Spaces or Places?

Normally, we would think that the word space and place are not different from one another.  When we use it in a sentence, the meaning is kind of the same, but it really is something different.  Even though they are close, we use it in a slightly distinct way.  From my point of view, space refers to physical aspects of this world.  The Earth is one big space that we are all in.  Spaces are more ambiguous and undefined.  On the other hand, place refers to a more psychological quality.  When we talk about a place, we already have some knowledge, some impressions, and some memories of that particular space.  Places are spaces, but not all spaces can be places.

Again, since this is a theory, it is according to one’s point of view.  A place for one person could be a space for another, because there is no attachment from that space towards the person.  Time can affect space/place concept, too, since users and environment change all the time.

The movie we watch in class, Powaqqatsi, is a great example of the concept.  First the movie showed different empty landscapes, and then people started to come in and live in those areas.  They build structures, inhabit in the area, doing various activities, so those originally spaces became places for these peoples.

Erotics of Theories

Most of us, by now, are familiar with the word erotics of architecture.  We have spent a whole semester exploring on the term.  Let us now recollect our thoughts a little bit.  Eroticism in architecture is an ephemeral phenomenon, which gives us feelings when we are exposed to it.  From my point of view, erotics could relate to most theories we have studied.

In phenomenology, the theory stimulated our strong emotional sense when we encounter the space.  It plays with experiences of the users in the same way as eroticism.  When we experience something, we got feelings towards it, and that feelings vary from person to person.  In simulation, the hyper reality state that we are in also gives us strong feelings.  It gives sense of something very real, yet it’s fake and we don’t know it.  Since erotics related to feelings, it is a personal experience, just like aesthetics, and the same as semiotics.

That said, erotics is more like an additional theory that we can play with, but we couldn’t use it alone.  It is really hard to tell what is the real meaning of erotics, but it is something that we could use to support our theory

Aesthetics and a cup of tea

aesthetics |esˈTHetiks| (n.): a set of principles concerned with the nature and appreciation of beauty, esp. in art.

The term aesthetics refers to feeling beauty towards something.  Again, it is feeling so it varies from person to person.  What is super beautiful in one’s eyes might be super awful in others’.  However, some aesthetic qualities were taught to us, suggested to us, or embedded into our brains, because aesthetics can be like a trend. You may want to like something because it is what the mainstream like, or you like it because the majority of people do.  Like fashion, you might not like how you dress, but you dress like that anyway because that’s what other people like.  One of the examples of aesthetic trends is the TWG Tea Company.  This English brand once used the land conquered over by English colonization to grow tea leafs.  Back then everyone hated colonization.  It took away the defeated countries rights, freedom, and their territory.  Now, in the 21^st century, TWG comes back again, not as a conqueror, but as restaurants.  Lots of TWG branches opened in Southeast Asia recently.  This is also the act of colonization, but now everyone likes it, because it is a trend.  The aesthetics of being a high-class, sitting in a nicely decorated café and drinking an English tea, is now likable.

As for architecture, I think aesthetics is a very hard quality to play with.  Since perfect architecture does not exist, it is nearly impossible to please everyone’s eyes with just one design.  Of course, there are ‘international style’ that most of the people in the world agreed it looks neat, but not all of us like the so-called ‘glass box’.  From my point of view, a good architecture raises contradictions.  It gives different people questions that have a lot of answers.  As imperfect as it is, it still success in grabbing attentions and comments.

Profanity and Architecture

Profane \Pro*fane"\: To violate, as anything sacred; to treat with abuse,
        irreverence, obloquy, or contempt; to desecrate; to
        pollute; as, to profane the name of God; to profane the
        Scriptures, or the ordinance of God.
From the definition, 'profanity' is the act of disrespect to supremacy or divine figures, including religions , kings, and gods.  Claiming someone to be profane is quite serious, meaning that that someone must have done something highly inappropriate.
We were taught what is wrong and what is right since we were kids, but our teachings vary to from each culture to one another.  Thus, the view of profanity highly depends on cultures, so there are cases that someone are being profane unintentionally.
In Thailand we would never see someone draws a cartoon pictures on a banknote just like Americans do.  This is because Thais highly value the King, and making fun of His Majesty is highly profane.  On every Thai Baht banknote and every coin is a picture of the King, so even just stepping on it is already inappropriate.  We would also never see a house made to look like a temple, because temples are sacred and we should not play with its holiness.




Nevertheless, in my opinion, the concept of profanity does not go well with architecture.  If we build something and, by interacting with it, makes profanity, that architecture would be dull and boring.  From my perspective, an architecture would be more successful if it makes people interact with it by their feelings and interpretations.  That way there will be a lot of possibilities to play with the structure, making the building a whole lot more interesting.