161mediate space in a double sense. We find ourselves, on the
one hand, in the space between architectural bodies that lie
alongside one another, that is to say outside of them, while
on the other, between bodies and a containing shell, between
core and sheath. Perceptual ambivalence oscillates between
these two types of spatial impression. In moving through a
town, for example, the dominant impact changes according
to location.
More decisive for incorporation than juxtaposition is the
nesting of space-containing bodies. The relationship of nest-
ing has the potential to be extended definitely, so that every
body contains a further body, and every shell is contained
by another one. Standing in the foreground depending upon
the direction of the gaze and of movement (from the outside
in or vice versa) is either a stepwise, delayed penetration, or
instead the conception of stratified, graduated containment.
The act of entrance is repeated in one directional movement
from layer to layer. Theoretically, we can never be sure how
many steps are to follow. Oswald Mathias Ungers (1983),
who has characterized the phenomenon of incorporation as
a fundamental architectural > theme, speaks of the ‘poten-
tial endlessness’ of a ‘procedure that is no longer logically
graspable’. For the progression from inside out, conversely,
incorporation can best be characterized as the intention to
surround the core with multiply layered shells, for protec-
tion, for concealment, for expansion, to increase the available
space, to externalize certain activities, or to create distance
and room for manoeuvre (> interior). Examples are towns or
castles that are protected by multiple rings of walls and forti-
fications, apartment buildings that hide behind garden walls,
fences and hedges, buildings with external spatial layers for
additional uses, i.e. for circulation or as climatic buffers. For
those who find themselves in the interior, the world outside
is held at a distance by the outer spatial layers. At the same
time, they block direct access to the outside world, making it
possible only via intermediate steps.