353to taking part in public events, to cosy, protected, reclining in
the window, all the way to cautious, restrained lurking from
a place of concealment to gain information or observe go-
ings-on unobserved. Essentially, we feel hemmed in, in rooms
of daily use that are deprived of the possibility of comfort-
able views towards the outside. A view of the sky through a
skylight does not correspond to our principal, i.e. horizontal
orientation. Decisive for the quality of a view towards the
outside is what we see through it, the direction of the open-
ing’s orientation, and the view of the > context of the city
and landscape it offers. The environment of an apartment, for
example, is essentially shaped by the image that is projected
into the room in the form of a view onto a selected section
of the outer world. The viewing position within the building
and its structural shaping also play a role for the possibility
of participation in public events, for gaining an overview, and
for options for retreat: whether one enjoys a view towards
the outside from the depths of the room or only after step-
ping up to the window or on a balcony; whether one enjoys
a broad vista from above, or looks out at street level, but also
the levels of railings, the sizes of windows and their formats
(vertical or horizontal) and the presence of filters: all of these
factors guide the gaze. Through the increasing expansion of
the visible area, the drama of the vista is heightened from
the roof terrace to the lookout tower to the mountaintop, in
ever more exposed situations. At times, a view of remarkable
surroundings is enhanced when the view is initially screened
off, and offered to our dramatically heightened attention only
through a small aperture in a secluded location.Actually, architectural space is always virtual. Architectural
space is the way in which built space is experienced, its im-
pact. It is a conception of space that initially guides the de-
sign, and finally, allows a spatial > concept and an > order to
become recognizable in the architectural result. VirtualityVirtuality