Map and Territory: The space of inexpressible between the game of seduction and body movement

University of Belgrade, Faculty of Architecture, Belgrade, Serbia

Project idea

The inspirational starting point of the project were the map, the territory and the idea of Nikola Tesla that emptiness is unawakened matter. The map is a communication tool formed via the inexpressible, in architecture contained in the hidden meaning of the emptiness of space, which further maps out and defines the territory that is determined by special borders. The chosen location is the park below the Belgrade Fortress: an empty space spreading toward the rivers which is juxtaposed to the fortified special border. The project furthermore evolves around the idea of movement, an instrument for translating and redefining the special fullness and emptiness, as well as giving contextual meaning to it. The movement thus becomes the architectural principle: the solid, concrete form and the contents of the programme that are somewhat static and city-oriented are opposed to a fluidly free form on the riverside and an ever-changing programme. The empty space is not determined by the programme, leaving the complexity, hybridity and transformation open. Spaces defined and those not defined by the programme have an active relationship, constantly affecting and changing one another. Not defining one segment potentiated the programme flexibility of the architectural design process.

Project description

0. Abstract

The inspirational starting point of the project were the map, the territory and the idea of Nikola Tesla that emptiness is unawakened matter. The map is a communication tool formed via the inexpressible, in architecture contained in the hidden meaning of the emptiness of space, which further maps out and defines the territory that is determined by special borders. The chosen location is the park below the Belgrade Fortress: an empty space spreading toward the rivers which is juxtaposed to the fortified special border. The project furthermore evolves around the idea of movement, an instrument for translating and redefining the special fullness and emptiness, as well as giving contextual meaning to it. The movement thus becomes the architectural principle: the solid, concrete form and the contents of the programme that are somewhat static and city-oriented are opposed to a fluidly free form on the riverside and an ever-changing programme. The empty space is not determined by the programme, leaving the complexity, hybridity and transformation open. Spaces defined and those not defined by the programme have an active relationship, constantly affecting and changing one another. Not defining one segment potentiated the programme flexibility of the architectural design process.

1. Introdaction

Jean Nouvel said, in a conversation with Jean Baudrillard in his tome "Singular objects - Arhitecture and philosoph y", that every conversation contains something that has been left unsaid:
"There always exists a part that belongs to that which is left unsaid, that is a part of the game. The unsaid part is red undant ethics wise, it is something that is not in accord with what is being exchanged, and rather it signifies something vital. It is in the realm of pla yin g a game."
We can say that what has been left unsaid in arhitecutre is the same as the mentioned emptyiness. In other words we can say that when designing we often map the unsaid part. By designing a full space we formulate an emptiness.

In theatre we communicate that which has been left unsaid through movement, as a form of nonverbal communication. This enables communicating a meaning beyond the boundaries of what has been said. In theatre this form of nonverbal communication has a significant role in conveying an emotion.
The movement has a role in translating nonverbal meaning in theater, and the same analogy is recognized in the field of architecture. A person is constantly moving; they are in constant interaction with the space they are in. A person also perceives space by their movement. Therefore, movement in architecture is not only used for revealing shapes, it is also used for its interpretation. A picture becomes visible only when it is assigned meaning, and it is movement that designates and conveys that meaning.

2. Emptinesss in space

Jurgen Joedicke lists full and empty as two border defining cases for viewing space. Full is defnied as an extremley dense and empy as extremely uncompressed space. Still, this form of defining space may not apply in every context. Interpretation and use of empytiness in architecture can be explored in differing understanding of this space in the West and in the East.
Japanese civilaztion often percieves and points out emptiness in a space, city or an art form as a means of pointing out different possibilites of reading a written meaning. Unlike their western counterparts, where empty space is understood as a left over between two full spaces, a pause in space, an abbandoned space, an unused space or is atributed to a full, defined space. In te East an empty space is always a place for generating new meaning. Emptiness is never a simple negative of its anytonim.

Eastern thouhg, being more focused on the process rather than the product, is more devoted to the very potential of emptiness. This potential is realised in establishing a relationship with what is built and enriching it. In this manner an empty space is never experienced as empty, it represents a ,,field of force", a filed of impact offull forms.

2.1 Emptiness as potential

Nikola Tesla said in an interview for the New York Times that absolute emptiness doesn't exist:
,,That which we consider emptiness is only unawakend matter. There is no emptiness on Earth or in space. The black holes astronauts speak about contain the most po werful energies and sources
Tesla points out that emptiness does not present an absence of meaning; it rather possesses a hidden meaning, a certain secret. It is not final or defined as that which is full is, it rather possesses a potential and power to transform.

2.2 Constructing an emptiness

Emptiness in space presents a redundancy created by drawing boundaries of a full space. Therefore, by defining a full space we also define the empty space. It can also be said that the full and the empty represent two complementary elements forming a whole. Both elements are defined by the existences of the other: full and empty, the said and the unsaid, light and shadow, yin and yang. By following that train of thought, in order for the unsaid to exist and be recognized it is necessary to define the unknown with the known and to define its boundary.
According to Peter Zumthor emptiness cannot be planned and filled, it is created by seting its boundaries, by which it becomes defined. From that point arhitecture is emptiness Peter Cumtoru (Peter Zumthor) praznina se ne može planirati i popunjavati, ona nastaje stvaranjem njenih granica čime postaje određena. Tako gledano, arhitektura jeste praznina.
We can recoginze a similar thought by Kristijana N. Sulca:
"A boundary is not that which represents the end of somehing, it is - as the Greeks understood it - it that which marks the begginin g of existence of somethin g else."
Architecture is created by setting a boundary in terms of space, that is to say, by means of dialectic discourse by the external and the internal, as well as between the full and the empty. By defining the boundaries of emptiness we form a spece that encourages the freedom of interpreting and acting. By creating and emptiness we no longer assign importance to the material, bordering elements, but also the space between them.realizuju u vidu događaja. Ovakav prostor nije konačan i određen, već je u konstantnom stanju transformacije, koja se može iskoristiti kao neiscrpni izvor energije.

Materializing emptiness and it's spactial definiton can be simple and clear. It can be defined by physical elements, walls and anything that has the function of a wall, but it can also remain spatially undefined. In that case it would be defined only by an occurance taking place in it.

3. Movement

A person is always moving. The human body is in constant interaction with space. A person perceives all shapes of space by moving and thus forming an entire experience of an ambient. Humans are the main consumers of space: on the one hand they perceive it and gain knowledge of it and on the other they project events occurring in space.
Bernard Tshumi suggests the following attitudes in his book "Architecture and disjunction": , There is no architecture without action, without an event, whithout programme." In addition to that he claims that,,there is no architecture without violence", he points out his theoretical understanding of architecture. The term "violence" is understood as a "metaphor for the intensity of a relationship between an individual and the space surrounding them". This is understood as a mutual effect the individual and the space have on each other. It is exactly this understanding of architecture that reveals not only the internal logic, but the anthropologic potential of architecture, which can be seen in shaping the human perception of space and their relationship to their own corporeality.
This is to point out that architecture cannot be separated from the events occurring in it. Thus Architecture is simultaneously produced and reproduced, projected and experienced which gives it social, spatial and temporal qualities
A question can now be put, whether space is defined by movement or is movement defined by space. Architecture, as a phenomenon of compounded effects of emotion and materialization has an effect on our ways of acting in space and time. In light of this, it is necessary for architecture to represent a catalyst for movement.

3.1 Movement of the body

Movement is used as an element of nonverbal communication in theatre, in order to convey meaning that has been left unexpressed. Nonverbal communication in a play represents a form of conveying a certain meaning. By the movement of the body information about emotion is conveyed. The position of the body, its distance in relation to other spatial elements tells us about the understanding of space and the relationship that person has to the space.
Movement of the body that translates spatial experience and emotion can be a result of a design intention, or a completely random occurrence that comes from an individual perception of spatial possibilities.

4. Trajectory as a boundary of the full and the empty

A movement realized in the relation of full and empty space comes from a confluence of effects of spatial forces. Movement of the body achieved on the verge of these two spaces conveys the possibilities and the limitations of a space and in so doing, reexamines and redefines spatial relationships.

By observing the same movement in a full and an empty space we notice a clearly defined effect space has on the movement. A full, thick space represents a space with more pronounced control of the movement; it slows the movement and lends agility to the rhythm. An empty space represents a free space for shaping new intentions; it enables faster and more intense movements. A strong and fast movement performed in an empty space loses its intensity in a full space and becomes slowed down. The same movement is displayed by a full and an empty space in different ways, which points out the level of limitation and possibility these spaces give to the movement of the body.

In addition the previously listed influence of space to the shaping and displaying movement we should not leave aside the reversibility of this relation in terms of effects of movement on understanding spatial relationships and spatial frame.
These effects can best be seen by a movement described by Tshumi, stating that:
,, Bodies create different new and unexpected spaces by fluid and uninterrupted movement. Architecture is then only an organism, constantly in a relationship with its users whose bodies assault the carefully established rules of architectural thought’’.
This is to point out that movement does not represent only an instrument of conveying spatial relationships; rather these relationships can be reexamined and redefined by movement. The body is trying to dissolve the boundary between a full space and an empty space as a barrier. It doesn't negate it but it "softens" it by closing the gap between the two sides. The boundary becomes a transition point. By movement the body carries it with itself. Wherever the body may be the imaginary point is as well. The line connecting the points in spaces the body successively passes by represents a new boundary, a new trajectory.
The boundary becomes a place of negotiation, leading to a new structuring of relationships and a new interpretation of space as a conditional, occassional and fluid. In the dialogue of space and its users the boundary cannot be presented as a line, it is more a threshold, an undefined zone shaped by the movement of the body.

5. Map

Since every speech contains a part that is unsaid, every map contains a certain degree of being unexpressed. Being unexpressed in a map represents a freedom of understanding and acting. So in order to understand the entire picture we need to use several maps.

Territory

Defining a territory means defining spatial boundaries, in the effort of controlling a certain space. If we build a fence, we've marked a territory.
„Movement pertains to the city, since the city is not organized in relation to its own territory; the territory is organized according to directions, pressure and guidelines.”
This emphasizes the role of movement in forming spatial organization. Given that movement is not limited, spatial boundaries can be changed.
A boundary requires constant movement, without movement there would not be a necessity for a boundary. This is not synchronized movement; however, this is the need to go beyond that which is a single boundary. That kind of mobility threatens to undo the boundary.

6. On location

Belgrade fortress represents a unique element of architecture that forms a specific context, lined with historical and shaping terms. The fortification role of the walls has defined the location and the shape of this complex. In its entire structure the walls were set so as to form a strong boundary to the river, which fulfills the defense role and defines the frame of the inner space.
By setting a strong spatial boundary, such as the Belgrade Fortress, an emptiness was shaped that extends from the fortress to the river. The space that was thusly created is horizontal and empty in its character and belongs more to the river than it does to the city. The continuity of the city space has been interrupted with the fortress, and the space that was left between the river and the fortress is seen as the rest of the city. This space is unique exactly because of the interruption in urban cityscape and the existence of the spheres: from one end the city and from the other the empty space of the riverbank.
This space is not only characterized by emptiness and weak infrastructure, but also the staticity of the riverbank opposing the dinamic flow of Sava river. The river is a symbol of uninterrupted movement, it creates symbols of recognition for the city which is spatially and physically shaped according to this fluid space. By its course through space and time the river introduces the dimension of movement.
The recognized spatial boundaries also noticeable in contact zones: the boundaries of built and the unbuilt, static and dynamic are the starting points future architectural interventions.

7. Architecture as an intermediary

By recognizing potential of existing spatial relationships on location, as a conclusion we can draw an idea of forming architecture in spaces of existing spatial boundaries in the efforts to emphasize them.
Architecture that is created on contact zones of two different spaces, creates a third space which notes the meeting places of those two spaces. As such, it is neither the river nor the city, neither full nor empty; rather it accentuates the existence of the other two. The third space signifies a place of urban cityscape cessation and a starting point of emptiness, and a place that emphasizes the end of static and the start of dynamic.
According to Edward Soja the third space is a constant movement towards something new, and also the product of effects of the first two spaces Architecture is the boundary that sets apart and brings together. The position of new spatial boundaries does not interrupt the emptiness of this space, it empathizes and defines its frame.
Two objects created in contact zones gain the character of conductors; they suggest a flow rather than a static character. On the one side architecture is created in the contact zone of the river and the terrain, while on the other it is created in the contact zone of the fortress and the emptiness. The difference in character between the contact zones requires a difference in the architectural approach.
Like movement is differently represented in a full space (water) and in an empty space (air}, it is necessary to translate that difference into an architectural principle, with the idea of forming architecture on contact zones using the same architectural elements but in a different manner.

8. Fluid architectural movement

The fluid movement of the body, taken as a form of movement inspired by the flow of the river is later translated into architecture through three aspects characterizing this form of movement.
Controlled fluid movement (bounded flow) represents a movement of the body that has a higher level of control and whose flow is easily stopped; in the project, this form of movement is translated through the form of an object positioned on the side of the fortress. The form of the object is characterized by a controlled ability to provide form and clear shape.
The other form of movement represents the free fluid movement (free flow) - movement that is not controlled; in the project, this form of movement is translated through the form of the object positioned on the side of the river. The form of the object is characterized by fluidity and a gradual merging with the terrain.
The third form of fluid movement is represented by the continuous movement (continuous flow). Continuous movement creates an endless line of movement. Translation of this form of movement in architecture comes from the need to define an uninterrupted, clear spatial boundary which is used to define full and empty space. This space will further be manifested by both architectural interventions.

9. Programme

The architectural intervention which would appear on the side of the Belgrade fortress is characterized by a firm, defined form while the programme is static to a certain degree and correspond to the needs of the city. The programme would mainly entail the range of public spaces, cultural and refreshment venus as well as venues for day to day activities. This would entail the hybrid and heterogeneous social life.
The architectural intervention on the riverbank side would be characterized by a more fluid, free-form, its programme would be constantly changing, oriented towards the movement of the body. It would entail many dance halls, pools for water sports and a relaxation zone. This space would host continual, changing movement which would create an impression of the flickering of the space.
The empty space not defined by content would generate new events. The emptiness would appear as a positive element; by the use of emptiness, we would fulfill the complexity, hybrid nature and the transformation of the space.

The spaces defined and not defined by content would be brought into an active relationship, a relationship in which one element influences the other and vice versa. By not defining a segment we would enable content flexibility in the process of projecting.

Technical information

My project entry consists of; 01 situation plan, 02 ambients inside the two opposing structures ,03 Horizontal Plan, 04 Mode 05 Vertical Plan, 06 Different types of movement interweaving, 07 Vertical Plan, 08 Detail, 09 Movement and structural diagram, 10 Atmosphere

Co-authors

None