319surfaces. We find here the traces of > use, as material deposits,
wear and abrasion, or as smooth or polished areas resulting
from continuous physical contact.> ceiling, plane, facade, field, ground, surface, wallAs a rule, symbolic architecture refers to a > meaning that
lies outside itself. A specific architectural symbolism results
when the concrete spatial experience of the building also cor-
responds to its symbolic significance, or agrees with it to a
certain degree, thereby embodying an especially active sym-
bolic force.
Although the concept of the symbol is defined in vari-
ous ways, the above conditions for symbolic power must be
delimited in particular in relationship to the concept of the
convention-dependent sign, with its purely referential func-
tion. When two lines cross to form the letter X, the result is
a > sign that is decipherable only in relation to the code of a
particular form of writing; its significance does not emerge
from its form. Even if the cruciform ground plan of the build-
ing symbolizes the cross of Christ, symbolic value is confined
to a relatively narrow sphere of validity – that of the Christian
image world. Here, the sensory experience of space one has
in the building itself does not play a particularly important
role in either reading architectural form or assigning signifi-
cance to it.
Inherent in the crossing of two spatial trajectories in a
cruciform plan, on the other hand, is a symbolic power of
more far-reaching validity when real movement along a pair
of crossing axes refers to the inherent meaning that makes
itself perceptible in the total situation: the moment of decision
at a crossroads, the convergence of contrasting directions, ex-
pansion into the fourth cardinal direction. One example is
the cruciform ground plan of a basilica, by virtue of its realSurface area
Symbol