37elements and hollow volumes, or of endowing a building with
an impression of weightlessness. For the most part, it is the
external form of an architectural body that stands in the fore-
ground; it aims towards a certain expressiveness through its
> form character, or functions as symbolically (> symbol) in
relation to a signal value. In many cases, a building is posi-
tioned in such a way that it is visible and can be circumambu-
lated from all sides, while its relationship to the context and
to the shaping of an inviting urban space is neglected. The
building’s plasticity and sculptural qualities, however, would
be well-adapted to the shaping and articulating of the sur-
rounding space as a formal counterpart.
Literature: Brinckmann 1924; Kemp 2009; Van der Laan
1983For our perceptions and experience of spatial situations, the
human body is indispensable to such an extent that ‘there
would be no space for me at all if I had no body’ (Merleau-
Ponty 1962, 102). My own body is something radically dif-
ferent from other bodies in the sense that I experience and feel
it as being mine, as me. Through my body, I move and act;
through it, I also experience space; it integrates my various
sensory perceptions. Other bodies, by contrast, are reduced to
objects, are regarded only outwardly. The German language
makes a clear distinction between Leib (the human body)
and Körper (physical bodies in general), so that it is possible
to say in German: ‘Leib bin ich – Körper habe ich’ – mean-
ing: the body [Körper, i.e. physical object] I have, the body
[Leib, i.e. the experiential, corporeal body] I am) (Dürckheim,
2005). Since every human being experiences his or her body
in this way, the experience of corporeality is an intersubjective
phenomenon.
My body occupies space; it does not end at the surface
of my skin, however, but extends via my clothing (we say:
I stand on the floor, not: I stand on my socks), or throughBody, human