"Place is to architecture, as meaning is to language-.
In discussing "Place- we must also consider the notion of "space-. The many theories relating to "place- arise from the philosophy of "space-. Adrian Forty in Words and Buildings suggests that we rely on two definitions of "space-. The first being, that it is a thing which architects can manipulate and the second, that it is a mental concept for understanding the world. .
Traditionally, space has been understood with a mathematical mind, a quantity that can be measured, points that can be plotted, logic and reason. It was these ideas that were discussed by the likes of Kant and Descartes. .
It was not until the 1890's that "space- made its way into the architectural vocabulary and was adopted by the modernist architects of the time. Bloomer and More in "Body, Motion, and Architecture- proposed that there were three situations in which "place- could occur.
An object in space.
A void between objects;.
And at special conditions where an object meets a void. .
While the theory states that "place- is essentially a special condition of "space- as has already been discussed, but in practice place is implicit within everything we do and anything we design or create. This must be so of place in relation to people. .
Any definition of architecture itself requires a prior analysis and exposition of the concept of space . Effectively, the theory of space may become place in practice. Where space is defined, experienced or given meaning, a place will evolve.
The creation of place falls within the boundaries of human experience. We are now moving further away form the traditional definitions of space and looking towards human interaction with spaces - the senses being the key to unlocking the experience of place. .
This approach claims its own place in the architectural dictionary under "Phenomenology- - an approach that concentrates on the study of consciousness and the objects of direct experience, how one place can be experienced in many different ways by many different people.
