Fundamental Concepts of Architecture : The Vocabulary of Spatial Situations

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on the other hand, threatens to turn into repression, regular-

ity into monotony, simplicity into banality.

> intermediate space, space-containing wall

Through orientation, the spatial disposition of the human

individual becomes anchored in the spatial structure of the

surroundings. Because we rely on the ability to find our way

in space, orientation is a basic precondition for feelings of

security and > comfortableness, and a response to the funda-

mental question: ‘Where exactly am I?’ Secondly, they form

the basis for spatial discoveries and new experiences.

With a point of departure in a sense of situatedness

(proprioception) as the foundation for further positioning in

space, the > body’s orientation is based on the distinction be-

tween existential directionality, i.e. above/below, front/back

and right/left. Human individuals orient themselves in rela-

tion to their own bodily structure, and at the same time in

relation to the object structure of the surrounding space. A

person gains access to a spatial structure by evaluating direc-

tions and points of reference within a given spatial situation

for the sake of orientation.

The cardinal points – in particular the direction of the

rising sun in the east – still have a literal significance in ar-

chitecture, in particular for the arrangement of rooms and

their uses. In dependence upon the times of day, the changing

daylight allows for various > atmospheres in rooms that are

oriented towards the cardinal points. Their use is also facili-

tated by the character of the illumination, which depends on

the position of the sun and the changing colours of the light.

The directions of the > gaze towards the outside correspond

to the various directions from which > light is admitted into

the building. Accordingly both a building and its occupants

are oriented towards the sky and its various forms of appear-

Oriel

Orientation