181overcoming of height is exemplified by the successive verti-
cally layered structure of a flight of stairs. Protection against
rain and snow is pictured in the multilayered structure of
roofs and ceilings, all the way to the especially powerful ex-
pressiveness of the overlapping shingling of roof tiles. Just
as fundamental as horizontal layering is the layered structure
of a > wall, from Gottfried Semper’s tectonic image of the
> covering or cladding of a load-bearing framework by a tex-
tile envelope, and all the way to the multilayered structure of
the > facades of contemporary buildings. Especially in Mod-
ernism, the analysis of the various functions of the wall into
layers has rendered its diverse functions readable: its load-
bearing function, its function as a > filter for views, air, noise
and sunlight, and its role as a display surface. Towards the
inside, a decorative layer fulfils another task, that of generat-
ing specific atmospheres.
The more the covering layer is detached from the wall,
the more the layering of materials becomes a layering of space
(> space-containing wall). The passage from one room to an-
other is graduated through > intermediate spaces. Such effects
can contribute to a delayed approach of and prolonged pen-
etration into a space, and hence offer a richer experience of
spatial > depth, even within a relatively confined space. In tra-
ditional Chinese gardens, the effects of layering structural and
natural elements are multiplied by the phenomenon of oku
to a densification of space that is perceptible only in stepwise
fashion. The basin-shaped spaces of an > incorporation are
effected by interlocking concentric layers which are separated
from one another by more-or-less clear divisions.> composition, concept (architectural), detail, joint, spatial
structure, structure, tectonics
> meaning, readability, sign
> ascent, ceiling, depth, facade, folding, gallery, garden,
ground, layering, planeLayout
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