323lity arrives’ (Frey 1976), which is why symmetry is often an
expression of immobility, solemnity, timeless meaning, and
power (> monument). A high symbolic value is attached to
the experience of being led towards a centre by a symmetrical
order.
The other side of the coin is the trivialization of archi-
tectural design through mirror symmetry. Of course, a perfect
square can be interpreted as symmetrical, but the cumulative
repetition of mirrored forms soon makes a simplistic impres-
sion. It can function, then, as a readily available recipe for
making even a botched facade appear more or less present-
able, but often deprives it of all tension. But symmetry need
not necessarily be immediately evident; it can function as a
kind of concealed adversary of asymmetry. ‘Symmetry be-
comes better the more difficult it is to locate its axis.’ (Tesse-
now 1916/1998, 29) The reward is well worth the perceptual
effort involved. The vital equilibrium of the neoplastic archi-
tecture created by the De Stijl architects can be regarded as
a modern form of ‘quasi-symmetry’ that has been called into
question, and then restored in its subtle fragility.
Literature: Frey 1976; Naredi-Rainer 1995Designations such as pink, smooth, clattering, dull or soft re-
fer not just to sensory qualities, but also to entire complexes
of sensations. The fact that > colours and tactile impressions,
along with > sounds, possess not only the respective sensory
quality, but also a more far-reaching expressive quality, and in
particular an atmospheric effect, is due to synaesthetic or in-
termodal qualities, that is to say, the interaction of sensations
from various sensory realms resulting in a combined sensory
experience.
Pink walls, for example, are experienced not only as hav-
ing a colour of a specific frequency, but often also of con-
veying the feeling of a lukewarm temperature, a soft tactile
sensation; they may even possess something of a sweet odourSynaesthesia