Simultaneous Space In Architecture

Simultaneous Space in Architecture by Roberts Architecture. Simultaneous spaces are used extensively in architecture. Simultaneous spaces are perceived both individually but also together as a group or structure of spaces. This perception is simultaneous, occurring at the same time. Often there is a dialectic in perception, keeping two different things in mind at the same time. Spatial forces interpenetrate one another and superimpose themselves on one another. Spatial forces can cause interference and interpenetration. Emergent space is created by two adjacent spaces. The emergent space is created by a spatial relationship between two or more other spaces. We may say there are three categories of simultaneous space in modern architecture. Traditional, Modern, and Postmodern. Traditional architecture deals with traditional architecture forms and overlaying them or superposing them on top of each other. Modern architecture deals with functional space and fragments space into human activities. Postmodern architecture deals with social interpretations of space. Traditional Space. Traditional spaces include spaces within a space, interlocking spaces, adjacent spaces, and linked spaces. Traditional space typically takes geometric forms and overlays them over each other. Space within a space. A larger space can contain a smaller volume of spaces. Spatial simultaneity between two spaces depends on perceptual relations between the smaller and the larger's enveloping space. This creates a figure-ground relationship between the smaller space, which is the figure, and the larger space, which is the ground. The larger space is seen to be an enclosing space and the smaller space is a space within that space. It can be a room within a building, or a space within a room, or a smaller space within within a room itself. Interlocking Spaces. Interlocking spaces emerge from the overlap of two spaces to create a shared space. Two spaces retain their identity while creating a third new space. Interlocking space was often used in church design where you could travel down the center of the building and see interlocking spaces as you move through the building. Adjacent Space. Adjacent spaces are the most used in architecture. It is two or more spaces that retain their own identity while having a spatial continuity based on their proximity to each other. This creates a Linked Space. Linked spaces are two or more separate spaces that are linked by a third intermediate space. This space was designed by Michelangelo in 1546. The main space is a piazza that is formed by the enclosing three buildings around it. Modern Space. Simultaneities in modern space include functional versus formal space, absolute versus relative space, or structural spaces. Functional versus formal space. Formal space is generated by formal geometry and massing. This is volumes of three-dimensional forms such as cubes, cylinders, spheres, pyramids, cones, and other rectangular solids. Functional space are forces or actions in space and this is typically represented by spatial diagrams. These diagrams can show movement through space, adjacent spaces, or relationships between spaces. Modern design of space overlays a diagram over formal space to create a hybrid of the two. Space becomes both formal and functional. Modern architects often say form over function or function over form to identify the dominant spatial organizational principle. Architects are taught functional diagrams in school. Diagramming the function of a space comes first from German functionalism. This was developed in the 1910s and 1920s and then brought to the United States through the Bauhaus. Functional space objectifies space and treats it as though it had a function like a biological organism might. This fragments space into specific uses and the uses must be separated from each other. Hallways and adjacent spaces. Mid-century modernism tried to fix the problem of separating function out by hallways and it eliminated the hallways. The way architects typically work in designing simultaneous space in the modern period is they overlay pieces of trace on top of each other. So on one layer they might put an adjacency diagram showing spaces relationship to each other. On another layer they may show the geometric relationship from one space to another. On another layer they may show the movement of one space into another space into another space. So architects are trained to use tracing paper to overlay these different functional elements to create different types of simultaneous spaces. Architects are typically taught many different diagramming techniques not just adjacency space. Different types of diagramming may be a diagram of the structure of the building, a diagram of the walls, a diagram of movement through the space, a diagram of public spaces versus private spaces, a diagram of the different functional parts of the building, a diagram of light and shadow in the building. Everything that an architect can design can be represented through a spatial diagram and this is typically done on tracing paper over the floor plan. The other benefit of diagramming on tracing paper over the floor plan is many different solutions can be looked at and studied very quickly. Whereas if you create a 3D model or you create a floor plan in CAD it's much more difficult to create multiple options. Whereas drawing on tracing paper using markers is very quick and easy. Since it's on tracing paper the architect never gets wedded to a specific design. It can always be crumpled up and thrown away very easily. So architects never fall in love with their floor plans. Absolute versus relative space. The idea of absolute space was developed in science, mathematics, and physics. This had a significant effect on how architects thought of space. Space wasn't just a place but a universal ground for abstract processes. It is the curved space of a Gaussian field. It is the space of electromagnetism. It is the speed of light. It is the idea of relative space of Einstein. It is the space of atoms and electrons. It is the space of a car or plane or rocket. In modern architecture it is the open plan. It is the infinite space of glass windows projecting space out into the landscape. Relative space is a specific place created by a person's body's experience of their environment. It is the space of perception. It is the space of touching and feeling. Overlaying relative space over absolute space was done in modernity, often by creating specific spaces that could extend out into infinity. Structured spaces. Space can be created or structured through several different elements. Movement can structure space. How a person experiences space over time. Enclosure can structure space. The walls, roof, platforms, and other enclosing elements can be used to structure space. Creation of a clear center can be used to structure space. Conversely, creation of a clear periphery can also be used to structure space. Formal geometry can be used to structure space. Structural elements like columns or walls can help structure a space. Signs that communicate ideas and concepts can be used to structure space. Formal relationships can also create space. These can be overlap, linear, overlay, or distortions. Overlapping spaces are when two spaces overlap one another. Linear spaces as when spaces are laid out in a linear progression. Overlay is when one space overlays another space. Distortions are when one space distorts in relationship to another space. Postmodern space. Postmodern space plays with the social interpretations of space. If modernism was the objectification of space, turning it into a scientific object or machine for living in, postmodernism is about socializing space, turning it into a social relationship or a language of forms. Postmodern space includes sign versus signifier, simultaneous social functions, historical versus modern space, and hyper real versus real space. Sign versus signifier. Postmodernism plays with the vocabulary of architecture and spatial forms. It plays with architecture as a series of signs and signifiers. A sign is a representation of an idea. The signifier is the thing it represents. Postmodern architects play with signs and signifiers to force the viewer to reinterpret their meeting. Elements of architecture become words and grammar to create spatial poems. Architecture is viewed as a language for communication. The art of composing spaces is akin to the composer of a poem or of literature. If architecture is a language, then architectural space can be used to communicate the truth, but it can also be used to lie. The truth can be obscured, hidden, and abandoned completely. Architects in the postmodern period would create ambiguous spaces that manipulated sign and signifier. A sign could be an architectural element, such as a window, or a structural element, such as a column. The signifier is what it means. The signifier for a column is typically a structural member to hold up the building. In postmodernism, architects overlaid signs and signifiers to create complex simultaneous spaces. The viewer is required to interpret the meaning of the signs and the signifiers. The clearest expression of this is Peter Eisman's Houses from the 1970s. Here he uses architectural elements as signs and separates them from their signifier as structural elements and instead uses them to create simultaneous spaces. He overlays structural grids over formal geometries and turns and contorts them to create spaces that must be read simultaneously. Simultaneous Social Functions. Modern spaces separate social functions such as work, residential, play, and public space. Postmodern spaces overlay these elements to create multi-use spaces. This takes spatial typologies and overlays them to create multi-use spaces. The workspace of an office can be overlaid over the retail space of a mall to create an amalgamation of the two. In recent years, the social function of retail has been used to create many amalgam spaces in healthcare, residential, office, and other spaces. For example, postmodernism tries to bring back the first-floor retail space in cities while having residential be above. This type of space where two functions are overlaid over the same area was discouraged in modernism but is brought back in postmodernism. Historical vs. Modern. Postmodernism loves historicism but is irreverent in its use. Postmodernism tries to bring back historical elements but at its core does not believe in history as a system. Historical forms are juxtaposed and overlaid over modern forms to create simultaneous historic and modern space. The master of this is perhaps Philip Johnson where he takes modern spaces and overlays historical elements such as windows or doors or Greek columns to create a historic but modern space. Hyperreal vs. Real Space. Hyperreal is space that exists in the mind while real space exists in the world. Creating hyperreal space is done through creating a map and overlaying it over the real until it is impossible to determine what is real and what is man-made. Sadly, current architecture has abandoned simultaneous space as an architectural concern and instead focuses on 3d modeling such as Revit and other programs. These focus not on creating simultaneous spaces but simple space as a result of 3d modeling. The model often focuses on architecture as an object or architecture as a 3d modeled space but seldom as an overlap of different spatial elements or ideas. Architects dumb down their ideas to only that which can be represented by the software. Computers are making architects more productive but at a cost of creativity and the ability to design complex spatial environments. To counter this negative trend, architects should continue to draw and make physical models. This helps architects to remember that spatial design is the core of architectural practice. If you liked this video please like and subscribe. If you really liked this video you can buy merchandise at the Redbubble account including getting a spatial diagram shown in this video on a t-shirt or sticker.