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generally avoids, and is inviting or aggressive, provocative or
expectant. An oblique approach has instead the effect of guid-
ing the beholder further, one that is emphasized by the hori-
zontal elements, and may be taken up by adjacent buildings.
Depending on distance, we may enjoy a complete overview,
or partial visibility may require a successive and scanning
mode of perception. Our impression is also conditioned by
the mode of traffic that prevails in front of the building: the
experience of a pedestrian strolling in a public square is dif-
ferent from that of the driver who, depending upon velocity,
may perceive only an indistinct blur or fleeting, emblematic
image. From above, i.e. from an aeroplane, mountaintop, or
neighbouring high-rise, the surface of the roof acquires im-
portance as a ‘fifth facade’.
The facade may express a building’s character in a re-
strained fashion, or call attention to it. Like a human face,
it expresses personal identity and recognizability, and dis-
plays a certain inner constitution, at times like a mask, one
that – whether playfully or with deceptive intent – endows a
building with a changing identity. This analogy extends all the
way to physiognomic expressive values or anthropomorphic
correspondences of elements, with the entrance appearing
as a mouth and the windows as eyes, for example. Whoever
lives in a building is aware of the face it presents to the town
through its facade.
A facade advertises the interior space behind it, initiates
the act of entrance, and prepares visitors for what they will
encounter inside. Rather than showing the visitor what he or
she can expect to encounter within, the facade may engage
in concealment or allusion in order to build a sense of ten-
sion that will dissipate only after one has entered. Essential
to this experience of approach are those elements that con-
front the beholder in front of the facade level. A projecting
portico, protruding pedestal, overhanging roof, or entrance
niche all call attention to the entrance, providing it with com-
fort.