Fundamental Concepts of Architecture : The Vocabulary of Spatial Situations

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ference between authentic and false, one that was concretized,

finally, in the distinction between real construction and clad-

ding. When, in a facade, Mies van der Rohe allowed a non-

load-bearing steel profile to represent the load-bearing support

that he concealed behind it, he created a visible representation

of the supporting structure, albeit one that was inconsistent

with the actual distribution of forces. In tectonics, then, the

> covering of the construction, and with it, the ornamentation

(> ornament), often assume the task of providing a represen-

tation of the construction through sentiment.

Literature: Frampton 1993; Kollhoff 1993; Posener 1981;

Semper (1860–1863/2004); Wölfflin 1886/1999

> comfortableness, materiality, sensory perception, warmth

and cold

> atmosphere, body (architectural), confrontation, depth, ex-

pansiveness and constriction, dramaturgy, extension, field,

force field, movement

> base, garden, intermediate space, plane, roof, stairs

As soon as we are present in the world, we begin not just

to exist in space, but also to occupy space. We lay claim to

space, and in order to secure our sphere of influence, we must

mark it out, for example by ‘reserving’ a chair by means of

an item of clothing, defending against incursion by others.

This designation of territory (Latin: terra, earth) in order to

ensure our claims to a protected sphere of influence is a ba-

sic human need, and extends from the individual to the fam-

ily, the community, and finally all the way to the territorial

state. Originally, territorial claims were driven by the need

for access to resources and protection from a variety of en-

vironmental influences, and given the existence of competing

claims to space, have always been a field of pronounced po-

tential conflict.

Temperature

Tension

Terrace

Territory