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> door and gate, inside and outside, intermediate space,
screening, surface, territory, threshold, wall
> comfortableness, darkness, light, sublimity
> covering, intermediate space, poché, resonance space, space
shadow
> architecture, expression, meaning, materiality, tectonics> furnishingAlongside its quantitative meaning, the concept of capacity
has a qualitative one as well, and refers to receptiveness to
characteristics, > meanings and tasks. From a contemporary
perspective, one example of functional capacity in architec-
ture is the apartment of the Wilhelminian era. In terms of
layout and gestalt, it displays an incisive character and offers
a generous space with multifarious qualities for use in every-
day life. As a consequence, it is neither expressively neutral
nor functionally determined in a constricting way. It can be
used by families, for apartment shares, or as an office. It can
be furnished ostentatiously or chaotically, sparingly or lav-
ishly. The fact that former factory buildings are so well-suited
to serving as galleries or museums of modern art is attribut-
able not just to their flexible spatial arrangements and large
dimensions, but also to the restrained design so typical of in-
dustrial architecture. Their often plain yet characteristic aes-
thetic traits make them attractive as the offices and studios of
advertising agencies, designers, or other disciplines. Here, the
architecture’s functional capacity suggests types of use differ-
ent from those characteristic of the Wilhelminian apartment,
but in both cases (and one could easily add further exam-
ples), two factors work together: the way in which the space
is handled is conditioned by its characteristic idiosyncrasies,
as well as by its openness to a wide range of forms of specific
> use. Spaces with functional capacity are adaptable to many,Boundary
Brightness
Buffer
Building
Cabinet
Capacity