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movement structure. While the path of the liturgical proces-
sion leads axially towards the main altar on the east side, the
layout of the transept, with its arms pointing north and south,
offers the congregation lateral points of entry. The relation-
ship between priest and congregation and the analogy of the
head and limbs are endowed with concrete spatial expression
through the spatial experience of these opposed directions.
Like intersecting trajectories, other incisive, gestural formal
traits (standing-bowing, closedness-openness, retreat-turning
towards), as well as metaphors and > images with generaliz-
able character, also bear this potential to the degree that the
significance of the symbolic form is not only sign-like, but
also finds expression directly in > form character or > atmos-
phere. Gothic bundled pillars with fan vaults not only refer to
groves of trees with their ramifying branches, but also offer- at the level of form – the corresponding protective or screen-
ing experience. Balthasar Neumann’s Bruchsal Staircase sym-
bolizes the contrast between heaven and hell, and allows us to
ascend quite literally out of the darkness and into the light.
The specifically architectural character of this form of
communication rests not solely on visual evidence, but also
on complex experiential processes. For example, the act of
ascent (and not simply of the stairs themselves) bears the
symbolic meaning of overcoming one’s own weight; it is also
an act of liberation, the attainment of unhindered views, and
may also evoke further experiences of a general nature.
If, finally, architecture is to represent the entire universe
as a symbol system, then it cannot be based on image or text
like other sign systems, such as the biblia pauperum on the
figural programmes of medieval cathedrals; instead, such rep-
resentations must arise visibly from specifically architectural
means. Based on the concrete experience of spatiality, the en-
tirety of the world then becomes graspable through the spe-
cifically spatial structure of a work of architecture: through
the experience of the difference between interior and exte-
rior, it becomes possible to conceptualize the unity of divi-