71zation. A contribution to understanding is made, for example,
when > spatial structure appears in the form of a lucid config-
uration, when the concept reflects the character of the > place,
works with comprehensible analogies, follows a manifest
> gesture, when the conceptual layout represents a recogniz-
able > type as a ‘typological decision’ (Rossi 1977), or when
the structural totality is graspable as a well-considered > com-
position. The clarity and coherence of the concept are also
made perceptually evident through formal geometric opera-
tions, to the extent that these satisfy the central demands of
the building task.
The > readability or comprehensibility of the architec-
tural conception presupposes the transparency of its > struc-
ture, which may be recognizable in places such as an access
figure, for example a staircase. In particular, the plan directs
the discursive logic of the spatial structure by leading through
the rooms and by dividing, articulating and alluding to the
operations to take place there. At every additional phase of
elaboration, the idea becomes readable in a different way, so
that ideally, even design decisions in > detail are borne out by
the total concept and reflect these. The more differentiatedly
the context of justification is elaborated at the level of detail
and execution, the more multifaceted are the experiences of
residents or users as they mentally reconstruct the situation
as a work that has been prepared, thought through, and in-
tended for them. Through use, they participate in the creative
act of space creation, and ‘learn to be astonished at its condi-
tions’ (Reichlin/Steinmann).
Literature: Boudon 1991; Reichlin/Steinmann 1976> beauty, orderWalls and facades not only delimit spaces and public squares,
but also at times literally present their faces to us. When itConcinnitas
Confrontation