Aldo Van Eyck

Aldo van Eyck –

Aldo van Eyck –

 The Playgr

 The Playgr

ounds and the City

ounds and the City

Liane Lefaivre, ””Space, Place and Play –Space, Place and Play – or theor the

interstitial/cybernetic/polycentric urban model underlying van Eycks’s interstitial/cybernetic/polycentric urban model underlying van Eycks’s quasi-unknown but nevertheless, myriad postwar msterdam

quasi-unknown but nevertheless, myriad postwar msterdam  playgrounds

 playgrounds”,”, (in (in Aldo van E Aldo van Eyck- The yck- The Playgrounds Playgrounds and the Citand the City y , Stedelijk Museu, Stedelijk Museu Asterda, e!hi"ition catalogue, #$$#%

Asterda, e!hi"ition catalogue, #$$#%  The &utch arch

 The &utch architect Aldo van Eyck ('')*'% staitect Aldo van Eyck ('')*'% started his career in '+ in rted his career in '+ in -ost.ar-ost.ar tie Asterda .ith a large nu"er of -laygrounds (over $$ .ere "uilt until

tie Asterda .ith a large nu"er of -laygrounds (over $$ .ere "uilt until ')%')% in di/erent -laces in A

in di/erent -laces in Asterda citysterda city0 0 1e shared .ith a1e shared .ith any artists of the tie theny artists of the tie the sae desire for a ne. -layful and inforal society0

sae desire for a ne. -layful and inforal society0  The sites-eci2c -laygr

 The sites-eci2c -laygrounds ounds .ere ade .ith si.ere ade .ith si-le eans and -le eans and o"jects, fraes foro"jects, fraes for cli"ing, a sand-it, a grou- of circular concrete "locks – o"jects

cli"ing, a sand-it, a grou- of circular concrete "locks – o"jects that are not inthat are not in theselves anything

theselves anything "ut an o-en fu"ut an o-en function nction to stiulate a chto stiulate a child3s iagination anild3s iagination andd free oveents0 The incr

free oveents0 The increased eased interest in childrinterest in children in art and culture .aen in art and culture .as -art of as -art of a uch "road

uch "roader social er social and cultural currand cultural current centered on the childent centered on the child00

Durgerdammerdijk, northeast Amsterdam, 1955, 1957 Durgerdammerdijk, northeast Amsterdam, 1955, 1957

Zeedijk, A

Zeedijk, Amsterdam msterdam -Centrum, 1-Centrum, 1955, 1956955, 1956

Working methods and theory

Working methods and theory Eycks idea of des

Eycks idea of design to a given urign to a given ur"an setting, rather "an setting, rather than .orking .than .orking .ith -re*ith -re* conceived assu-tions, has -arallells in other 2elds in

conceived assu-tions, has -arallells in other 2elds in -ost.ar tie in literature,-ost.ar tie in literature, cinea, -olitics, -hilos

cinea, -olitics, -hiloso-hy or science o-hy or science reacting on a reacting on a -riori conce-ts an-riori conce-ts and a"stractd a"stract -rinci-les of etha-hysics

-rinci-les of etha-hysics .hether they .ere r.hether they .ere researchers esearchers in -hilosohy of ordinin -hilosohy of ordinaryary language, e!istenstialists, -henoenologists or atheaticians, .hatever

language, e!istenstialists, -henoenologists or atheaticians, .hatever disagreeents

disagreeents, they , they shared one thing4 they shared one thing4 they a--roached their -ro"les asa--roached their -ro"les as

e"edded in real 5cirustances5, 5lived*in conditions5, 5 e!-erienced cases5, 5 e"edded in real 5cirustances5, 5lived*in conditions5, 5 e!-erienced cases5, 5 iediate conte!ts5 or 5situations50

iediate conte!ts5 or 5situations50

Eyck 6s strategy .as to stick to the general anti*esta"lishent 5 situational5 s-irit of Eyck 6s strategy .as to stick to the general anti*esta"lishent 5 situational5 s-irit of the tie, es-ecially Sartr

the tie, es-ecially Sartre3s .ritings .ith e3s .ritings .ith categories 57othingnescategories 57othingness5 and 58eing5 s5 and 58eing5 toto .hich van Eycks distinction s-ace and -lace can "e seen as a -arallell0 They "oth .hich van Eycks distinction s-ace and -lace can "e seen as a -arallell0 They "oth re"elled against the idea of grandiose, to-*do.n, authorative systes0

re"elled against the idea of grandiose, to-*do.n, authorative systes0 Eycks -laygrounds are one of

Eycks -laygrounds are one of the ost original the ost original contri"utions to architecture,contri"utions to architecture, ur"anis and

ur"anis and art in -ost.ar tie0 1e is the "est -lace*art in -ost.ar tie0 1e is the "est -lace*aker ever .ith theaker ever .ith the -laygrounds "ut they have "een a secret during the

-laygrounds "ut they have "een a secret during the #$$$th century .hen#$$$th century .hen architectur

architecture -rofession .as not a"le to e -rofession .as not a"le to -ercieve the "ecause they .ere so-ercieve the "ecause they .ere so iaterial0

Dijkstraat, Amsterdam centrum, 195

9an Eyck coined at that tie, aong other catch .ords that no. is standard in architectural discourse , the shocking distinction "et.een 5s-ace5 and 5-lace5 and

the 5in"et.een5, the last one "orro.ed fro Martin 8u"er ( "ook 5: and Thou5, '#;%0 9an Eycks de2ntion on s-ace "ecae i-ortant to 1enri Lefev"re conce-t 5a"stract s-ace5, Marc Aug<s 5non*-lace of su-erodernity5, =e >oolhaas 5  junks-ace5 and 5 generic city50 (>oolhaas, #$$'4#'*+#,+;*?% (: a e!-loring

ore of v Eyck3s thinking and conce-ts of the 5t.in -henoena5 the 5in*"et.een real5 , 5-lace and occasion 5 etc "elo.0%

1e changed the &utch citysca-e0 :n the early #$$$th century3s tendency to.ard a dissolition of these -laces and the rise of a ne. anonyous, sterile alternative

s-ace only one kind of ur"an -lanning .as acce-ta"le 4 5to-*do.n5 -lanning0 C:AM (Congr@s :nternationeau! d3 Architecture Moderne5% used di/erent .ords for this kind of -lanning4 for instance Le Cor"usier 5la cit@ =adiuese5 1il"erseier 5 Brosstadt Arkitektur5 and v Eesten 5funktionele stad5

!e Cour"usier#s im$ersona% hand o&er his mode% 'or the Cit( )adieuse, 19*7 +to$ &an esteren#s $re.ar "ird#s eye &ie. o' Amsterdam, 19* +"e%o.

:n the afterath of # , the one ajor change that e/ected this 5to-*do.n5 thinking a"out cities .as to turn to-*do.n thinking on its head and ado-t an a--roch that .as 0 5ground*u-, 5dirty real5, 5 situational5 0 9an Eyck3s -laygrounds .as the 2rst real alternative to C:AM*style ur"an -lanning0 1e fored the grou- Tea Ten .ith the collegues Alison and Peter Sithson, Bian Carlo de Carlo , Schadrach oods, Beorge Candilis and Ale!is Dosic0

Eyck3s strategy is the strategy of the interstitial and the -olycentric as o--osed to the strategy of the aster-lan of C:AM0

/round-u$ $ost-.ar a$$roach to the city0 a$ .ith $%anned interstitia% $%aygrounds making a $o%ycentric net, 2ordaan district , Amsterdam

Playgrounds .as in the architect 1enri Lefev"re3s taste as he also shared the sae re"ellious, noncoforist, ground*u- thinking and -layed a crucial role in sha-ing architectural sensitivities the follo.ing #? years0 :n Critique de la

Qiutidienne Lefev"re argued that the ordinary, forgotten, everyday areas on the

-eriferi of the etro-olitan city .ere -riviliged -laces of -oetic e!-erience and social life0 :t .as -u"lished the sae year as v Eycks 2rst -layground '+ and have great siilarities in feeling0

hat v Eyck cae closest to, in his co"ining the to-*do.nand grund*u- odels, .as 7or"ert iener3s cy"ernetic theory of self*regulating organiss constantly adjusting theselves in res-onse to ne. in-uts and5learing fro5 their evolving conte!ts through feed"ack loo-s, through a -rocess called in"et.eening0 :n the -laygrounds this in"et.eening is highly co-le! , "ringing together di/erent -eo-le, "ut also di/erent foral canons and di/erent ur"an strategies0

 There are any faces to this in"et.eening of to-*do.n and ground*u- thinking0 or instance in the foral co-ostional eleents in v Eyck3s -laygrounds that is a co"o of classical and anti*classical architectura fors , a hy"rid .ay0 Soe of the -laygrounds .ere classical soe anticlassical0 Like the one at Mendes da

Costahof ado-ting the rigourous classical geoetry of rench foral garden and the -layground at SaFerstraat, siilar to Mondrian3s art.orkDiamond compositions0

endes da Costaho' "y & yck , 1957, 1963 and !iamond composition, ondrian, 1945 and aerstraat, $%ayground "y & yck, 1953, 1951

Another kind of foral -oetics at .ork in the -laygrounds .as an atte-t to e!-ress the genus loci , no atter ho. rough, irregular or un-olished0 The

uniGeness .ith Asterda3s -laygrounds, co-ared to other cities, is that they are interstitial , inserted .ith the living fa"ric of the city0 Each has its o.n uniGue

con2guration, .here only the site coes into -lay0 They are all sites-eci2c asyetrical, "lo"*like, contorted, fractured, "roken0

 The searching for genus loci is al.ays associated .ith irregularity or roughness of real fors, originally fro the ')$$th centurie3s roantic oveent0 =eality has al.ays "een dirty and essy, 5dirty real50 9 Eyck .rote to the &irector of Pu"lic ork of Asterda '?' and declined to -rettify the "are 2re.alls surrounding the -laygrounds, -referring the 5-ositive5 as-ects of5-lastic5 reality of their roughness0 9 Eyck .as close friend .ith the artists Asger Dorn, Coreille och >aren A--el of the artist grou- Co"ra ('+*'?'%0

 The &ijkstraat -layground('?+, -icture a"ove%4 concieved .ithin the conte!t of the site , it gives a frae to ur"an life0 As o--osed to -ost.ar onuents "y Piacsso, Moore etc , the -layground 5learns 5 fro its conte!t0 :t is one of the 2rst site* s-eci2c scul-tures of the -ost.ar -eriod0 :n density of eaning and i-act on the ur"an setting, it "rings to ind the ty-e of ur"an sculture that =ichard Serra, Daes  Turell and Christo .ere to "uild, "ut #$ years later0 :n addition, it is one of fe. cases

.here the sae .ork can "e t.o things* ur"anis and scul-ture, siultanelously 0  These .orks are reada"le in "oth registers0 They overla- co-letely0 The +th issue of 

agaHine Co"ra coincided .ith the Steduijk e!hi"ition of autun '+ devoted to the thee of childhood* another instance of ins-iration coing "otto*u- rather the to-*do.n0 :n ajor cultural role reversal the child "ecae a odel for the adult in the 5naif 5, child*like Art 8rut .orks "y Dean &u"u/et and Doan MirI, -ost.ar

Eyck eans that the -ainter Dackson Pollock .as a treendous inJuence on architects at the tie0 Peggy Buggenhei e!hi"ited hi in her 9enicevilla0

A "road rethinking the conce-t of childhood took -lace in -ost.ar tie, in any cultural e!-ressions the child "ecae e-o.ered as never "efore, s-read into the social sciences ra-idly0 irst sign of change .as -erha-s the revolutionary The Common Sense Book o Ba!y and Child Care('+K% advocating e!treely li"eral , non*authorian a--roach to child*rearing0

 This ne. -ost.ar i-ortance to children also sha-ed re-resentations of architecture and ur"anis to a certain e!tent0 >evin Lynch "ased uch of his research in the ?$3s on studying it and child dra.ing on The "mage o the City ('K$%0

omo !udens

Eycks -layground also reJected a dee-*seated cultural continuity in &utch culture4 kinders-ielen, 5children3s -lay5 , re-resented in readi"ly ur"an settings , is a to-os in 7etherlandish -ainting and 7orthern huanistic culture "ack to 'K$$th century0 The u"iGuity of children in &utch -ainting are not -utti or iortal children "ut real is another side of sae tradition4 children in -aintings -ut in to-ograh-ically eaningful settings, to.n hall vie. te!, to evoke the civic and -u"lic virtues to

.hich the correctly "rought*u- child should "e led0 The -aintings are scenes fro the interior of the &utch ental .orld0 it 2lled a -ractical -ur-ose to instil re-u"lican values into children fro an early age and "ring the into the fold of the reality of civic life in "ourgeois society0 ost eFcent .ay to this learning -rocess .as in a -lay setting0

Cor van Eestern , old to-*do.n C:AM* functionalist, .ho hade ade no -rovisions for -laygrounds in his E!tensions Plan for Asterda of ';+, "ecae devoted ground* u- situationalist, actively dedicated to -lacing '?) 5 kleuters-eel-laatsjes5 or

5sall -laygrounds for the little ones5 in -ost .ar -rojects Slotereer0 As head of City &eveklo-ent for the city of Asterda after the.ar he radicallay changed his a--roach "ecause of the Asterda -laygrounds0ithout a"andoning the idea of to-*do.n -lanning, he "egan to 5learn5 fro -articularities and irregularities of left* over interstitial -laces in the e!isting fa"ric of the city and to .ork .ith the instead of overlooking the0

So .hat a young architect had started in '+ "ecae oFcial -olicy* every "lock that .anted .as eGui--ed .ith a -layground0 The solution of -laygrounds .as clearly linked in the ind of v Eyck to the issue of ur"an density0 :n the densely -o-ulated neigh"orhoods , the "est solution eerged to "e to set u- te-oraray, saller -laygrounds0 The -laygrounds "ecae a constant thee in his -lanning activities and e!-lains -ro"a"ly the Guality of life in these neigh"ourhoods0 1e also s-eci2ed the i-ortance of -laygrounds concieved as e-heeral and evolving rather than as 2!ed and static0 1e said they should "e included in a .ay that is not ore than te-orary0 ne ust ark the -laygrounds clearly in the interstitial s-ace that is intended for -lay0

or v Eyck chilhood .as the sae as the5ludic5 , the idea .as -art of the de"ate of the tie0 10 Lefev"re used the ar!isitic conce-t of alienation , to outline the thoery of 5everydayness5, le quoitidien, "uilt on the hu"le and re-etetive as-ects of life as o--osed to those as-ects of the .orld of -roduction or consu-tion0 Levfe"vre

locus of 5festival50 1is -ur-ose .as 5to o--ose everday life and re*organise it until it is as good as ne., its s-urious rationality and authority unasked and the antithesis "et.een the Guotidian and the estival5( Lefe"vre '$4#$?*#$K%0

8S8ut he held there .as ore to the -laygrounds than frivolity4 the -rofound "elief in the civilising function of -lay0 The 2rst ones .ere -laced very often in voids of Asterda .here the houses of de-orted De.s had stood0 illing the .ith life in the face of these facts .as a redeeing and thera-eutic act, a .ay of .eaving togehther once again the fa"ric of a devastated city, to overcoe the agony of the .ar through -lay0

Cy"ernetic, $artici$atory ur"anism

 The -laygrounds arose .ithin a seihierachal, sei*anarchiac, highly -artici-atory -rocess involving any -eo-le over decades4 a cy"ernetic -rocess, ground*u-, to-* do.n, interrelating a ass of agents, each a crucial role, i-oss to disentangle fro each other* v Eyck only the ost .ell*kno.n "ecause ost vocal, ediagenic0

ithout the to- of the Pu"lic orks de-artent and the citiHens of Asterda and ore the -laygrounds .ould3nt have "een .hat they "ecae0All these -eo-le .ere all re"ells like v Eyck, and like hi .ith a cause0 :n all cy"ernetically de2ned

-henoena there are diFculties to say a"out a oent .hen it all started0 There are chain reactions and coincidences0

7e!t to the conce-t of the situation that de2nes a ne. a--roach to architecture coes conce-t of changea"i%ity, transience0 Tie understood as -art of the aesthetic a--recitation of a .ork of art is linked to the ulti-le idea of vie.s and oveent0( a canonical "ook of odern architecture4Space# Time and Architecture, Biedion , '+'%0 or the -layground tie .as a conce-t de2ning a design -roduct as a .ork in $rogress or in $rocess0 The city is therefore a te-oraray

-henoenonans so .ere the interventions of the architect in it0

8o%ycentric net

 The ost original and signi2cant as-ects of the -laygrounds is the net*like or .e"* like Guality they assue as a .hole0 They are as a constellation, a schee ade u-of situationally arising units – the -laygrounds – "ound to tie, accident and

circustance0 5The idea of the city as an o-en*ended -attern reoves the duality of interior and e!terior s-ace5 the $$ -laygrounds can "e seen like ondrians 5starry sky5 -aintings, in .hich he oved a.ay decidely fro classical closed , onocentric co-osition to.ards an o-en, anti*classical co-ositional strategy "ased on

randoely distri"uted -olycentric gala!y of nodal -oints0 -laygrounds eerging in the cracks and interstices of the city and overlaid u-on the e!isting ur"an fa"ric are also forerunners of the interstitial a--roach of the city of >evin Lynch that he called 5knots of density5 .hich he -ro-osed to link through a -olycentred net50 Lynch and v Eyck shared the o--osition to the C:AMidea of a single central, onocentric 5heart of  the city5 or 5 core50

8iet ondrian, "omposition #o$%, 1917, /emeenetmuseum den aag

Eycks -laygrounds have historical signi2cance not only as individual design cases "ut also as alternatives to -re.ar C:AM -ractices as critical events o-ening a ne. .indo. onto ne. -otentials of -lace .here there had "een nothing "efore "ut a void and e-ty s-ace0

rancis Struven, senior lecturer in architecture theory at the Nniversity og Bhent, .rites in the sae "ook a"out vEyck3s .ork0

Eyck .as ore and ore convinced that it should "e regarded as the authentic "asis of the #$$$th century4 a ne. era of si-licity and clarity, a ne. culture in .hich the recurrent, tie*hallo.ed o--osites .ould "e reconciled in a cheerful .ay0 v Eyck recognised that architecture "y L Cour"usier and =ietveld had -layed a vital -art in the construction of that ne. culture, "ut that their o"session .ith standardisation and industrialisation had gradually alienated the fro the origin0 (KK% v Eyck therefore .anted to link architecture to its avant*garde roots again0 1e .as not like his collegues interested in carrying out functionalist achieveents to all kinds of "uilding -rojects on large*scale0 1e .anted to do e!-eriental research on the eleentary sources of architecture to e!-lore the -otential of architecture as a language ore in the light of the achieveents of the avantgarde0

1e thought the various e!-ressions of the avantgarde .ere "ased on sae

fundaental intuition4 the idea o' re%ati&ity, .hich had "een anifest in art and  science since the "eginning of the century0 This eant an o-ening u- a reality .here things no longer are su"ordinated to a central -rinci-le, "ut in re%ation to each other, a reality not doinated "y a 2!ed center, "ut .here all stand-oints are of eGual value0 This ade the .orld revealed as a co-le! , -olycentric ensa"le .here things are autonoous "ut intert.ined through -urely reci-rocal relations0  The relations are as i-ortant as the things teselves0 To e!-erient -ractically

.ith non*hierarchical co-ositions in .hich di/erent things are related to one another on the "asis of eGuality, v Eyck had the -laygrounds in Asterda as his ideal 2eld of o-erations0

1is design for these sites are "ased on eleentary co-onents of visual language0 ro Mondrian he derived an syntactic insight into ho. di/erent things can "e "rought to eGuili"riu0 8ut he .as not satis2ed .ith -urely geoetric eleents .ithout association in that he .as ins-ired "y .ork of 8rancusi, Ar-, So-hie TOu"er in their synthesis of organic gro.th and crystalclear geoetry* this sho.s in the -layground furniture (as seen a"ove in the -laygrounds% that he develo-ed*

archety-ical construcitions .ith -o.erful si-licity evoking di/erent associations0

Sand-it solid yet soft, o-en "ody that could assue di/erent geoetric sha-es, circle, sGuare triangle a -olygon .ith inscri"ed circle or vv0 8eside there .ere often a nu"er of sall, solid eleents4 cylindric "locks of concrete K? c dia0 -laced in a ro.grou-, used as seats, to gather around or ju-ingstones 0 These .ere in

contact .ith thin etal ones, tu"ular cli"ing "ars , high, in grou-s arking a s-ot or dearcated territories0 -lus a large etal arch in three segents .ith s-okes  .ith conve! and concave sides could "e used for any things4 -assage, crossing, sto--ing -lace, gy a--aratus0All eleents .ere sta"le0

C%im"ing arch, =redrik endriks$%antsoen, Amsterdam->ud.est, 1959 and tones 'or jum$ing, Zaanho', $aarndammer"uurt

1e didn3t like to ake -ay o"jects like iaginary anials "ecause they don3t "elong to the city and shut do.n the iagination rather than activating it0 1e thought they ay "e fun in a fair "ut they are not suitea"le eleents of the city cause they are not real enough0 A -lay o"ject has to "e real like a "ench is real cause you can sit on it0 An alluiniu elefant is not real, it cannot .alk and is unnatural in the street 0  The -rial eleentary fors have un ur"an character and stiulate the iagination

and are not tied to any function "ut evoke di/erent use and une?$ectedones0 hey o@er means 'or chi%dren to disco&er things 'or themse%&es

Eyck "rought the -lay o"jects together in constantly changing co-ositions each foring a s-eci2c res-onse to the given situation0 The neigh"oroud .ere consultated "y the Site Pre-aration de-0 of Nr"an &evelo-ent regarding the siHe , sha-e and conte!t of the uniGue site in Guestion "ut also regarding the often co-le! net.ork of underground -i-ing that had to reain accessi"le for aintenance0 Each of the aied at the achieveent of the sae "asic intention4 to relate the di/erent

co-onents, sall and large, light and heavy, to one another as eGual eleents and there"y to articulate the given s-ace as a location .ith a character and a face of its o.n, a -lace in .hich the s-ace arked out "y the things is as i-ortant as the things theselves0 1o. did he achieve thisQ 1e introduced a focal -oint to create a 5soe.here5 and connect things to one another0 The focal -oint, usually arked "y sand-it, did not usually coincide .ith the geoetric center of the site0 :t .as al.ays out of aligneent .ith that center "ut never to the e!tend to lead attention out of the site 0 The result .as an assyetrical situation that .as "rought into dyanic eGuili"riu "y the -lacing of other eleents0 for e!a-le in the 2rst sand-it

 8ertelan-lein ('+%the sand-it .as +  north of center reinforced "y "enches0 A second s-ot .as arked art a distance diagonally in relation to this large for, '$ "y  eters, "y three cli"ing fraes4 an arrangeent that created t.o o-en s-aces in the other diagonal direction0

<erte%man$%ein, Amsterdam ->udBuid, 197 , the rst $%ayground o' & yck 

 The Raanhof-layground ('+)%.ith + retangles in di/erent siHes .ithout a center , each rectangle .ith di/erent -lay situation, a circular sand-it, three cli"ing "ars, seven ju-ing stones and a rounda"out, in a -attern of four areas .hose -ositions .ere all in relation to one another0 The areas .ere arked "y four rectangular Joors of .hite concrete -aving stones that fored a strong contrast .ith the "ro.n "rick -aved surface of the sGuare0 Each of these four di/erent Joor surfaces .as -laced o/ center, arking a center of its o.n, and their connection .ith each other .ere in the centrifugal oveent that they co"ined to evoke0 :rres-ective of their

di/erent siHes, they co"ined as eGual eleents in a sort of .indall*sail -attern0 n the "order areas accoodated "enches0 The ) trees indicated the noral a!ial lines of the location served to "ring out the degrees of non*alignent and o/* centredness ore clearly0

8%ayground at 2aco" hijsse$%ein 199-53

 Daco" Thijsse-lein '+*?$ .as "ased on di/erent co-ostional techniGues4 relation of the di/erent eleents "y eans of a!es0 1e decide to lay out the northern half as a -u"lic garden and the southern -art as a fully -aved sGuare and to 2t a liited nu"er of relatively sall eleents into the .hole surface0 1e -lanted ro.s of trees to reduce the sGuare0

 The regular -ositioning of the trees reinforced a latent geoetry of a!es that

deterined the -osition of the -lay o"jects and the "enches0 This concerned not the a!ial lines of the tree trunks theselves "ut the interval "ete.een the0 These lines related the s-ace "et.een the trees to the focal -oints of 2ve s-ots .hich .ere

arked "y round "rick surfaces contrasting .ith .hite concrete -aving stones of the sGuare0

Aldo v Eyck, The Child# the City and the Artist# #$$)

 These are his o.n .ritings fro 'K#, "ut they .ere not -u"lished until #$$)

-osthuously0 :n the "ook he resued ost of the thees he had develo-ed u- to 'K#0 A i! of theory, -oetry and anifestation-rotest against authoritan culture and a -assionate s-eech for reality unveiled "y avant*garde art and science, his vie. of relativity and its inter-retation in ters of architecture, the conce-t of the in*

"et.een real, the reci-rocal identi2cation of house and city, the tie diension in architecture and ur"anis, that is, a revaluation of the architecture legacies of the -ast including the -riitive cultures0

 The .ritings sho. a ost original architectural theory .hich -layed a seinal role in the second half of #$$$th century0 v Eyck took an uncoon critical attitude to C:AM and the -revailing functionalis0 1e develo-ed in .riting and .ork an authentically odern and huane architecture0 The architecture of the tie .as thoughtless in a eu-horic -rocess .hile he conducted ore of a fundaental reJection on architecture, revitaliHing it and -ut it "ack onto its avangarde*roots

.hich it seeed to have lost0 Through -ersonal contacts .ith any of the leading artists of the avantgarde fro Cu"is to &adais, Constuctivis to Surrealis he realiHed that these oveents had co-onents fro the sae culture oveent that "rought to light a ne. .orld*vie. or even ne. reality – a culture of gladness and "rightness, .hich he sa. as his life*task to i-leent in the 2eld of

architecture0

1e introduced ne. notions into architectural thinking4 identity, the in*"et.een, -lace and occasion, reci-rocity and t.in -henoena, .hich o-ened ne. structural insights into -otential Gualities of the "uilt environent0 1is .ritings .ere a strong inJuence on the euro-ean and aerican architectural discourses0 1e had diFculities in 2nding a -u"lisher .hich ade hi .rite articles and let the anuscri-t circulate in any -hotoco-ies0

:ts ai is to develo- a truly conte-orary and huan conce-t of architecture and ur"anis "ased on the achieveents of conte-orary thinking in art and science0 At the sae tie it is eant as a counteraction to the dominant technocratic

$%anning that tends to disintegrate e!isting cities .hile -roducing alienating ones0 1e does not discuss the thee in linear .ay "ut fro each other3s vie.-oints – a dialectic unfolding the5con2gurative disci-line5, a ne. a--roach aied at the

develo-ent of genuine conte-orary ur"an structures0 This .as the synthesis of his reJection on architecture and ur"anis0:tfored the theoretical "asis of a ne. architectural oveent4 the &utch structuralis .ith architects such as Piet 8lo,  Doo- van Stigt and 1eran 1ertH"erger0

v Eyck starts .ith the child vie.ing it as the -aragon of fresh huan -otential, as the -er-etual and al.ays ne. return of eleentary huan faculties4 iagination

and creativity0ith T0S Eliot he sees the child as a sy"ol of origin .hich includes its end, as a -roise of a full huan e!istence0 1e -ro-oses this as a criteria for true ur"anity0 Cities are only huan if designed for children 4 ( )' they are not meant 'or children they are not meant 'or citi*ens either$ )' they are not meant 'or  citi*ens- ourselves- they are not cities(

:agination .hich reveals itself through the child, is an essential huan ca-acity, it is a -rereGuisite for the develo-ent of "oth art and science0

1e akes an introduction to the #$$$th cent0 avant*garde through stateents "y -roinent -ioneers fro CeHanne to >andinsky, Mondrian to 8reton* all give a

di/erent account on their -articular e!-lorations into the 5ne. reality50 Then v Eyck unfolds his o.n vision of that reality in rearka"le essays0 1e states that .hat all these -oineers had in coon .as that they "urst the "arriers of rationalis4 (they  tore down the barriers all right, those between outer and inner reality,

between ob+ect and sub+ect, mass and space, between head, heart and abdomen between what can be ascertained by the limited senses and the vaster reality only imagination can graspthey have le't us with an

e.panded universe, have succeded in detecting its rytm, tracing its outline$(

:n Einsteins theory of relativity this 5vaster reality5 -roves to "e the unity of s-ace, tie, atter and energy – no longer referring to se-arate entities "ut are the

fundaental s-ace*tie continuu0hen iagination gains access to this, reality is -ercived as a dynaic Ju!, as a co-le! of interacting energies0 This ne. vie. o-ened u- .onderful -ers-ectives0The -ercieved energy has not an intrinsic center "ut consists through reci-rocal relations0 Eleenatry o--osites that "elong

toghether0 7ature is no longer seen as an 5o"jective5 reality e!ternal to the su"ject0 Su"jectivity is -art of the energies of the s-ace*tie continuu0Matter and ind are of the sae nature and interact0 The su"ject is assigned an essential role in the actualiHation of the ne. reality4 the su"ject -enetrates s-ace and tie, o-ens the to ake the accessi"le to the huan ind0

Eyck e!-lores the i-lications of these insights and investigates the

interre%ations "et.een su"ject, s$ace and time0 1e e!-lores ho. tie and s-ace can "e entered or 5interioriHed5 and the conseGuences in the 2eld of

architecture0 Starting .ith investigating ho. relations take -lace, fro Martin 8u"ers -hiloso-hy of dialogue , he concieves of a relation as an 5in*"et.een5, a -lace .here di/erent things can eet and unite or .here”the common ground .here conEicting $o%arities can again "ecome the t.in $henomena”

Martin 8u"er3s$estalt ge%ordene &%ischen' van Eyck -oints out that 8u"er does not consider the in*"et.een to "e a akeshift construction "et.een t.o utually e!clusive alternatives* individualis and collectivis* "ut as the -lace .here das echte Dritte (the true Third%, the fundaental huan reality consisting of "oth individuality and

counity*5one an and another an, an and his fello. an5* can Jourish0(The real third is a real dialogue# a real em!race) a real duel !et%een people) And it is crucial the (the real third is not something happening to one person or another person separately in a neutral %orld containing all things# !ut something that happens !et%een !oth in a dimension only accessi!le to !oth) *n the other side o the su!+ective# on this side o the o!+ective# on the narro% !orderline %here you and " meet lies the in-!et%een

realm)( (fro Aldo van Eyck –The Shape o ,elativity , 0Struven, ')%

he t.in $henoma, an original conce-t of van Eycks, stes fro the insights that the -olarities -ercieved in s-ace*tie continuu (such as su"ject and o"ject, inner and outer reality, sall and large, o-en and close, -art and .hole% are not

conJicting, utually e!clusive entities "ut distinctive co-onents, t.o

co-leentary halves of one and the sae entity and a true entity is al.ays

t.ofold0 The in*"et.een is not to "e considered a negligi"le argin "ut as i-ortant as the reconciled o--osites theselves0 (1eraclitus% 8eing the oent

.here contrary tendencies come into "a%ance, it constututes a s$ace %%ed .ith am"i&a%ence, and so s-ace corres-onds to the a"ivalent nature of an0 The in*"et.een is 5s-ace in the iage of an5, a -lace that like an, 5 "reathes in and out50 (Close to 1eraclitus idea of t.o utually e!clusive conditions that

siultaneously eet in every -art of life as sho.n in all his fragents "ut es-ecially in fragent #K sho. that they eet in a -lace , the living huan "eing as the

-lace , as the i-ortant s-ace in*"et.een, see y .e"site htt$0FF...sti%%a%i&eeuFeng*htm%

 The t.in -henoena and the in*"et.een consitute van Eyck3s ost eleentary for of the non*hierarchical, reci-rocal relation0 They are the -riary aterial of his

architectural -oetics and lie at the root of his orginial conce-t of ur"an coherence, his a!i4 (  house is like a small city i' it’s to be a real house- a city a large house i' it is to be a real city ($

 The utual identi2cation of house and city evokes the unfolding of any other t.in -henoena such as unity*diversity, large*sall, far*near, si-licity*

co-le!ity0 Architecture should inter.eave the into a tissue of reconciled

-olarities, an ur"an fa"ric that constitutes a "uilt 5counterfor5 for the social t.in -henoenon of individual* collective0 :n such an ur"an fa"ric the ild gears of reci-rocity .ill create a -leasant cliate to a an in "alance0 The e-tiness and onotony of current odern -lanning .ill "e out of the Guestion0 The in*"et.een .ill e!tend into a .hole real, 5an articulated in*"et.een real5 that contains the

huan ind throughtout the .hole fa"ric to ake an feel at hoe .hereever he goes0 :n this sense v Eyck de2ned architecture as5 "uilt hoe*coing50The ne. relativistic conscience also i-lies thinking of tie5in the iage of an50

 Tie should also "e 5interioriHed5 to "ecoe accessi"le to the huan su"ject0 van Eyck therefore "orro.s the notion o' duration fro 8ergson0 &uration is the lived through tie 5 %hen man eperiences and participates ully # %hen his associative a%areness charges and etends perception rendering it transparent and proound through memory and antcipation)(  in duration the -resent is not e-heeral instant "ut a tie*s-an .here -ast and future erge, an in*"et.een .here yesterday and toorro. eet0 Through duration tie "ecoes accessi"le and gains an interior .here the su"ject feels at hoe, .here it e!-eriences 5a sense of "eing 6-resent3 .ithin the -resent50 :t is .ith this kind of tie that s-ace should "e charged in order to "e a real -lace0

8%ace in order to "e a s$ace .here man 'ee%s at home must a%so inc%ude duration, not on%y a s$ace that intermediates "et.een here and there "ut causes a simu%taneous consciousness o' $ast and 'uture- a s$ace %ike man himse%' is im"ued .ith memory and antici$ation-only then can it attain huan eaning and can "ecoe a -lace .ith a s-eci2c identity0 van Eyck also .anted

to re&a%uate the rythm o' the natura% cyc%es- day and night, the seasons, ages o' man 1e o--osed the usual design -ractice that sees natural -henoena as a hindrance and seeks to eliininate their e/ects, and he advocates the

develo-ent of a ne. sensi"ility for the eaning and the Gualities they i-ly0(the time has come to take rain as rain, wind as wind, snow as snow, coldness as coldness, night as night, and make something o' them 'or the benet o' the citi*ien( 0 1e .anted architecture to e!-loit the -ostive -otential of these

-henoena in order to recieve eaningful -laces

 The interioriHation of tie o-ens u- to a ne. -ers-ective on history and culture, a uch ore constructive attitude than the then -revailing0 v Eyck, ins-ired "y anthro-logist =uth 8enedict, .as one of the 2rst oderns to concieve the -ast as a collective eory, in the relativistic continuu, 5 a gathering "ody of e!-erience50  This e!-erience .ill "e all the richer .hen it uses a"road range of cultural sources,

.hen the ind o-ens to a diversity of visual values, eastern, .estern etc0 regarded as distinct fraes of reference, .ith o.n standards "ut of eGual validity0

he Gmage o' >urse%&es

Eyck says he is concerned .ith ; realities 4*the chi%d, the city , the artist– it ay -rove -ossi"le to o-en the ind a little further to the reality of each one taking the other t.o as a ediu in each case4 To "egin .ith the city in order to co-rehend the artist "rings us face to face .ith the child* ourselves0 To "egin .ith the child to understand the city "rings us face to face .ith the artist* ourselves too0 and ;4 To "egin .ith the artist in order to understand the child "rings us to the city0* ourselves again0 Each can "e identi2ed "y the other0 e encounter ourselves each tie0

We cannot concie&e o' ci&i%iBation today i' .e .ithdra. the chi%d H

ourse%&es H 'rom its "ui%t counter'orm0 the city And .e cannot coe to ters .ith the city if .e cut ourselves a.ay fro the force that huaniHe

the4iagination, and there is no iagination .ithout the artist 0

 The hoe of the three sy"ols the child, the city , the artist is the in*"et.een real0 van Eyck understand the childhood as a sy"ol u-on .hich cities could rest again, a sy"ol fro .hich it could regenerate0

 The discovery of childhood is a sign of shifting accent fro an to life, fro reason to iagination0 :t eans that children are gradually "eing ackno.ledge as children and childhood as a full*Jedged for of life, an integral -art of society, -hysically indis-ensa"le and s-ritually ins-iring0 Most i-ortantly it indirectly reinforces our conviction that .ithout the constructive force of iagination .e cannot solve the -ro"les facing us today0 This eans that the re*entry of creativity on the scene of everyday life0 Conte-orary artists are the 2rst ones to recieve ins-iration fro the child0 the relation child and art is vital, "oth .ays0 The child .ill rediscover the city and vv0 unless "oth child and artist are given the -lace they diserve the society .ill reain the sterile construction it is today0

v Eycks says if decay and disintegration .ere -ro-ortionally counteracted "y

constructive e/ort, if coon sense took iagination3s hand, cities .ould -erha-s still re-resent a -ostivt irror of society3s as-irations and needs0

hat the child needs is .hat .e need*just that4-laces .here .e can 8E .hat .e really A=E4 children unto ourselves, fro "irth to death soe.here0 To esta"lish soe.here is the task for architects0

+'rom a $oem "y & yck ( Provide something 'or the human child more  permanent than snow- i' perhaps less abundant$(

Care% Iisser,0wo 1irds, 1957

 The Story of a Another :dea has its roots in the soil of a great idea, the idea the =iot carries4 relativity0

(The culture o particular orm is approaching its end# the culture o determined relations has !egun)( Piet Mondrian '; in Plastic Art and Pure Plastic Art 0

(.ie is a continous transormation and the ne% culture is one o pure relations)( Piet Mondrain ';

(Simplicity is not a goal in art !ut one reaches simplicity in spite o onesel# !y approaching the real sense o things)(  Constantin 8rancusi ';

(/hether matter or mind# reality appears as continous change) "t !ecomes or dissolves# it is never something 0nished)(  1enri 8ergson '+?

Jui&ering A"so%utes H the theory o' re%ati&ity

S-ace, tie, atter and energy are no longer i-regna"le a"solutes echanically related in an o"jective .orld e!terior to the ind, for science has at last stri--ed the of the arour that safeguarded each fro the other0 :t is u- to the ind to thro. o/ its heavy arour no. and it3s true to say that the antagonistic isolation of these notions cannot "e "roken until it does, for until then .ill each of the o-en the door to the other and "ecoe ultilaterally -erea"le0

 Thanks to soe sensitive en that actually cast the .eight of deterinis aside that the door.ays to relativity .ere discovered in the 2rst -lace0 e have on the one hand therefore four alien notions facing an e!cluded ind, and on the other a

continuu of a single notion incor-orating the ind0 undaentally these

constitute # utterly irreconcila"le attitudes4 the forer is e!clusive, a viscious circle the latter is inclusive, a s-iral0

hat is i-ortant is that in the actuality of daily e!istence s-ace , tie atter and energy .here they aintain their validity as + se-arate interrelated notions the ild gears of reci-rocity u-set the static hierarchy .ithin .hich all 5things5 are strati2ed at the e!-ense of their real identity, -rofoundly a/ecting our a--reciation of the, of  their ultilateral eaning of the s-ace "et.een and around the, and of te-oral e!-erence0

v Eyck is concerned .ith the mutua% conce$t .hich led to not only the revolution of  s-ace, tie, atter and energy in the scienti2c .orld "ut also to an analougous

revolution of any other isolated, i-regna"le and antagonistic notions in the .orld of art and other creative 2elds001e uses the .ord relativity to cover the totality of this utual conce-tattitude "eyond the Einsteinian connotation0

 The "lending of the ind .ith .hat is still generally su--osed to e!ist irres-ectively of it* an o"jective e!terior .orld i-ervious (tOt, ogenotrOnglig% to the i-ulse of conce-t* has interioriHed the latter0 Man3s trou"lesoe 5su"jectivity5 no longer

trou"les the 5o"jectivity5 ofreality0The contrariety of su"ject and o"ject

is itigated0At ost su"jectivity can no. only "e identi2ed as a degree of o"jectivity and vv0The old schis art* science is gone – v Eyck .ishes this .ere understood(+% 9 Eyck3s critiHies the lack of ful2lling the insights of his forerunners in .hat he called the =iot4 in s-ite of the fact that in -ainting , scu-lture, -oetry and usic, tie , s-ace and energy have "een interioriHed in ters of the huan su"ject, the utual attitude .hich conditioned this great change has "een successfully e!-ressed in every creative ediu, s-ace and tie are still a--roached as e!terioriHed

a"solutes, es-ecially "y architects and -lanners0 The i-act of their revaluation has "een generally "oth ar"itrary and su-er2cial, e/ective -riarly in the foral sense, that is aesthetically0 Soe i-lications .ere regiented into a set of rigid -rinci-les straight a.ay and e!tended into "uilt for0 8ut in this .ay the i-lications .ere ishandled and deJated and reduced once ore to the level of a"solutes, "ecoing

sterile and lose all aFnity to the great s-iritual diension to .hich they once "elonged0 Architects fail to o-en their inds to other than aesthetic i-lications, ostly derived .holesale fro -ainting and scu-lture (constructivis, su-reatis, neo*-lasticis and 8auhaus3s derivatives% , or social i-lications sentientaliHed0 Architects are still una.are of the -rofounder i-lications of relativity .hich alone can i-art full and lasting content to a revaluation of s-ace and tie in ters of architecture4 he eans those i-lications that have e!tended the horiHon of an3s inner .orld0

Architects still tend to reain antagonistic in iagination and to those regions of reality that lie "eyond the sco-e of the liited senses and thus elude the coarse esh of rational estiation0 The i-onera"le (det o"erOkneliga% is taken for Guicksand, so they ste- on hard rock "ut fail to understand .hy such hard rock

gives .ay (ge efter% as it al.ays does0 They are attracted to the dress "ut not the to the "ody of a great idea ( they are .ary of the agician as he actually e /ects

transforation, and attracted "y the juggler "ecause he erely a/ects it0 % They Jirt .ith soe of the iss that see to the co-rehensi"le e!cluding those that shed light on the real of -oetic association and the real -er-le!ities of the ind, the inner .orld0 They turn to technology lika scholl"oys, hail aterial -rogress .ith naive con2dence and fall into the tra- of eclecticis0

 The handful architects involved in the Breat =iot tore do.n the stiUing "arriers, layed lo. hitherto i-regna"le a"solutues and unasked the .ornout hierarchies that -ro- (stVttat% the society0 (+)%

1e -oints out the necessity of giving each articulated -lace a fuller e!-erience

-otential in ters of intellectual and eotional association, recollection, antici-ation and intrinsic ultieaning for these alone can i-art de-th to visual e!-erience and render the i-act of architecture truly calediosco-ic00 :n this architectually

trans-osed reality an .ill -erha-s again discover hiself standing face to face .ith hiself in a ore feasa"le environent0 This .ill also e/ect the conce-t of the -ast and .hat an has develo-ed for hiself fro age to age and -lace to -lace for tie has aGuired de-th and .ith tie s-ace0 $ast, $resent and 'uture shou%d

hence'or.ard "e reci$roca%%y acti&e in the mind0

he Gn-<et.een )ea%m, 8%ace and >ccasion, a home 'or the .in 8henomena

v Eyck follo.s Martin 8u"er4 individualis sees an only in relation to hiself, .hilst collectivis fails to see an at all0 8oth conce-tions gre. out of the sae huan situation , "oth lead to frustration, isolation and des-air0 7etiher leads to the totality of an for only "et.een real -eo-le can there "e real associations0 8oth are eGually a"stract and hence unreal0 The fundaental reality of an is one an to another an* an and his fello. en0 Modern individualis is an iaginary structure, thats .hy it fails0

 There is only one reality "et.een real -ersons , .hat 8u"er calls”the rea% third” .hich is not a te-orary su"stitute "ut the rea% "earer o' that $asses "et.een rea% $ersons0 the real third is a real dialogue, a real e"race , a real duel "et.een real -eo-le0 This real third ha--ens "et.een t.o -ersonss in a

diension only accessi"le to "oth, not to one -erson or another -erson se-arately and in a neutral .orld (1on the narro% !ordeline %here you and " meet lies the in-!et%een realm)( 

 This v Eycks says leads hi tothe doorste$ conce$t4 as long as .e kee-"alancing "et.een false alternatives( collectivis and individualiss% like a

tightro-e dancer shifting side.ays along a thin .ire in a void .e shall continue to iss the ark0 8ut he eans the doorste- sy"ol(fro the conce-t of entrance (neither inside nor out, -u"lic nor -rivate%, it "ecoes his "asic s-atial eta-hor and evoked the 5in"et.een5 real % is rich enough to sustain a kind of archietcture and -lanning in general .hich is certaintly ore valid than the kind .e have got used to during the last ;$ years ( that is';$*'K$%0

1e eans architecture has to e!tend the 5narro. "orderline5, -ersuade it to loo-into an articulated in*"et.een real0 Architecture3s jo" is to -rovide this in*"et.een real "y eans of construction, that is to -rovide, fro house to city scale, a "unch o' rea% $%aces 'or rea% $eo$%e and rea% things0 :n*"et.een a.areness is

essential, to detect associative eanings siultaneously0 0The eaning of every real articulated in*"et.een -lace is essentially a ulti-le one, .e .ill have to ake it do that – our target is ulti-le eaning in counter"alance0

>ur natura% anity to.ard the Gn-"et.een

alking "arefeet on a "each "y the ocean , .ater gliding land.ards and sea.ards4 you feel reconciled in a .ay you .ouldn3t feel if there .as a forced dialogue

"et.een you and either of these great -henoena0 :n this in*"et.een real

"et.een ocean and land soething ha--ens that is Guite di/erent fro the sailor3s nostalgia0 There is no yearning for the alternative, no esca-e fro one into the

other0 Kou coincide .ith "oth "ecause their coincidence is you0 nothing .rong .ith saloir3s nostalgia as long .e realiHe he al.ays .ants to go hoe "oth

.ays0 What .e need is to "e at home .here&er .e are0 As long hoe is al.ays else.here, there .ill "e no Guestion of ”"e%onging” e .ill not "e -artici-ating "ut eavesdro--ing (tjuvlyssna%0 Architecture need do no more than assist man#s ”homecoming”0 9an Eyck likes to identify architecture .ith .hatever it can e/ect in huan ters and likes to see it as constructed counter'orm o'

$er$etua% homecoming0 S-eaking of a house or city as a "unch of -laces he i-lies that you cannot leave a real -lace .ithout entering another if it3s a real "unch, de-arture ust ean entry0

A ome 'or .in 8henomena

The %ay up and the %ay do%n is one and the same thing) (fragent K$, 1eraclitus% 9 Eyck3s strong critiGue of odern architectureur"anis 4 7ot long ago the inds of en oved along a deterinistic groove, the Euclidian groove0 Then soe

-ainters , -oets, -hilos-hers and scientists ju-ed o/ the groove and ru""ed the deterinistic -atina o/ the surface of reality and sa. .onderful things (Picasso, >lee, Mondrian, 8rancusi to Doyce, Le Cour"usier , SchVn"erg, 8ergson, Einstein0%  They e!-anded the universe, the inside and outside universe0 <ut society sti%%

mo&es in the o%d groo&e aking only sly use of .hat these en discovered and .orse sti%% a$$%ying on a $ure%y technica% and decorati&e %e&e% not the essence "ut fro gathered e!-erience of it in order to give a -retence of oving ore conte-oraneusly .hilst in reality oving securely and -ro2ta"le along the old circuscri"ed groove0 hen are architects going to join the the riot and

sto-gna.ing at the edges of a great ideaQ e cannot continue selling the diluted

essence of .hat others s-ent lifetie 2nding0Todays architects are not artists as they should "e, they are sei*artists .hich is .orse, they are coforta"ly engaged in soething su-er, "ut architecture is not sei or su-er it3s an art0 Es-ecially ur"anis has ade a very -oor sho.0

thers have e!-anded reality "ut not architects .ho have contracted reality and sidetracked the issue of conte-orary creativity0 hile conte-oraray art, science and -hiloso-hy have for half a century reconciled s-lit -olarities through reci-rocal thinking, tearing do.n stiJing "arriers "et.een the, architecture and ur"anis es-ecially has drifted a.ay, -arado!ially indu%ging in ar"itrary a$$%ication o' .hat is essentia%%y anti-deterministic and so increasing thickness of the deterinistic -atina society cherises and defends0 The non*euclidian idea is

conte-orary to all our diFculties4 social and -olitical, econoic and s-iritual0 e have failed to see that it alone can solve the and it3s tragic0

1eran 1ertH"erger, "orn on ';# in Asterda , can "e considered, along .ith Aldo van Eyck, as the inJuence "ehind the &utch structuralist oveent of the 'K$s0 1e "elieved that the architect3s role .as not to -rovide a co-lete solution, "ut to -rovide a s-atial frae.ork to "e eventually 2lled in "y the users0 Aong 1ertH"erger3s "est kno.n "uildings are the Montessori school in &elft ('KK–$% and the adinistration "uilding for the Central 8eheer :nsurance Co-any "uilding in A-eldoorn ('$–#%0 (iki-edia #$'+*'#*'K%

1erann 1ertH"erger , Space and .earning# #$$), in .hich his theories on the learning city and the -oint of de-arture in children3s need of s-ace are interesting0

8%ay s$ace

S-ace to -lay, undesignated or arginal s-ace, should "e -resent as an evident Guality of every residential setting and of the -u"lic doain as a .hole, as evident as children theselves0 :t is i-ossi"le to iagine children only could develo- their -lays in the allocated -laces .ith -laying eGui-ent .hich is a -lace set a-art

fro everything else in our daily living environent0

 Everything is narro.ed do.n to one -articular -ur-ose as a sign of getting things in order, for functionality and eFciency,the ultiate conseGuence is then that each thing is only suited to that one liited task0This is a .ay of consolidating and agnifying the distinction .hat is good for youngsters, adults and old -eo-le0 The -u"lic real is in this .ay s-lit in so any fragents, .ith se-arate -ur-oses0 Playgrounds and eGui-ent ay "e "etter than nothing, "ut the single*-ur-ose design is liiting, they give no incentive to "e used other.ise0

 Aldo v Eyck3s designed -laygrounds co-osed fro "asic eleents do 2re the iagination0 These are outstanding e!a-les and increase the dou"ts on such facilities0 EGui-ent for one -ur-ose only -resu--oses its users to "e -assive consuers to "e satis2ed0 8ut daily life de-ends entirely u-on vast nu"ers of

single*-ur-ose facilities0 e should constantly Guestion .hether .e are to continue on autoatic -ilot this .ay or at soe -oint "e a"le to decide things for ourselves0 ne has to see the di/erence "et.een an a--liance or a--aratus, and an

instruent0 or directed to.ards a given -ur-ose functions as an a--aratus, and .here for and -rograe are utually evocative the a--aratus itself "ecoes an instruent0 An a--aratus .orks for .hich it is -rograed, that is .hich it is

e!-ected of it, no less "ut also no ore0 8y -ressing the right "uttons the e!-ected results are o"tained, the sae for everyone, al.ays the sae0

 A usical instruent contains as any -ossi"ilities of usage as uses to .hich it is -ut4 an instruent ust "e -layed0 :t is u- to the -layer to dra. .hat he can fro it .ithin the liits of his a"ility0Thus the instruent and the -layer reveal to each other their res-ective a"ilities to co-leent and ful2ll one another0or as

an instruent o/ers the sco-e for each -erson to do .hat he has ost at heart and a"ove all to do it in his o.n .ay0or things to -ossess the Guality of an instruent they ust "e inter-reta"le in ore than one .ay, ena"ling the to acce-t , and reject, ulti-le uses and ulti-le eanings not everyone sees the sae or gets the sae out of the0So there needs to "e a argin, roo for a .ealth of e!-eriences contingent in the -erson, their o"jective and the situation at hand0 :f .e .ere to "uild such -lay s-ace into everything .e designed, .e could easily free the city fro its tenacious ono functional constriction, .hich is increasing "ecause of the fear of losing control0

 So it3s a"out the s-ace3s a"ility to "e 5-layed5 as an i-licit Guality of the city, in other .ords a"out ore inforal 5roo5 "et.een foral designations0 e 2nd

s-ace for discovery and learning .here things are not governed "y clarity, such as in only -artially de2ned or undesigned conte!ts0 And this is .ithout even considering o"scure s-ots, a"andoned "uildings, forgotten corners, alley.ays, "uildings fallen into disuse .hose original eaning is lost to us0

 :t akes a "ig di/erence .hat kind of neigh"orhood you gre. u- in, .hether the environent .as rife .ith stiuli or e!-eriences "ut also .hether there .ere

intriguing ites in the streets and on the houses that occu-ied you, -uHHled you or o-ened your eyes to soething0 Play s-ace is found aong .hat is oFcial and functionally necessary, aong the esta"lished eaning of s-eci2ed functions0 7eigh"orhoods that are rich in a--eal and associations are the ones full of s-ecial -laces, co-ses, trees to cli", .ater, .alls or relics of forer ties and .here

"uildings on the street have eleents .ith -lay -otential such as -orches , "ays and corners0 Everyone has their o.n e!a-les and eories fro childhood, and these ay "e of lifelong inJuence0 (1ertH"erger, #$$)4##K*##%

 he !earning City

e ust attend ore to the children as a and ake ore s-ace for this grou-that is dynaic and inGuiring and not al.ays in ste-0 8SAs 9 Eyck in 'K# .rote in (The Child# the City and the Artist(  that the unsuita"ility of the odern city for children calls into Guestion its suita"ility for everyone0 :t is children that lay "are the fundaental un2tness of an order and layout largely grounded in -olitical and

econoic interests and therefore -riarily o--ortunist "y nature0 :f .e .ant a city that o-ens our eyes and contri"utes to develo-ing and activating -eo-le instead of staking everything on a eek, sooth*running, settled life .e had "etter take

young -eo-le and their needs as a yardstick for -u"lic s-ace0 The city for children is a "etter de-arture*-oint for the city for everyone0

 To understand .hat children ay e!-ect of the city as their environent, .e ust look at .hat .e ake through their eyes0There ay "e di/erences "et.een young and old, "ig and sall, "ut 5the .ord of the child5 is the sae .orld as that of

adults0 There is no clear age "oundary "et.een child and adult, they are the sae anial, de-endent on each other0The adult is already -resent in the child and

everything you acGuire as a child .ill guide and -ursue you as an adult07or is there a s-ecial easure for children nor scale0 e all live in the sae .orld and have to cli" the sae stairs0 So children3s needs are illustrative of everyone else3s0 hat is good for children is good for every"ody0 Wou never sto- a"sor"ing ne. e!-eriences0  The Learning City akes no distinction "et.een children and gro.n*u-s0

Learning is like eating and drinking and .e all do that, only children are often

get, e!-eriences they have and info they acGuire are i-orted into the e!isting order of the "rain0 they have to "e incor-orated into the child3s failiar .orld, e!-anding and con2ring it to get a "etter gras- of the .orld at large0 :f the "rain as an

internal city is an i-ression of the e!ternal city, then the ideal e!ternal city should have a richly varied environent4 a city that is no.here dull, dry or "leak, nor

heretically de2ned and ultra safe , "ut rather a -lace .here you have to hold your ground and .atch your ste-0

f course there are negative e!-eriences to "e had in the city, living there eans "eing autoatically e!-osed to these, "ut all the ore reason to counter the .ith a "road front0 A city is a learning City .hen it arouses our curiosity, dra.s us in, a -lace .here discoveries are to "e ade, that invites associations, stiulates

thinking0 The Learning City is a ne. -aradig .hich states that the adinistrators A7& designers of odern cities should focus ore fully on other criteria .hen giving sha-e to s-ace08S :t3s not just a"out -urchasing -o.er and consuer activity, "ut ore the contri"ution -u"lic s-ace akes to our develo-ent and to an

understanding of the .orld and of each other3s otives and actions0

 To this end, the criteria for designing that s-ace have to "ecoe less concerned .ith the short–ter, less hedonistic, less consu-tion driven and less self*centered0 ver tie, odern residential areas are "ecoing increasingly doinated "y rela!ation, solitude and safety and o"sessed .ith green s-ace0 There is little there to stiulate the ind, es-ecially for children0 hen learning goes "eyond a -rocess of ada-ting children to the .orld of gro.n*u-s and .hen all the things .e e!-erience -assively and actively "ecoe a for of learning(.hen develo-ent since the Age of

the Enlightenent has "een seen as the universal otor of life%, the distinction "et.een children and adults in ters of the city is reduced to nil0

Even so, children are ore vulnera"le, less a"le to see their .ay there and less a"le to stand u- for their needs and interests0 :nstead of the current set u- .here children are e!-ected to ada-t to the criteria of their elders, .e could take the reverse

situation0 The s-ace in a city .hen tailored to its young -eo-le gives that city a 2rer "asis fro .hich to -roceed, eGui--ed as it is for a -eranent learning -rocess for all inha"itants4 a Learning City0

 The idea of education -eranent (learning for life% dislodges learning fro the liitations of a 2!ed school curriculu for a -articular age grou-0 This elevates ental develo-ent to a universal thee, the daily -ractice .e all deal .ith, regardless of age0This not only unhitches (haka av% learning fro iaturity and o-ens u- the school to all ages "ut -resu--oses an a.areness of the fundaental "oundlessness of learning and of continuous develo-ent0 ith learning no longer liited "y age or tie, logically your entire living s-ace as learning s-ace "ecoes the s-atial eGuivalent of an education -eranent0 And .hat .e earlier called the -u"lic real is no. e!-anded into a -u"lic learning real0

 This 5instructive city5 akes our surroundings as a .hole su"servient to the

develo-ent of everyone "y consistently giving -riority to the goal of leraning0 e can regard the city as a large school in .hich is e"edded all kno.ledge and understanding that has ade this counity .hat it is and .ith all the links and energies to "est ful2ll any a"ition -resent0 As long as its siHe kee-s it legi"le, its inha"itants and visitors can generally 2nd their .ay around .ell enough and are  failiar .ith the relevant addresses and signals0 A city irrors the .orld you are essentially failiar .ith and you kno. .here there are things to learn or acGuire as .ell as .here not to go0

 The ore you take on "oard , the ore you can handle0 Children gro. u- in

a reasona"le easy*to*read .orld they can naturally ake their o.n0 nce that .orld gro.s "igger detachent and alienation sets in0 Then you have to kee- control over an ever*e!-anding 2eld of attention, .hich is the learning -rocess0 7or does that 2eld e!-and only in ters of surface area "ut also in de-th0 Wou also have to get at .hat is "ehind .hat you are seeing on the surface0 e should therefore

ake everything in such a .ay that it is ore e!-licit, e!-laining itself instead of holding "ack0 :f things are to "ecoe failiar they ust ake it clear .hy they are as they are and ho. they got that .ay0 This is to -revent their history "eing erased, for the si-le reason that things get re-laced "y others that are ne.er, "etter, "igger0 or it is history that akes clear .hy things are as they are and .hat role they once -layed and that their for .as not arrived to at rando

1istory also akes us a.are that things kee- changing, (#;%.hy this is so and .hether this really is an i-roveent0 Menaing is stored in the eleents

constituting the city, in their "ricks, their architecture and in the -lace they occu-y0  These togehter, along .ith .ritings, iages and usic co-rise a collective eory

that contri"utes to a collective a.areness and so .ill ultiately lead to social

cohesion0 eelings, occurrences and -eo-le are retained and -reserved as eories not just in onuents "ut in -laces, rando o"jects, "uildings or -arts of "uildings0  The Learning City is in fact all a"out articulating these eories and aking the

transissi"le and a"le to "e read as the a- of a counity3s eory0 All those .ho sha-e the city have to realiHe "efore anything else that it could all "e uch ore trans-arent and easier to get at0

 A city "ecoes instructive "y giving visi"ility to its -ast, its current situation and its intentions, to sho. .hat it has going for it0 hether visitor or resident, young or old, you should "e a"le to read its history -ast and -resent and the achieveent and values that o"tain there no. and done in the -ast, noting their -resence, "ecoing a.are of the, failiariHing yourself .ith the0

:t concerns the .idest iagina"le range of -otentials, e!-eriences, associations and social contacts0 :f learning to "ridge the di/erences "et.een -eo-le and "et.een grou-s is increasingly an issue inside schools(alongside reading, .riting and

aritheics% , it should o"tain also outside the .hen 2tting out the -u"lic doain00 8y this is eant not just to -lay s-aces and s-orts 2elds4 the .ay schools are

transforing into a congloerate of -laces should "e e!tended into the -u"lic doain0 Pu"lic s-ace should "e ore of a traFc Jo. area4 social coherence

(saanhXllning% can only "e heightened "y enhancing the ca-acity of social s-ace0 7ot decreasing "ut increasing the nu"er of -laces encouraging social relations can do uch to diinish antisocial "ehavior0 =egretta"ly odern cities have a lot less to o/er here than ost older ones .hich not only have ore variety "ut are uch

ore accoodating and hos-ita"le0 (:de4#;?*#;% (-ictures .ill "e -u"lished soon%