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ORIENTATION, IDENTIFICATION,REPRESENTATIONSpace and Perception in Architecture

Anne StenrosHelsinki University of TechnologyFaculty of Architecture

To seek the essence of perception isto declare that perception is,not presumed true, but defined as accessto thruth. Maurice Merleau-Ponty

Perception is essential to being in the world — throughperception we are in the world. Perception is our way tounderstand reality and to acquire knowledge of it and bein interaction with the environment. Experiencing archi-tecture is based on perception: the spatial orientation,identification and representation which together makepossible our environmental experience.

Architecture is not only seeing, but also experienc-ing. Environmental endoscopy makes it possible to studythe environmental orientation, the spatial elements of theenvironment, but the identification and the representa-tion which are included essentially in the overall percep-tion of the environment presuppose the actual experienceof the environment. This presentation discusses all thesethree levels of the spatial experience.

In architecture, space can be discussed in manydifferent ways: we can talk about, for example, architec-tural space that includes inside and outside space; we candiscuss urban space that includes the physical structure ofthe whole built environment or we can talk about whathas been called existential space, that includes the rela-tionship between man and his physical environment. Inthis presentation space is considered in its wide, experi-ence based meaning: space as the environment of percep-

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tion, the interaction between man and space, or as a kindof cognitive space theory. Most essential in this discus-sion is the experience of place, the feeling of place, andits origins, since place is the most unique experience ofspace, it is man’s deepest experience of the environment.

INTRODUCTION: Environmental Analysis

The methods of analyzing space based on perception arecalled environmental analysis. Environmental analysis isbased on the analysis of both the perceptions and theimages they bring forth. Environmental analysis beginsfrom the idea that the environment consists of certainspatial/physical elements that are connected to each otherin a certain way forming a structure or a system. When theelements and their connections to each other are realizedsuccessfully they form an unforgettable good environ-mental totality, or a place. (Stenros, 1992).

In environmental analysis, space can be approachedon the different levels of its occurence: with the help ofenvironmental analysis we can seek the characteristics ofthe environment, or make a study of the environmentalimages or analyze the universal, theoretical structure ofspace. In environmental analysis space is not consideredas a phenomenon but it is studied as internal relations andthe structures they form in order to make a theoreticalmodel of the structure of space.

The space theories based on environmental analysisform a tradition among architectural theories. The exam-ples of early space theories are the theories of GordonCullen (The Concise Townscape, 1961) and EdmundBacon (Design of Cities, 1967) which deal with the citystructure and movement in space. The actual space theo-ries, or so-called place theories, that emphasize the feel-ing of place as an environmental aim, are the architecturaltheories of Kevin Lynch (The Image of the City, 1960),Christopher Alexander (A Pattern Language, 1977) andChristian Norberg-Schulz (Genius Loci, 1980).

Space theories have been greatly influenced by thecognitive knowledge and science of the time. The theo-

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ries of Cullen and Bacon were inspired by the psycho-logical motion research of the time; Lynch has applied tohis theory the mental images of cognitive psychology.Alexander’s theory is based on linguistic research and thetheory of Norberg-Schulz is based on figure theory andphenomenology. Most information about perception andthe relation between man and the physical environmentis to be found in the classical theory of the image of thecity by Lynch.

The Three-Level Model of Space Perception

In the perception of space we can separate three levelsthat appear simultaneously: (1) first, the perception levelor the physical reality, the environment that we perceive,(2) second, the memory level or the images and thefeelings of the environment through our personal history(i.e. the personal environmental experiences collectedinto memory) and (3) third, the abstract level, the level ofperception representations which on a general level or-ganizes and directs perception, memory and action in theenvironment. (Stenros, 1992).

When considering the levels separately, we can talkabout environmental orientation (the perception of theenvironment), environmental identification (a sense ofplace) and environmental representation (the figuring ofthe environment). The environmental orientation in-

Figure 1The three-level model ofspace perception.

Abstract Level

Memory Level

Perception Level

REPRESENTATION

IDENTIFICATION

ORIENTATION

The Experience of Space

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cludes the analyzing of space: the spatial elements, thesequences of space and the experience of them whilemoving in the environment. The evironmental identifica-tion contains the experience of place, the special con-sciousness of some meaningful point in space or environ-ment. The figuring of the environment includes themental representation of the environment. Together allthese levels form the interactive cognitive system be-tween man and the environment. The elements on theperception level are the physical environment and itsobjects: the natural and built environment, like for exam-ple the natural places and the built archetypes whichmanifest them in the theory of Norberg-Schulz. On thememory level, the environment consists of the mentalimages connected to activities and places as in Lynch’stheory of the image of the city. The abstract level consistsof the categorical relations both in the structural elementsand between them, like Alexander’s morphological lawsof a pattern language. The abstract level directs percep-tion in a general way, recognizing and classifying space.The memory level directs the schema of the perceptioncycle, the anticipating—i.e. what will be perceived andpaid attention to and what we will be conscious of. Thephysical level strengthens or corrects the perceptionschema depending on the correspondence of informationbetween the schema and the sensory perception. To-gether, the different levels of space perception form thecontinuous, layered space experience.

When all the levels are activated simultaneously—orwe become especially conscious of them—we becomeaware of the feeling of place: the experience of thephysical level is combined with memories and the instantconsciousness of the universal structure, ”the microcos-mos”. The experience of place occurs at a special point inthe continuous experience of space, vertically piercingthrough the levels of space experience, thus alwaysreflecting both the unique and the universal structure.

On the perception level the perception of place oc-curs; this is the external experience of place, the spatialorientation. The memory level includes the inner experi-

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ence of place, spatial identification, which includes spa-tial representation, the figuring of place. In the nextsection I will discuss each of the levels of perceptionseparately through their characteristics.

ORIENTATION: Nesting and Being on the Road

According to Martin Heidegger, the relation betweenman and space is most accurately defined as dwelling,which is the way man is on the earth. For Heidegger, earthand sky, divines and mortals form together the fourfoldthat dwelling protects and assists by bringing to thethings the essence of the fourfold. The essence of build-ing is in letting-dwell. (Heidegger, 1971). Thus, therelation between man and space (dwelling) is defined bybuilding and architecture.

The triangle-like relation of man—space—dwelling/building comprises the whole range of architecture, thethree different levels of its appearing. The relation be-tween man and dwelling (building) is manifested on thephysical and practical level: in the physical structures andin the action of building. The relation between man andspace reflects the memory level: the experienceful inter-action of man with the environment. The relation be-tween space and dwelling (building) includes the abstractlevel of space: the conceptual, structural level of archi-tecture.

BUILDING

Dwelling

Man Space

Physical Level Abstract Level

Memory Level

Figure 2The relation betweenman and space

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The relation between man and space appears most clearlyin the built archetypes. In the archetype of a separatedwelling or house, the essential thing is the creation of thegeneral spatial order: the forming of the spatial elementsand their connections to each other. On the other hand, inthe archetype of the town, the essential thing is themarking of place; the archetype of a town also includesthe emphasized meaning of a boundary and accordinglybelonging to something, or being inside or outside some-thing. In general it can be noticed that in addition to thecreation of the spatial order, the archetypes also presup-pose the creation of place. By the demarcation of space,the archetypes define not only the relation of man to spacebut also his position in the general spatial order and theuniverse.

The demarcation of space is essential to the creationof a place. Place has a dualistic character; it appears as astructural entity (demarcated space) and as the significa-tion of it. According to Heidegger, a boundary is notwhere something stops but rather where the presence ofsomething starts. Thus the demarcation of space definesthe presence of something ”special” and significant.According to Norberg-Schulz, place is space that has aclearly distinguishable character. Thus the rise of placepresupposes the being of some specific character, thatmakes a special point of space, distinguishable from theenvironment.

So the appearance of place includes three essentialfacts: (1) the separation or the demarcation of space as astructural entity, (2) the activation of space; a placealways activates its immediate environment—a place hasinfluence around it giving meaning to the whole sur-rounding area, (3) the topological character of space;place is always related to other places. (Stenros, 1992).

In accordance with the topological character of space,man has two primary spatial orientations: being on theroad, heading towards something new, and nesting, build-ing a shelter—the dynamic and the static orientationwhich can be called the transition space and the primaryspace. (Stenros, 1992).

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In structural terms, the spatial environment consists offixed points and distances between them or the arrangedsequences of space and the meaningful places. Thetransition spaces connect together the places of the spa-tial system giving the feeling of continuity to the struc-ture of space. They affect orientation and moving inspace. The primary spaces, or places, are the fixed, staticpoints of space. The structural meaning of the primaryspace is to make order out of the surrounding space. Thebasic meaning of primary space is a response to man’sneed for safety.

IDENTIFICATION: A Mythical Place

The spatial experience is based on perception, the expe-rience of place is brought forth by images; thus theexperience of space is the outer part and the experienceof place is the inner part of the same perception ofenvironment. The image connected to a place is based on

Figure 3Man has twoprimary spatialorientations:nesting andbeing on theroad. LawrenceHalprin, SierraMountainscape1982, SanFrancisco.

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the emotional experiences which consist of the physicalcharacteristics of the environment and the activities whichhappened there as well as the people concerned. Thestrength of an image depends on the intensity of theemotional experience that it is based on. The moresignifigant a place is, the stronger image it makes; at itsstrongest it becomes mythical. The collective mythicalplaces are commonly shared, significant places like, forexample, Paris and Venice; the personal mythical place ishome. The unique and most mythical place is the child-hood place: or the experience of the direct relation to theenvironment of a child. In general, the most importantmeaning of a mythical place is remaking the lost, undi-vided experience of the reality of childhood.

Structurally, a mythical place is like a poem: one can seein it at a glance the multiplicity of reality as it is. Both aplace and a poem have a unique origin; they are variationswhich can be experienced again in one’s own way. Thusa place, like a poem, reflects at the same time the private(unique) and the general (a variation); a place is a uniqueexperience of the universal. The universal structure of

A MythThe levels of a myth

MeaningThe fragments of mean-ings

Figure 4The structure of amythical place.

A placePhysical objects,events, people

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place—as of a poem—is a center without direction, andthus without movement or time. (Stenros, 1992).

In general, a place and a poem are analogous: both arebased on a personal experience, a dialogue between ”I”and the world, and through them it is possible to make aconnection to reality as it is and to form an image whichis captured by emotion not by thought. A poem is aprototype of a place: both reveal the position of man in theuniverse through a personal and unique experience.

The origin of place is ”a nucleus house”, the experi-ence of space in the childhood when the body and thesurrounding space are united and thus the body includesthe whole spatial universe, the overall understanding ofspace in which the perceiver and the thing perceivedcannot be separated from each other. By reflecting him-self onto the essence of the place, a perceiver can expe-rience the connection to the substantiality of the placeand through that to the whole ”human world” and itsreality.

The places that we have experienced do not becomea part of perception as such, but detached from theoriginal spatial context, as separate fragments they areattached to the new experiences of place. The fragmentsand the images they awake form the flexible system ofplaces, a network where the different points are activatedat different moments and thus at different strengths.When attached to the physical fragments of the environ-ment, the free meanings spread to the surrounding spatialreality. When the fragments are connected again to a newphysical environment and recognized, they activate theimmediate environment to form a new place. Thus, thephysical fragments and the images they include carrywith them (vast) meanings which form a new place whenattached to the environment. (Stenros, 1992).

The most primary place, which forms the nucleus ofthe place system, is in man’s early spatial experiences ofhimself in space. Thus, in all places a perceiver sees areflection of himself; for this reason the experience ofplace always includes the identification and the strength-ening of identity.

Figure 5A commonly sharedmythical place: Paris.

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REPRESENTATION: The EnvironmentalInteraction

The perception of environment presupposes knowledge,skill and activity. In the field of cognition science, whichexamines man and information processing, (for example,sense processes, memory, understanding, learning, per-ception etc.) the central issue today is the representationmechanism, which means man’s ability to form the innermental representations of the outer world and to manipu-late them. The representation is the way the environmentexists to a perceiver. The representations are subjective:they are the perceiver’s point of view of the environment.(Hautamäki, 1992).

The representation mechanism assumes (1) first thereceptory equipment which includes the sensory organsand the nervous system by means of which a perceivergets information from the environment and his own body;(2) second, it assumes that a perceiver has the represen-tation equipment or the mental ability to adapt classifica-tion, recognition and memory; (3) third, a perceiver hasthe symbolic equipment or the ability to produce symbolsand consciousness. Consciousness refers to the phenom-ena which form thinking, perceptions, emotions, self, etc.The symbolic equipment differs from the representationequipment so that the latter does not necessarily includeconsciousness. Perception as consciousness is a conden-sation of many representations which is called a symbol.(Hautamäki, 1992).

For a perceiver, the environment is the source ofinformation; the receptor equipment prepares the infor-mation obtained from the environment and the represen-tation equipment further classifies and stores it and com-pares the new impulses with the existing ones in thememory. After many phases and through many connec-tions, with the help of the symbolic equipment, a percep-tion which includes a set of representations is broughtforth. (Hautamäki, 1992).

In comparison with the three levels of perception, thereceptory equipment corresponds to the perception level:the information a perceiver receives from the environ-

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ment through the senses. The abstract level correspondsto the representation equipment—the ability of a perceiverto classify, recognize, and memorize, for example, theenvironmental and spatial elements and to combine andarrange contexts which are the basis of perception. Thememory level corresponds to the symbolic equipmentwhich includes the consciousness, thought, emotion, andthe self of the perceiver.

The environmental interaction based on the experi-ence of perception forms the model of overall cognitivespace perception. Through the three levels of perception,the orientation, the identification and the representation,a perceiver is in continuous interaction with the environ-ment. The information received through the differentsenses is processed in the parallel system; based on therepresentations, the perception of the spatial environ-ment is formed, which also includes the consciousness, asense of place. The perception evokes a response to theenvironment, a possible reaction or an action based on theinformation obtained through perception. (Stenros, 1992).

Figure 6The model of the overallcognitive space percep-tion.

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POSTSCRIPT (Self Is a Part of the World)

The three levels of perception: orientation, identificationand representation cannot be distinguished from eachother, in other than the conceptual sense; they appearsimultaneously in environmental perception interlockedand connected to each other. In the broad sense one canthink that in the perception, the perceiver (a subject) andthe environment (the object) are not separated from eachother, but together they form a very dense and complexand, in reality, inseparable interaction.

Phenomenologically, body and perception are united,body is not primarily in the space but it is of it. (Merleau-Ponty, 1962). The body is the concrete, visible reality ofself; through the body by perceiving man is related to thesurrounding reality and the environment. The body formsthe structural starting point of the spatial self. The actualspatial self, however, includes in addition to the experi-ence of the body, the immediate perception environmentand, through memory, the whole spatial horizon of aperceiver: the past-present-future experiences of the en-vironment. (Stenros, 1992). In this way, the primary content of spatial continuity isformed: space is the extension of self—and thus self is apart of the world. Space and the experience of it is anentity onto which we reflect ourselves. Thus, the meaningof architecture is in the direct and immediate experienceof it—or to quote Merleau-Ponty: ”The world is not whatI think, but what I live through”.

Figure 7The spatial self.

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REFERENCES

Alexander, C., et al. 1977. A Pattern Language. NewYork: Oxford University Press.

Bacon, E. 1978. Design of Cities. London: Thames andHudson.

Cullen, G. 1971. The Concise Townscape. London: Ar-chitectural Press.

Hautamäki, A. 1992. Mentaaliset representaatiot (Men-tal Representations). In: Kielen vastaanotto ja käsittelyaivoissa. Turun yliopisto, Kuulon, kognition jakommunikaation tutkimusyksikkö.

Heidegger, M. 1971. Poetry, Language, Thought. NewYork: Harper & Row.

Lynch, K. 1960. The Image of the City.Cambridge, MA:MIT Press.

Merleau-Ponty, M. 1962. Phenomenology of Percep-tion. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

Norberg-Schulz, C. 1980. Genius Loci: Towards aPhenomenology of Architecture. London: AcademyEditions.

Stenros, A. 1992. Kesto ja järjestys—Tilarakenteen teoria(Duration and Order — A Theory of Spatial Configu-ration). Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Technol-ogy in Architecture. Helsinki University of Technol-ogy, Faculty of Architecture.

Figure 8Self is a part of a world.Ryoan-ji Temple, Kyoto

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