255sequence of > squares and streets. As an example, Jürgen
Joedicke describes the figure of movement when performed
in traversing the Propylaion on the Acropolis as the rhythmic
alternation between restraint and impulsion effected by the
transverse and longitudinal arrangement of the various posi-
tions of the columns in the successive segments of the building.
Plans and sections as ‘choreographic scores’, but also
contrasts between light and shadowed zones, between seg-
ments of space having diverse acoustics or contrasting at-
mospheres, are factors of architectural rhythm. The affinity
of architectural rhythm for dance and music becomes explicit
on certain occasions, for example via almost dance-like > fig-
ures of movement that, when executed on staircases, foster an
alternation between linear movement, rotation and turning
that is further accented by the landing as a place of rest. But
rhythm only affects someone who is receptive to it, who is
‘captured’ by it and allows himself to be carried along.
Literature: Brinckmann 1956; Schmarsow 1915; Zucker
1924Ritualized actions require corresponding spaces. Such spaces
are not only components of ceremonies in representative or
social contexts or liturgical practices in sacred cults; in every-
day situations as well, rituals are articulated spatially. Here,
architecture is simultaneously the setting for and an element
of interaction in a scenario of action that proceed accord-
ing to certain rules. Rites of passage and of transition in the
general sense are designed to render complex, critical, or fun-
damentally new life situations comprehensible through for-
malized action. They receive spatial expression for example
in processes of the ritual transgression of boundaries, i.e. dur-
ing weddings, the ceremonial opening of closed doors during
dedications, at Christmastime, or during burial ceremonies.
Even during the crossing of a threshold in everyday life,
the insecurities caused by passage into unknown spaces orRitual