A-60 2000 Juhani Pallasmaa 2007 . Space Place Memory and Imagination the Temporal Dimension of...

8/9/2019 A-60 2000 Juhani Pallasmaa 2007 . Space Place Memory and Imagination the Temporal Dimension of Existential Sp…

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House

f Si lence

y JuhaniPal lasmaa


2/14

uhani allasmaa

I

Space,

lace, emoryand

magination:

heTemporal

Dimension

f

Existentialpace

Theime

perspectiven architecture

Architecture

s usua[[y een

n futuristicerms;

ovel uitdings re

understoodo

probe

nd

project

n unforeseen

eality,

nd

architectural

uality

s directly ssoci-

ated

ith tsdegree

f novelty nduniqueness.

odernityt

arge asbeen

omin-

ated

y his

uturistic ias.

Yet,

he

appreciationf

newness as

probably

ever

been

s obsessive

s n today's

ultof spectacularrchitectural

magery.n our

globatized

orld,

ewness

s not onlyan aesthetic nd

artistic alue,

t is a stra-

tegic

ecessity

f the cutture f

consumption,nd

consequentty,n

nseparable

ingredientf

oursurreaI

aterialistulture.

However,uman onstructions

avealso he

ask o

preserve

he

past,

and

enables o

experiencend

grasp

hecontinuum

f culture nd

radit ion. edo

not

nly xist

n

a spatial

nd

materialeality, e also

nhabit ultural,

ental nd

temporaI

ealities. ur

existentialnd

ived eality

s

a thick,

ayered ndconstantly

oscillating

ondition.

rchitecture

s essentiallyn art

formof

reconciliationnd

mediat ion,nd

n addit iono sett l ing

s n space nd

place,

andscapesnd

buitd-

ings rticulateur

experiencesf

duration nd imebetween

he

polarities

f

past

and

uture.

n fact,along

with he entire orpus

f literature nd he

arts, and-

scapes nd

buitdings onstitute

he

most mportant xternalization

f

human

memory.

e understand

nd remember

howe are hrough

ur construct ions,

bothmaterial ndmental.Weatso

udge

lienandpastcultureshroughhe evid-

ence

rovided

y hearchitectural

tructures

hey

have

roduced.

uitdings

roiect

enic

arratives.

In additiono

practical urposes,

rchitecturaltructures

avea significant

existential

nd

mental ask; hey

domesticatepace

or humanoccupation

y

turning

nonymous,

niform nd

imit lesspace

ntodist inct

laces

f human

significance,

ndequally

mportantly,hey

makeendlessime olerable

y

giving

durat ion

tshuman

easure.sKarsten

arries,he

philosopher,

rgues:

Architecture

elps o replace

meaninglessealitywith a theatrically,

r ratherarchitecturally,

kansformedeatity,which drawsus in and, as we surrendero it, grantsus an illusionof

meaning

. . wecannotive

withchaos. haos

ust e ransformed

nto

osmos. '

"Archi tecture

s not only about

domest icat ing

pace.

t is

also

a deep defence

againsthe

erroroftime",

he states

n

another

ontext. '


3/14

190

2OO7:JUHANI PALLASMAA

Attogether,

nvironmentsnd bui td ings o not onlyserve

pract icaI

nd ut i l i -

tarian

purposes;

heyalsostructure ur understandingf the wortd. [Thehouse] s

an instrumentwith which

to confront he cosmos".as Gaston

Bachelard

tates.3

The abstract

and

indefinable otion

of

cosmos s

atways

present

and

represented

in

our immediate andscape. very andscape

nd

everybui td ing s

a

condensed

wor ld,a microcosmicepresentat ion.

Architecturend

memory

We al l remember

he

way

archi tectural

mages

wereut i l ized s

mnemonic

evices

by the oratorsof

antiquity.

Actual

architectural tructures, s we[[as

mere emem-

beredarchitecturalmagesand metaphors eryeas significantmemorydevicesn

three differentways: f irst,

they

materialize

nd

preserve

he courseof time and

make t

v is ib le; econd,heyconcret izeemembrancey containing

nd

project ing

memories;

nd, th i rd, they st imulateand inspire

us to

reminisce

nd

imagine,

Memory

nd

fantasy, ecollection

nd magination re elated nd hey havealways

a si tuat ional nd speci f ic ontent .Onewho cannot emember an hardly magine,

because

memory s

the soi l of imaginat ion. emory s also the

ground

of sel f '

identity;we

arewhatwe

remember.

Bui ld ings

restorage

ouses

nd museums f t ime and si lence. rchi tectural

structures ave

he

capacity

f transforming,peeding p, slowing ownand hatting

time. They can also createand protectsilence ollowingKierkegaard'sequest:

"Create i lence "+n the view of Max Picard,

he

phi losopher

f s i lence: Nothing

has

changedhe nature f manso much

as he

oss

of s i lence."5

Si lence

o

onger

existsas a world,but only in fragments,

s the

remains f

a

world."6Architecture

has

o

preserve

he memory f the world of silence

nd o

protect

he

existing rag-

ments

of this

fundamental

ntological tate.As we enter

a

Romanesque onastery

we can

stil l

experience

he benevolent i lence f the universe.

There

re,of course,

ar t icular

ui td ingypes, uchas memorials,ombsand

museums hat are del iberately

onceived nd bui t t

or

the

purpose

f

preserving

and evokingmemories

nd speci f ic mot ions; u i ld ings an maintain eel ings f

gr iefand ecstasy, e lancholynd oy,aswelIas earand hope.Attbui td ings ain-

ta in our

percept ion

f temporaldurat ion

nd depth,and they

record

nd suggest

cul tural nd humannarrat ives. e

cannotconceive r

remember

ime as a mere

physicaI

imension; e can only

grasp

ime hrough

ts

actual izat ions;he t races,

places

nd events f temporal ccurrence.

oseph

rodsky

oints

out

another

ef i -

c iency

of

human memory

as he wr i tesabout he composi temagesof c i t ies n

humanmemory

nd

inds

hesecitiesalways mpty: [Thecityof memory]s empty

because or

an

imaginat ion t is

easier o conjurearchi tecturehan human

being5."zs

this he

nherent eason

hywe archi tectsend o th inkof archi tecture

more n

termsof

i ts mater iaI

x istencehan he t i feand human i tuat ionshattake

place

n the spaces e havedesigned?

ArchitecturaI

tructures acil itatememory;

our understanding f the depthof

time

would

be decisively eaker, or nstance, ithout

he

mdge

of the

pyramids

n

our minds.The mere mage

of a

pyramid

marksand concret izes

ime.

We

also


4/14

-

SPACE, LACE,

MEMOFY AND

IMAGINATION

rememberur own chi tdhood

argelyhrough he

houses nd

places

hat

we have

l ived

n.We

have

projected

nd

hidden

parts

of our ives

n

l ived

andscapes nd

houses,xact ly s the orators laced hemesof theirspeechesn the context f

imaginedui td ings.

he recol lect ion

f

places

and

rooms

generates

he

recal l

ofeventsnd

people.

I was child f hat

ouse,il led ith hememoryf

tssmells,itted ith he

coolnessf ts

haltways,il led ith he

oiceshat ad

iven

t

tife.

here as venhe ong f

he rogsn he

pools;

heVameobe

withme ere,

reminisces

ntoine e Saint-Exup6ry,he

legendary

i lot

and

wri ter ,af ter

having

crash- landed

i th his

olane

n a sand

desertn North

Afr ica.B

Themental

power

of fragments

lnhisnoveIThe

Notebooks f Malte

LauridsBrigge,RainerMaria

Rilke

gives

a sim-

i lar lymoving ecord f a

distantmemory f

home

and

sel f ,ar is ing

rom ragments

of he

grandfather 's

ouse n the

protagonist 's

emory:

As recovert

n ecall ingy hild-wrought

emories,t sno ompteteuilding:

t sallbrokenp

inside e;

ere room,here room,nd

ere

piece

fhatlwayhat

oes ot o nnecthesewo

roomsut spreserved,sa ragment,y tself.n hiswayt salldispersedithinme . . all hat

isstit l

nme ndwitl evereaseo

be nme.t sas houghhe

picture

f his

ousead allen

intome rom

n

nfiniteeightnd

ad hatteredgainst

y ery

round.e

The emembered

mage r ises

raduatty,

iece

by

piece,

rom ragments f

memory

asa

painted

Cubist

icture

merges

romdetached

isualmot i fs.

I have wr i t tenabout

my own memories

f my

grandfather 's

umble arm

house, nd

pointed

ut hat he

memory

ouse

f

my ear ly hi tdhood

s

a

col tage f

f ragments,mel ls,

ondi t ions f t ight , peci f ic

eet ings f enclosure

nd nt imacy,

but

arely

recise

nd

complete isuaI

ecol lect ions. y eyes

have orgot ten hat

they

nce aw,but

my bodyst i t [

emembers.

Bui td ings nd heir

emains uggest

tor ies f

human ate,both ealand

mag-

inary.Ruins t imulate s

to th ink of l ives hat

havealready

isappeared, nd to

imaginehe

fate

of their

deceased ccupants.

uinsand

erodedsett ings

ave

a

special

vocat ive

nd emot ionaI

ower;

hey

orce

us to

reminisce nd

imagine.

lncompleteness

nd ragmentat ion

ossess

speciaI

vocat ive

ower.

n medieval

i l tustrat ions

nd Renaissance

aint ings

rchi tecturalet t ings

reof ten

depicted s

a mereedge

of a wal l or a

windowopening, ut the

isolated ragment uf f ices

o

conjure p the

exper iencef a

complete onstructed

ett ing.

his s

the

secret f

the ar t of co[ [age ut a lso somearchi tects, uch as , |ohnSoaneand AlvarAal to

have

aken

advantage

f

this

emot ionaI

ower

f the archi tecturaI

ragment. i tke 's

descr ipt ion

f the

imagesof l i fe l ived

n

a

demol ished

ouse

r iggered

y the

remains nd stains

ef t on the end

wal l of the neighbour ing

ouse, s a stunning

record f he

wavsof human

memory:

191


5/14

'192

2OO7:JUHANI

PALLASMAA

Butmost

orgettablef al l

were hewalls hemselves.

he

tubborn

ife

of hese

ooms adnot

tet tsetf e rampled

ut.

t wasst i l l here;

t clungo the

nails hat

hadbeeneft here,

t stood

on he

emaining

and-breadthf

f looring,t crouchednder

hecorner

oints

whereherewas

st it t

t i t t le i t of nterior.

necoutd ee

hat t was

n

he

paint

which,

ear

y

year,

adstowly

altered:

tue nto

moldy

reen, reen

nto

grey,

nd

yellow

ntoan

old,stale

ottingwhite.'o

Spatiality

ndsituationality

f memory

Our recol lect ions

re si tuat ionaI

nd spat ia l ized

memories,hey

are

memories

attached

o

places

and events.

t is

hard o recall,

or instance,

familiar

or iconic

photograph

s

a two-dimensional

mage on

photographic

aper;we tend to

remember he depicted object, person or event in its full spatial

reality.

t is

obvious,hat

our existent ia l

pace

s never two-dimensional

ictor ia l

pace,

t

is

a tivedand

multi-sensory

pacesaturated

nd structured

y memories

nd

inten-

tions.

We keep

projecting

meanings

nd signification

o

everything

e encounter,

have arelydisagreed

ith the

viewsof

Joseph

Brodsky,

ne of

my house

gods,

but

when he argues hat

after

havingseen touristic

buitdings,

uch as

Westminster

Abbey, he

EiffelTower,St

Basil 's, he

Tai Mahal or the

Acropolis,

we

retain

not

their

three-dimensional

mage but their

pr inted

version",

and

concludes hat

"strictty

speaking,

we

remember ot a

place

but our

postcard

f

it",* | have o

dis'

agreewith the

poet.

We do not

rememberhe

postcard

ut the

real

place

pictured

in it. A recailed mage s alwaysmore han he onceseen mage tself. n my view,

Brodsky

presents

rushedargument

ere,

perhaps

misguided y Susan

Sontag's

ideas of the

power

of the

photographed

mage

in her seminal

book 0n

Photography."

Pictures, b jects,

ragments,

nsigni f icant

hings,al l

serveas

condensat ion

centres

or our

memories.

arkko

Laine, he

Finnish

poet,

writesabout

he

rote f

objects

n

his memory:

I

t ike

ookingt hese

hings.don't eek

esthetic

leasure

n hem

. . nordo

recallheir

origins:

hat snot

mportant.ut ven o

hey tlarouse

emories,

eal nd magined.

poem

isa thinghat rousesemoriesf eal nd maginedhings. . Thehingsn hewindowd

like

poem.

hey re

mageshat

onot eftectnything

. . I sing f he

hings

n

he

window.'3

The signi f icance

f objects

n our

processes

f

remember ing

s

the

main

reasonwhy

we like to collect

amiliaror

peculiar

obiects

aroundus; they

expand

and

reinforcehe

realmof

memories, nd

eventually, f

our verysense

of setf.

ew

of the objects

we

possess

are

really

neededstrictly

or

util i tarian

purposes;

heir

function

s

sociaI

and

menta[.

l

am what

s around

me", argues

WallaceStevens,'4

whereas

Nde[Arnaud, nother

oet ,

c la ims:

l am the space,

where

am." '5

hese

condensed

ormulations

y two

poets

emphasize

he

intertwining f

the wortd nd

the self

as well as he

externalized

round

of

remembrancend

dentity.

A roomcanalso

be ndiv idual ized

nd aken

ntoone's

possession

yturning

i t into a

place

of

dreaming;he acts

of memoriz ing

nd

dreaming re

nterrelated,

As Bachelard

uts

it: "The

house shetters

daydreaming,he

house

protects

he


6/14

SPACE,

LACE,MEMORYAND

IMAGINATION

dreamer,

he houseal lowsone

to

dream

n

peace." '6

fundamental

ual i ty

of a

landscape,ouse

nd room s i ts capaci ty

o evoke nd contain feet ing

f safety,

famit iar i tyndat-homenessnd o st imulateantasies. earenot capabte f deep

imaginat ionutdoors n wi td

nature;

profound

maginat ion

a[ [s or

the

focusing

int imacy

f a room.Forme,

he realmeasure f

the

quat i ty

f a town s whether

canmaginemysetfat t ingn

love here.

Theivedworld

Wedo not l ive n

an object ive or ld

of

matter

and facts,

as

commonplace

arVe

real ismends

o ass ume. he character ist ical lyuman

mode of existence

akes

placen the wor ldsof possibi t i t ies, ouldedby the humancapaci ty f remem-

brance,antasy

nd

imaginat ion.

e I ive n mental

wor lds, n which

he mater ia l

and he spir i tua[ ,

s

wel l

as the exper ienced,emembered

nd imagined,

on-

stant lyuse ntoeachother.As

a consequence,he I ived eal i ty

oesnot ol low

he

rules

f space nd imeas def ined

nd

measured

y he

science f

physics.

wish

to

argue

hat the I ivedwor ld s fundamental ly

unscient i f ic" ,

hen measured y

the

cr i ter ia

f western mpir ical

c ience.

n

fact , he l ivedwortd s

closer o the

real i ty

f dream han any scient i f ic escr ipt ion.

n order

o

dist inguish

he t ived

spacerom

physicat

nd

geometr icaI

pace,we cancatI t existent ia l

pace. ived

existent ia l

pace

s

structured n the

basisof meanings,ntent ions

nd values

ref lectedpon t by an indiv idua[ , i ther onsciouslyr unconsciously;x istent ia l

spaces a unique

quat i ty

nterpreted

hrough he memory

nd exper ience f

the

indiv iduat .

veryivedexper ience

akes

place

at

the

inter face

f reco[ lect ion

nd

intent ion,

ercept ion

nd fantasy,memory

nd desire. .S.Et iot

br ings or th

he

important

air ing

f opposi tesn

the endof his our th

quartet ,

L i t t leGidding":

What e

allhebeginningsoftenheend. nd

omake nend s omake

beginning. . We

shalL

ot

ceaserom xploration.nd heend

of allourexptoringil lbe

o anive here e

started.nd now

he

lace

or

he irstime.'7

On the otherhand,

col tect ive

roups

or even nat ions,

harecertainexper i -

ences f existent iaI

pace hat const i tuteheir cot lect ive

dent i t ies nd

senseof

togetherness.e

are,

perhaps,

eld ogether y our

sharedmemoriesmore

han

byan nnate ense f

sol idar i ty.

wish

o reca[ [ ere

he

amous

ociologicaltudy

by Maur iceHalbwachshat revealed

hat the ease of mutual

communicat ion

between

ld

Par is ians

iv ingwithina dist inct

uar ter

as

grounded

n

their

ich

and

shared ot lect ive emor ies.

The

ivedspace s also he object

and

context

f both he making

nd exper i -

encing f

art as

well

as architecture. rt

projects

lived eality,not mere

symbolic

representat ionsf l i fe.The ask of archi tecture,lso, s " to makevis ib lehow he

wor ld ouches

us", as

Mer leau-Ponty

rote of the

paint ings

f Paul C6zanne. 'B

We ive n the

" f lesh

of

the

wor ld" ,

o use a not ionof

the

phi losopher,

nd land-

scapesand archi tecture t ructure

nd ar t iculate his existent ia l lesh

giving

t

speci f ic

or izons

ndmeanings.

193


7/14

1s'4

2OO7:JUHANI

PALLASMAA

Experiences exchange

Theexper ience

f a

ptace

or space

s always cur ious

xchange; s

I

set t le

n a

space,he space et t les

n me. l ive

n a ci tyand he ci ty

dwel ls n me.

We

are

n a

constant xchange

i th our set t ings;

imuttaneously

e nternal izehe set t ing

nd

project

ur own

bodies,or aspects

f our bodyschemes,

n the set t ing.

Memory

and actual i ty,

ercept ion

nd

dreammerge. hissecret

hysicat

nd

mentaI nter"

twining

and ident i f icat ion lso takes

ptace

n

al l

ar t ist icexper ience.

n

, |oseph

Brodsky's iew every

poem

el ls

he reader Be

[ ike me". 'e

Here ies he ethical

power

f a l l authent ic

orksof ar t ;we

nternal izehemand

ntegratehemwith

our

verysenseof self.

A fine

piece

of music,

poetry

or architecture ecomes

part

of

my

physical

nd

moral

sel f .

TheCzech r i ter

BohumilHrabal

ives

a viv iddescr ip-

t ionof th is bodi lyassociat ionn the actof reading:

When

read,don't eatlyead;

pop

beautiful

entence

n mymouth nd uck

t

ike

ruit

drop r sip

t t ike iqueurntilhe hought

issolvesnme ike lcohol,

nfusing

y

brain

nd

heart nd oursingn hroughhe

einso he oot feach lood

essel. 'o

Remember ing

s not onlya

mentalevent; t is a lsoan

act of embodiment

nd

project ion.

emor ies re

not

onty

hidden n the secret

lectrochemical

rocesses

of the brain; hey

arealsostored

n ourskeletons, uscles

ndskin.At loursenses

andorgans

hinkand

remember.

Theembodied

memory

I can ecal l he

hundreds f hoteI oomsaround

he wor ld,which

have emporar i ly

inhabi ted ur ing

my ivedecades f t ravel l ing,

i th heir urni ture,

olour chemes

and t ight ing,

ecause have nvested

nd lef t

par ts

of

my bodyand my

mind n

theseanonymous

nd insigni f icant

ooms.The

protagonist

f MarcelProust 's

n

Search

f Lost ime

reconstructs

imilarly

is very

dentityand ocation hrough

his

embodiedmemory:

Mybody,ti l l ooheavy

ith

leep

omove, ould ndeavour

oconstrueromhe

pattern

f ts

tirednesshe

position

f

ts ariousimbs,norderodeduceherefrom

hedirection

f hewall,

the ocationf he

urniture,o

piece

ogethernd

ive

nameo hehouse

nwhicht tay.ts

memory,he

compositeemoryf ts

ibs,tsknees,tsshoulder-blades,

fferedt a whole

series

f oomsnwhicht had toneime

ranotherlept, hiteheunseen

alls,hift ingnd

adaptingthemselves

o he hapefeach uccessive

oomhat t

remembered,hirtedt

n

he

dark. .

mybody, outdecallrom ach

oomnsuccessionhe tyle fthe

ed,he

position

f

the

doors,

he

angtetwhichhe unlight

amenat hewindows,hetherhere

as

passage

outside,

hathad adnmind hen

wentosleep ndoundhere

henawoke."

We are againencounter ingn

exper iencehat br ings

o mind a

fragmented

Cubist omposi t ion.

e

are aught

o th ink of

memory s a cerebral apaci ty,

ut

the

actof memory ngages

urent i re ody.


8/14

SPACE,PLiACE,MEMORY AND IMAGINATION

"Body

memory s . . . the natural enterof any sensitive ccount f remember-

ing",

phitosopher

dwardS. Casey rgues n his seminalbook Memorizing: Phe-

nomenologicaltudy, nd concludes:Theres no memorywithoutbodymemory.""

Inmyview, e coutd ayeven

more;

ody

s not

ontythe ocus f remembrance,t is

alsohesiteand

medium

f al[

creative ork, ncluding

he

work

of the architect.

Memory ndemotion

Inaddi t iono beingmemory evices,andscapesnd bui ld ings realsoampl i f iers

ofemot ions;hey einforceensat ionsf betonging r a l ienat ion,nvi tat ion r re jec-

tion, ranquill i ty r despair.A landscape r work of architecture annot,however,

createeelings. hroughheirauthority nd aura, heyevokeand strengthen ur own

emotions nd

project

hem back o us as if these e elingsof ours had an external

source.n the Laurentian ibraryn Florenceconfrontmy own senseof metaphysi-

calmelancholywakened nd

projected

ackby

Michelangelo 's

rchi tecture.he

opt imismhat I exper ience

hen

approachinghe

Paimio

Sanator ium

s my

own

sense f hopeevoked nd strengthenedy

AlvarAalto's

optimistic rchitecture.

he

hillof the meditation

rove

at the

WoodlandCemeteryn

Stockholm,

or instance,

evokes state of longingand

hope

hroughan

image

hat

is

an

invitation

and a

promise.

his archi tectural

mage

of

landscape vokes

simultaneously

emem-

brance nd

maginat ion

s he

composi te

ainted

mage f ArnotdBr jckt in 's

ls land

ofDeath" . l l poet icmages recondensat ionsnd microcosms.

The modernistarchitectureof

the

Paimio

Sanator ium

rojects

images f hopeand healing.

AlvarAal to ,Paimio uberculosis

Sanator ium, a imio, 929-33

195

. *@.

IW..@

."#.. . .

W

-

f f i ,

d

.w

nC

/#&"#

.

r.rliiffiirli:..,ii@illllri,.rilliffillll:

lrir:iiffilllll:i:iiiir@lll:rrirli6lll:rrrir:€


9/14

196

2OO7:

JUHANI PALLASMAA

The Medi ta t ionGroveon the

hil l san imageof

hope and resurrect ion. unnar

Asplundand

SigurdLewerentz,

The Woodland

cemeterv. Stockholm,

1915/1932

"House,

even

more han the landscape,

s a

psychic

tate" ,

Bachelardug"

gests.23

ndeed,

wr i ters, i [m directors,

oets,

nd

painters

o not

ust

depict and-

scapes r

housesas unavoidable

eographic

nd

physical

et t ings

f the events

of theirstor ies; heyseek o express, vokeand ampt i f iTumanemot ions,mental

statesand

memorieshrough

purposeful

epict ions

f set t ings, oth

naturaI nd

man-made. Let us

assumea

wa[[ :what takes

place

behind

t?" , asks he

poet

Jean

ardieu, 'aut we archi tects

arely other o

imagine hat

happens ehindhe

wal ls

we haveerected.

hewal lsconceived y

archi tects reusual ly

mereaesthet i -

c ized

onstruct ions,nd

we seeour craf t

n

terms

of designing

esthet ic t ructures

rather hanevoking

ercept ions,

eel ings nd

antasies.

Art ists eem o

grasp

he inter twining

f

place

and

humanmind,

memory nd

desire,muchbetter han

we archi tects

o,and hat

s why heseotherar t

orms an

provide

uchst imulat ing

nspirat ion

orourworkas

wel l

as

or archi tectural

duca'

t ion.There reno bet ter essons f the extraordinaryapaci ty f ar t ist ic ondensa-

t ions n evoking

microcosmic

mages f the

wor ld han, say, he

shortstor ies

f

Anton

Chekhov nd

Jorge

uisBorges, r Giorgio

Morandi 's

minutest i [ [ i fes

on-

sist ing

f a fewbott les nd

cupson a table op.

lrl,:i

,rrlSll

:i:i::,rrrrr:.,::,,,,,r1

..:15r.

i:ii |ri:

r"..trlffllrrii:ii


10/14

SPACE,PLACE,

MEMORY AND IMAGINATION

Slownessnd

remembering speedand

orgetting

"Theres a secretbond between lowness nd memory, etween peedand forget-

t ing . .

the

degree f s lowness

s

direct ly

roport ional

o the

intensi ty f memory:

the egree f speed

s

direct ly

roport ional

o the

ntensi ty f forget t ing" ,

uggests

Mi lan undera. '5 i th he dizzying ccelerat ionf the

veloci ty

f t ime today and

the onstant peeding p of our

exper ient ia leal i ty, e areser iouslyhreatened y

a

generaI

ul turaI mnesia.

n

oday's cceterated

i fe,we can ina[ [y nly

perceive,

not emember.n

the society

f the spectacle e can only

marvet , ot remember.

Speed nd t ransparency

eaken emembrance,ut they

have

been

undamental

fascinat ions

f

moderni ty ince he

proclamat ion

f

F.T.Mar inet t i n

the

Futur ist

mani festo

lmost

a fu[ [century go:

The

wortd 's

magni f icenceas

beenenr iched

bya new beauty; he beautyof speed", '6 nd l(ar [Marx'sprophesy: Everything

that

s

sol id

. . mel ts nto he air . " '7Today,venarchi tectureeeks he sensat ion

ofspeed,nstant educt ion nd

grat i f icat ion,

nd urnsaut ist ic, s a

consequence.

Ihearchi tecturaIonfessionf Cooo

Himmelblaul lustrateshis asoirat ionor dra-

mat izedrchi tecturalct ion ndsoeed:

The

estheticsfthe

architecturefdeathnwhite heets.eath

n

iled ospitalooms.

he

architecturefsudden

eath

n he

pavement.

eathrom rib-cage

ierced

ya steeringhaft.

The

ath

fthe ulletthrough

dealer'sead n

4znd

treet.he estheticsfthe

eep-show

sex

nwashable

lastic

oxes.fthe rokenonguesndhedried-upyes.'8

In myview,however, rchi tecture

s inherent ly

slowand

quiet ,

emot ional ly

low-energyrt form

in

comparison

with

the

dramatic

arts

of sudden affective

impact.ts rote s not to create trong

oregroundiguresor feelings, ut to estab-

l ish rames f

percept ion

nd

hor izons

f understanding.

he

ask

of archi tectures

not o makeus weepor laugh, ut o sensi t ize s o

be able

o

entera[ [emot ional

states. rchi tecture

s needed

o

provide

he

ground

and

project ion

creenof

remembrance

ndemot ion.

I

bel ieve

n

an

archi tecturehat s lowsdown and

focuses uman

exper ience

instead f speeding p or di f fusing t . In my view,archi tectureas to safeguard

memories

nd

protect

he authent ic i ty nd

independence

f

human exper ience.

Archi tectures fundamentat tyhe ar t ormof emancipat ion,nd

t makes

us under-

stand nd

remember howe are.

Architecturalmnesia

There

re

di f ferent inds of archi tecture

n relat ion

o

memory:

ne that

cannot

recal l

r touch

upon he

past

and another hat evokes senseof

depthand con-

t inui ty. heres alsoan archi tecturehat seeks o rememberi teral ly,ike he archi-

tectural

orksof Postmodernism,nd another hat

creates senseof deep ime,

andepiccont inui ty i thoutany

direct ormaI eference,s he worksof Alvar

Aal to,

Dimit r is ik ionis

nd

Car loScarpa. hese re

products

f a

"poet ic

chemistry" ,o

use n evocat ive

ot ionof Bachelard. 'every igni f icant nd rue

work

sets

tset f n

' t97


11/14

198

2OO7: JUHANI

PALLASMAA

a respect fuI

ia logue i th he

past ,

both

distantand

mmediate. t the same

ime

that the

work defends

tsel f

as a unique

and complete

microcosm,

t revives nd

revi ta l izes

he

past .

Every

rue

workof ar toccupies

thickand ayered

ime nstead

of

mere ontemporanei ty.

There s

yet

another

imensionn archi tectural

emory.

rchi tecturaImages,

or exper iences,

avea

histor ic i ty nd ontology

f their own.

Archi tectureegins

with

he

establ ishmentf

a hor izontal

lane;

onsequentty,he

loor s he "oldest"

and most

potent

element f archi tecture.

hewa[[ s morearchaic

han he

dooror

the

window,and

projects

deeper

meaning s a consequence.

oderni ty

assuf-

fered

rom

another

ind of amnesia

s archi tectural

lements nd

imageshave

become bstracted

nd detached

rom heiror ig ins nd

ontologicaIssences.

he

f loor ,

or nstance, as

orgot tents or ig inas level led

arth,and urned

nto mere

constructedor izontal lanes.n act ,as Bachelarduggests,uman onstruct ions

of the technological

ge

have orgotten erticality ltogether,

nd urned

nto mere

horizontality. oday's kyscrapers

onsist f stacked

orizontality nd

have ost he

sense

of ver t ical i ty,he

fundamentaI ntologicaI

i f ference etween

belowand

above,Het land

Heaven. lso, he

loor

and

he cei l ing

avebecome

dent icat or i -

zontaIolanes.

hewindowand he

doorareof ten

merehotes n the wal l .

do not

have he space

here o elaborate n th is

themeof the

histor ic i ty f archi tectural

images nd he current

rchi tecturaImnesia

esul t ing

rom he lossof the

histor

ic i tyof exper iences;

merety

oint

at he

mental igni f icance

f his dimension.

The ensesof art

I venture o suggest hat

in its very essence rtistic

work

is

oriented

owards he

past

rather han the

future.Brodsky eems

o support h is

view as he argues:

"There

s something

tear ly tavist ic

n

the

process

f

recol lect ion,f onlybecause

sucha

process

ever s l inear.

Also

he

moreone

remembers,he ctoser

erhaps

one s o dieing." : "

ln

anysigni f icant

xper ience,

emporalayers

nteract ; hat

s

perceived

nter '

actswith

what s remembered,he

noveI hor t -c i rcui ts

i th he archaic.

n ar t ist ic

exper iencelways wakeshe orgot ten hi tdhidden nside ne'sadul tpersona.

Thereare

abr icated

mages n today'sarchi tecture

nd ar t hat are

lat and

withoutan emot ional

cho,but there

are also

novel mages hat

resonate i th

remembrance.he at terare

myster ious nd

fami l iar , bscure nd

clear ,at the

same ime.

Theymoveus through

he remembrances

nd associat ions,

mot ions

and

empathy hat they awaken

n us. Artistic

novelty an

move

us only

provided

t

touches

omethinghat

we

already

ossess

n ourverybeing.

Every

rofound

rt is-

tic

work surely

grows

rom memory, ot

rom rootlessntellectual

nvention.

ft istic

worksaspire

o br ingus back

o an undivided nd

undi f ferent iated

ceanic or ld,

This s

the

Omegahat

Tei lhard e Chardin

r i tes

about,

the

point

romwhich he

wor ldappears omplete nd

correct" .3 '

We are usual ty

ondi t ionedo think that

ar t istsand archi tects

ught o

be

addressinghe

uture eaders, iewers, nd

users f their

products.

oseph

rodsky

is very determined,

ndeed,about he

poet 's

emporal

perspect ive:

When

one


12/14

MEMORY

AND IMAGINATION

Looking hrough a win dow isa

profound

architectural ncounter ather han a visual esignof the window itself

Caspar

avid

Fr iedr ich,Frauam Fenster" , 822

199


13/14

200

2OO7:JUHANI

PALLASMAA

writes, ne's

most mmediate

udience

s notone's wn ontemporaries,

etalone

posterity,

utone's

predecessors.'32

No

realwriter ver

wantedo be

contempor-

ary", orge uisBorgesrguesn hesame

ain.33

his iewopens nother

ssential

perspective

n the significance

nd

oleof remembrance;

[[creative

ork

s

co[-

laboration

ith the

past

and

with

the

wisdomof

tradition.Every

rue

novelist

listens

or that suprapersonal

isdom

the

wisdom

f the

nove[], hichexplains

why

great

novels realways

litttemore

ntelligenthan heirauthors.

ovelists

whoare

more ntelt igenthan

heirbooks hould

o

nto

another

ineof

work",

Milan

Kunderargues.3a

he ame bservation

s equatlyrue

of architecture;

reat

buitdings

re ruitsof the

wisdom f architecture,

heyare

products

f a

collabora-

tion,

oftenunconscious,

ithour

great redecessors

s

much s hey

areworks f

their

ndividuaIreators.

nlyworks hat

are n

vitaI

and

espectfuI

iatogue ith

theirpastpossesshe mental apacityo surviveimeandstimulateiewers,is-

teners,

eaders,nd

occupants

n

he

uture.

NOTES

1 Karsten arries,

Thoughts n a

Non-ArbitraryArchitecture"

n DavidSeamon

ed.),

Dwelling,

Seeingand

Designing:

Toward

a

Phenomenological

cology,Albany,

NY:State University

f

NewYorkPrcss, 993,

.

47.

2 Karsten

Hanies, Buildingand the

Terror f Time",

Perspecta: he

YaleArchitectural

ournal

79,1982.As

quoted

n DavidHarvey,he Condition

f Postmodernify,

ambridge:

lackwell,

1992,

.206.

3

Gaston

Bachelard, he

Poetics f Space, oston,

MA:Beacon ress,

969,

.

46.

4

As

quoted

n Max

Picard,TheWorldof Silence,

Washington,

C:Begnery ateway,

988,

.

z3r. Kierkegaard

rites: The

present

tate

fthe wortd nd he

whote f i fe

s diseased.fI

werea doctor

and wereasked

or my advice, shouldsay:

Create i lence

ring

men

o

silence."

5

ln MaxPicard,

heWorld f Silence,

.227.

6

ln MaxPicard, he World f Silence,

.2L2.

Z

foseph

Brodsky, A

Place s Goodas

Any" n

On

Grief nd

Reason, ewYork:

Farrar, traus

andGiroux,

997,p.43.

8

Antoine e Saint-Exup6ry,

ind, and ndStars,

ondon: enguin

ooks,99r,

p.

39.

9

RainerMariaRitke,TheNotebooks f MalteLauridsBrigge,M.O.HerterNorton, rans.;New

York nd

London:W.W.Norton Co.,

992,

pp.

30-31.

10 Ritke,

he Notebooks fMalte

Laurids rigge,pp.47-48.

77

loseph

Brodsky,APlaceas

Good sAny"

n

On

Grief ndReason,p.37.

12 SusanSontag,

OnPhotography,

armondworth:enguin

ooks, 986.

tj

Jarkko

aine, Tikusta siaa"

n Parnasso , t982,

pp.323-24.

74 Waltace tevens,

Theory"n TheCollected

oems, ew

York:VintageBooks,

99o,

p.

85.

t5 Nodl

Arnaud,

s

q

uoted n

Bachelard, hePoetics f Space,

.

t37.

t6

Bachelard, hePoetics f Space,

.6.

77 T.S.Et iot , ourQuartets,

anDiego: arcourtBraceJovanovich

ublishers,

y7\pp.58-59.

18 Maurice

Merleau-Ponty,C6zanne's

oubt" n Sense nd

Non'Sense,

vanston,L: North'

westernUniversity ress, 964,p. t9.

79

Joseph

rodsky, n

Grief ndReason,

.

zo6.

20

Bohumil rabat,oo Loud Soli tude.

anDiego, A:

Harcouttnc.,

990,

.

1.

27 MarcetProust,

n Search f LostTime: wann's

Way,C.K.Scott

Moncrieff Terence

ilmartin,

trans.;

ondon: heRandom

ouse, 992,

p.4-5.


14/14

SPACE,

IACE, MEMORYAND IMAGINATION

22

Edward . Casey,Memorizing: Phenomenological

fudy,Btoomington,N: Indiana

Univer-

sityPress, ooo,

p.

r48, 72.

23

Bachelard,hePoetics

fSpace,p.7z.

24

As

quoted

n Georges erec, iloja

a

avaruuksia,

sp6ces

'espaces, riginal itle; Helsinki:

Loki-Kir lat ,992,

p.

7

2.

25

Milan undera,lowness,ewYork: arperCotl ins

ubt ishers,

966,

.

39.

26

AsquotedinThomMayne,"Statemenl" inPeterPran,LigangQui:DUTPress,2006,p.4.

27 "All ixed,ast-frozenelat ions, i th heir rainof ancient

nd

venerable

re. iudices

ndopin-

ions,

re wept way, l l

newformed

nesbecome nt iquatedeforeheycanossif i7.l [

hat

issolidmelts ntoair,al l hat s holy s

profaned,

nd

men

at lastare orced o face . . the

realcondit ions

f heir ives nd heir elat ions ith heir el lowmen."

28

CoopHimmelblau,Die Fascinationer

Stadt"

n

AnthonyVidler,TheArchitectural ncanny,

Cambridge,A:TheMITPress, 999,

.76.

29 Gaston

achela"d,

Water nd Dreams: n Essay n the magination f Matter,Dallas, X:The

Pegasusoundation,

y83,

p.46.

30

Joseph

rodsky, essThanOne,NewYork:Farrar

trausGiroux, 986,

p.

3o.

31

As

quoted

n TimoVatjakka

ed.),

uhana

lomstedt:muodon rvo,Helsinki: ainatuskeskus,

1995.

j2

Joseph

rodsky,Letterto orace"n OnGriefand eason,p.43g.

33

As

quoted

n Norman homas i

Giovanni f a/.

(eds),

Borges n Writing,Hopewell:heEcco

Press,994,

p.53.

34

MilanKundera,TheArtoftheVovelNewYork:HarperCol l insPubl ishers lnc. ,2ooo,p.

58.

201

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