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Normally, we move unselfconsciously through an architec-
tural structure. Without conscious thought, we generally
know which positions we wish (or are compelled to) assume
and where, and the locations of options for lingering, chang-
ing levels, or finding views.
We have developed schemata that are adapted to a vari-
ety of situations, making it possible for us to orient ourselves
quickly. To a decisive degree, however, they also are shaped
by the appellative traits of objects and situations, which are
referred to as their invitation character or offer character.
Without additional explanation, architecture is quite capable
of conveying to us the specific offerings it wants to make.
Solely by virtue of its typical forms and dimensions, a chair,
for example, invites us to take a seat by positioning our limbs
accordingly – and the same is true although in different pos-
tures when the object in question is an armchair, a bench,
or even the base of a wall. This offer is extended further by
> context, for example, by the presence of the table upon
which the chair invites us to engage in a specific activity.
Less suggestive, but nonetheless appellative in character,
is the experience of the situation in which, for example, a
‘greeting balcony’ adjacent to a staircase invites us to enter
it, and to contemplate a partial sequence of the approach
from a different perspective. In such an instance, the architec-
ture makes an attractive offer, one that significantly enriches
and deepens our spatial experience without compelling us
to accept it. Invitations and offers are rendered more precise
through the expressive qualities of a specific > gesture, for
example the form of a corridor that invites us to enter, while
modulating this entrance via the conditions of approach, the
form of the opening, the frame, the flooring (which invites us
to step onto it), the depth of the passage, all the way down
to specific details. The application of smooth tiles to a nar-
row, even constricting passageway, for example, may invite
the user to traverse it in a frictionless and gliding way, thereby
conveying an impression that contradicts its actual character,Invitation character