Danny Windmolders, Michel Preuveneers Provinciale Hogeschool Limburg, Department of Architecture, Diepenbeek, Belgium 155
manner, reduce a spatial problem to a stacking of two-dimensional solutions, or don’t
relate to designing considering a synthetic activity, and focus on either a beautiful
building, a functional building, constructional clarity, the integration in an urban
concept, or their design as a cultural manifest. In terms of critical spatial designing,
architecture wants to be a proper, sensitive and integral synthesis of all considerations
throughout the design process. This is the primary aim of architectural education.
Critical spatial designing obviously encompasses three pillars: spatiality, a critical
attitude, and designing as a basic activity of synthesis.
Spatiality
The first pillar and central notion in the concept is spatiality. The true subject mat-
ter of architecture is the development and manipulation of space on all scale-levels.
Therefore the educational process starts with heightening the student’s consciousness
of space – experiencing space, then gaining insight in this space -understanding
space- and finally working with space –modelling space.
However, space doesn’t exist in itself. It only exists because of the claims and con-
siderations put on it. Mutually influencing each other, these considerations transform
space as a whole. Students have to acknowledge and consider four of these dimensions
in the design process. The first dimension is the physical, structural dimension of
space as an organic whole. Here, the emphasis is placed on the architectural object
undergoing the influence of physical laws, thereby inevitably shaping its appearance.
Secondly, the visual-spatial dimension addresses the formal aspects on all scale-levels
and the visual interactions, within the architectural object on the one hand and with
in its spatial context on the other. The functional dimension is the third dimension
to be considered, covering as well the socio-economic requirements as the fulfilment
of human needs and the stimulation of activities and events. Finally, the cultural
dimension considers architecture as the physical result and tangible witness of a
culture, as it is manifested in time.
These four dimensions introduce a broadened definition of the notion ‘context’.
This is fundamental in this pedagogic concept. As these four dimensions show,
‘context’ originates within a broad frame of reference that is more complex than
the obvious design conditions alone such as the design brief, urban conditions and
obvious constructional logic and constraints.
As architecture is an essential part of a culture, then this culture, in the widest
sense of the word, is where architecture should originate from. Architecture con-
tributes to this culture by defining, enriching and externalising cultural values. In
this sense, architecture not only has a territorial position, but also has a position
in time. As such, because of its presence, architecture can visualise the ‘zeitgeist’,
hold the recollection of important moments of civilisation and represents cultural
(dis-)continuities.
The total body of preconditions, considerations, design requirements... present in the
design process, is the framework from which a design can originate in a meaningful
way. This information can be implicit or explicit, time-related or timeless, local or
global, and material or immaterial. Making architecture in a meaningful way, requires