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Just as diverse as the modalities of our bodily con-
tact with the ground (just think of the manifold postures
such as lying, crouching, walking, hopping, and the diverse
contact layers such as socks, shoes and soles) are the ar-
chitectural possibilities for modifying the ground through
floor design. When curved into a convex like the globe, the
flooring of a square seems like a taut membrane; when hol-
lowed out into a concave form, it seems to form, together
with the walls, part of a cavity. In interior spaces, room
height, and consequently spatial zoning, can be governed
by means of changing floor levels in conjunction with
> ceiling heights. The planar subdivision of the flooring also
contributes to such effects. On the pavements of urban ar-
eas in particular, our movements are guided by a multiplic-
ity of lines, edges, partitionings and fields that identify routes
and places of rest, singling out boundaries and terrains.
A special flooring > surface, sensitive or precious material
produces a sense of reticence about stepping onto it, influ-
encing movement and endowing the space as a whole with
an exclusive feel. The roughness or smoothness of a flooring
material influences the quality of our step, as may acoustic
phenomena. Our tread may be influenced as well, whether
markedly or subtly, through qualities of hardness, elasticity,
plasticity (sand) and vibration behaviour, or possibly through
an incline.
The interplay of these factors has a strong influence on
> atmosphere, whether this takes the form of the noble ap-
peal of an encrusted marble floor on which one steps with a
measured tread, or the creaking floorboards of a traditional
living room, or carpeting or matting that invite us to remove
our shoes and seat ourselves on the floor.> access, residence, spatial structure, structure, use
> directionality, gaze, ingress and exit, movement, plane,
route, stairs, wallGround plan
Guidance