical—place must already be on the stage. As I argue at RSaP, that…