The perception and definition of ‘place’, from the
regional scale to the domestic, is of crucial importance to
design. A regional identity bred of cultural, geographic and
social factors will lead to a Europe of variety and
pluralism, as against monotony and standardisation. In
this, gateways and boundaries are important. Between
England and Scotland on the M74 there is no customs
point, but a stone wall and piers on either side of the
motorway proclaim the entrance to Scotland. This
gateway is purely symbolic – it makes manifest a desire
for national identity. One could argue that Dover is a
gateway to Britain, with the white cliffs performing a
similar iconographic function as the walls and piers across
the motorway north of Carlisle. Seen in this way, Dover is
an entry point establishing the first taste of Englishness
for many people. The town is, therefore, setting
standards of culture and design for the whole country and
should be designed as an entrance way rather than simply
as a seaside town.
Many engineering structures serve secondary
functions as gateways into cities. The Humber Bridge is a
gateway into Hull, as is Robert Adam’s Pulteney Bridge
into the centre of Bath. Gateways, therefore, come in
many forms and not all are conventionally designed as
entrance porticoes. Bridge engineers increasingly see
their structures as entrance points and design them in a
fashion that celebrates arrival.
A gateway is best regarded as a deliberate break
within a city wall or the careful marking of a boundary of
territory. It is important to draw both the boundary and the
break, for each is supporting the same purpose.
Sometimes the boundary is clear, as with medieval
fortifications, but often the territorial edge is not so well
defined, and you may have to use your imagination to see
the architecture as gateway markers. For instance, an
urban fringe may be marked by a line of bungalows and
the point of entry by a pair of car showrooms facing each14.3
This passageway through
Sperlonga in Italy is divided
into zones of territory by the
presence of big overhead
arches. The route becomes
progressively private as one
ascends.
116 Understanding architecture through drawing