141simplified interpretations of form complexes. In vision, spe-
cific forms are filtered out of the wealth of optical stimuli as
gestalts. In the process of visual perception itself, by the same
token, albeit unconsciously, interpretations are produced, for
example, the vertical is overemphasized, so that a square wall
surface appears taller than it is wide, and a tower taller than
it actually is. The movement of the gaze upwards is favoured,
so that which is located above acquires greater significance
(> monument).
In the domain of architecture, as with all three-dimen-
sional objects, a gaze from a single viewpoint does not yield
complete perception, but must be supplemented by a series of
views from varied positions; the perceptual image is always
composed of multiple partial views. In its results, a mode of
vision that is adequate to architecture, i.e. which is produced
by > movement (kinaesthesia), is dependent upon the condi-
tions of movement, including tempo, the > dramaturgy of a
sequence, and its idiosyncratic navigation via specific com-
plex actions.
For the most part, directed views coincide with the guid-
ing of movement. We can hear and smell a stimulus from
around the corner, but not see it; to do so, we must round the
corner and direct our gaze at it. Alongside the guiding form
of directional spaces and sucking funnel forms, convex forms
allow the gaze to recoil or to be led around obstacles and into
previously visually inaccessible areas (> intimation). At times,
however, a viewpoint leads into uncertainty, awakening vague
expectations or building tension. The repeated and richly con-
trasting shift from an existing to an emergent image is the
basis for a city’s lively appearance. In the classical landscape
garden as well, changing moods, expectations and illusions
are engendered by diverse prospects and astonishing perspec-
tives. Our gaze searches for a stable point at the terminus of
the spatial sequence in the form of a visual goal. But it also
travels continuously through the space, ceaselessly guided
further by view axes and prospects, perhaps delayed by