Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Hillier, Bill
• Hanson, Julienne

Titel

THE SOCIAL LOGIC OF SPACE

Erscheinungsjahr

1984

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

Sociological Abstracts

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• A study of the social aspects of architectural space, in 8 Chpts with an authors' Preface, Introduction, & Postscript. The Preface -- locates architecture's direct relation to social life in its provision of the material preconditions for patterns of movement, avoidance, & encounter that are the realization & generator of social relations. It is argued that the applied discipline of architecture may generate a new theory of the society-space relation that can lead to better design. Proposed is a new theory & method of spatial analysis, to be applied to settlements, building interiors, & society. The Introduction -- notes that buildings differ from other physical artefacts in that their primary purpose is the ordering of space. The state of discourse about the social logic of space in architecture, anthropology, & other social sciences is outlined. Described is the process generation of a model to analyze situations & explain how & why societies create different spatial relations. Outlined is research on an unspecified number of London streets & "estates" (ie, housing developments) in which the numbers of static & moving people in spaces were observed, mapped, & analyzed, showing that awareness of others is powerfully influenced by architectural form. (1) The Problem of Space -- attempts to establish a framework for redefinition of the problem of space, so that society is described in terms of its intrinsic spatiality & space is described in terms of its intrinsic sociality. (2) The Logic of Space -- proposes the concept of spatial order as restriction on an otherwise random process. The cases of settlements in a number of countries from various points in history are used to demonstrate that certain types of spatial order can be manually or computer simulated. More complex restrictions on the random process can produce more complex & quite distinct patterns of order, allowing analysis of space via the concept of fundamental elementary generators. (3) The Analysis of Settlement Layouts -- uses generative syntax as the basis for a method of analysis of settlement forms. The settlement is seen as a bipolar system arranged between primary cells (eg, houses) & the world outside the settlement. The structure of space is seen as a way of interfacing relations among settlement inhabitants, & between inhabitants & strangers. Alpha-analysis, a model for syntactic representation, analysis & interpretation is applied to many types of settlement. This method is argued to deal with both a settlement's global & local physical structure, & to provide a description of space that incorporates its social origins & consequences. (4) Buildings and Their Genotypes -- adapts the analytic method to consideration of building interiors, which are asserted to be different in kind -- as well as scale -- from settlement structures. Buildings are analyzed & compared in terms of the arrangement & interrelation of different categories, & in terms of the buildings' interface of relations between occupants & visitors. Crosscultural examples of domestic space are discussed, arguing that spatial organization is a function of the form of social solidarity or social reproduction. (5) The Elementary Building and Its Transformations -- outlines a general theory of buildings in terms of spatial form, based on comparison of various cases with the elementary building & its social relations. Type of interface is an important conceptual component of building typology. Contemporary complex buildings are discussed within this framework, & it is argued that buildings play a central role in organizing certain types of social relation. (6) The Spatial Logic of Arrangements -- argues, based on the foundation of the problem of order, that it is possible to describe physical arrangements in terms of abstract ordering principles, so that order & randomness can be related in a new way. Randomness is actually a form of necessary order in both social systems & spatial arrangements. Elaborated is a framework to relate different kinds of material & conceptual components -- as well as randomness & order -- of physical arrangements. The dimensions of the arrangemental model are related to concepts of ideology, politics, & productive base of a society. (7) The Spatial Logic of Encounters: A Computer-Aided Thought Experiment -- shows that the proposed framework allows a computer to generate a system with the most elementary properties & reproductive logic of a society. It is also argued that such fundamental social ideas as SC can be given a spatial interpretation through the concept of differential solidarity. Societies are seen as relations between different forms of solidarity, with space always a function of such differential solidarities. (8) Societies as Spatial Systems -- analysis is focused on the spatial forms of the societies of the Tallensi of Ghana (based on Fortes, M., The Dynamics of Clanship amongst the Tallensi, Oxford U Press, 1945) & the Ndembu of Zambia (based on Turner, V., Schism and Continuity in an African Society, Manchester U Press, 1957). Outlined is a general theory of the different spatial pathways necessitated by different types of social morphology. Focus is on building a framework for further research. (9) Postscript -- outlines a theory of contemporary space, which is tied to basic differences in social formations of advanced industrial countries. Modern space is argued to be a further instance of the principle that a society's spatial organization is "a function of differentiation principles of social solidarities in relation to one another.". 5 Tables, 135 Figures.