:iffirllllu1$rr;;S

Ho u s eo f S i l e n c eb y J u h a n iPa lla sm a a

uhaniPallasmaa
I

TheTemporal
Place,
Memoryand lmagination:
Space,
Space
of Existential
Dimension

in architecture
Thetime perspective
to
terms;novelbuitdingsareunderstood
is usua[[yseenin futuristic
Architecture
qualityis directlyassocireality,andarchitectural
probe
andprojectan unforeseen
Modernity
at largehasbeendominof novelty
anduniqueness.
withits degree
ated
of newnesshas probablynever
atedby this futuristicbias.Yet,the appreciation
imagery.In our
architectural
as in today'scult of spectacular
as obsessive
been
globatized
is not onlyan aesthetic
and artisticvalue,it is a straworld,newness
an inseparable
and consequentty,
of the cutture
of consumption,
necessity
tegic
materialist
culture.
ingredient
of oursurreaI
the past,and
havealsothe taskto preserve
However,
humanconstructions
Wedo
of cultureandtradition.
andgraspthe continuum
enable
us to experience
reality,we alsoinhabitcultural,mentaland
notonlyexistin a spatialandmaterial
andconstantly
and[ivedrealityis a thick,layered
realities.
Ourexistential
temporaI
and
is essentially
an art formof reconciliation
Architecture
condition.
oscillating
andbuitdusin spaceandplace,landscapes
to settling
mediation,
andin addition
of past
the polarities
of durationandtimebetween
ingsarticulate
ourexperiences
and the arts,[andandfuture.In fact,alongwith the entirecorpusof literature
of human
scapesand buitdingsconstitutethe most importantexternalization
who we arethroughour constructions,
and remember
We understand
memory.
throughthe evidandmental.Weatsojudgealienand pastcultures
bothmaterial
proiect
Buitdings
theyhaveproduced.
structures
bythearchitectural
enceprovided
enicnarratives.
havea significant
architectural
structures
In additionto practicalpurposes,
spacefor humanoccupationby
and mentaltask; they domesticate
existential
spaceinto distinctplacesof human
uniformand limitless
turninganonymous,
theymakeendlesstimetolerableby giving
and equallyimportantly,
significance,
Harries,
thephilosopher,
argues:
AsKarsten
its humanmeasure.
duration
or ratherarchitecturally,
realitywith a theatrically,
helpsto replacemeaningless
Architecture
kansformedreatity,which drawsus in and, as we surrenderto it, grantsus an illusionof
intocosmos.'
Chaosmustbetransformed
meaning
. . . wecannottivewithchaos.

s p a c e.l t i s al so a deep defence

"Arch i tec t uris
e not on l y a b o u t d o me s ti c a ti n g
againstthe terroroftime", he statesin anothercontext.'

190

2OO7:JUHANI PALLASMAA

A t to g e th e r,
e n v i ro n m e n ts
a n d b u i tdi ngsdo not onl y servepracti caIand uti l i tarianpurposes;they also structureour understanding
of the wortd."[Thehouse]is
an instrumentwith which to confrontthe cosmos".as GastonBachelardstates.3
The abstractand indefinablenotion of cosmosis atwayspresentand represented
in our i m m e d i a tel a n d s c a p eE
. v e ryl a ndscapeand everybui tdi ngi s a condensed
wor ld,a mi c ro c o s mire
c p re s e n ta ti o n.

Architecture
andmemory
W e all re m e m b e th
r e w a y a rc h i te c tu r al
i magesw ere uti l i zedas mnemoni cdevi ces
by the oratorsof antiquity.Actualarchitecturalstructures,as we[[ as mere rememberedarchitecturalimagesand metaphorsseryeas significantmemorydevicesin
three differentways: first, they materializeand preservethe courseof time and
m ak eit v i s i b l e ;s e c o n d th
, e y c o n c re tize
remembrance
by contai ni ngand proj ecti ng
m em o ri e s ;a n d , th i rd , th e y s ti mu l a teand i nspi reus to remi ni sceand i magi ne,
Memoryand fantasy,recollectionand imaginationare relatedand they havealways
a s it ua ti o n aal n d s p e c i fi cc o n te n t.O n ew ho cannotremembercan hardl yi magi ne,
bec au s eme mo ryi s th e s o i l o f i m a g i nati on.Memoryi s al so the groundof sel f'
identity;we are what we remember.
B u i l d i n g sa re s to ra g eh o u s e sa n d museumsof ti me and si l ence.A rchi tectural
structureshavethe capacityof transforming,
speedingup, slowingdownand hatting
time. They can also create and protect silence followingKierkegaard's
request:
" Cr eates i l e n c e !" +
In th e v i e w o f Ma x Pi card,the phi l osopher
of si l ence:" N othi ng
has c h a n g e dth e n a tu reo f ma n s o m u c has the l ossof si l ence.""5S i l enceno l onger
existsas a world,but only in fragments,as the remainsof a world."6Architecture
has to preservethe memoryof the world of silenceand to protectthe existingfragmentsof this fundamentalontologicalstate.As we entera Romanesque
monastery
we can still experience
the benevolentsilenceof the universe.
T h e rea re ,o f c o u rs e ,p a rti c u l abr ui tdi ngtypes,suchas memori al s,
tombsand
m us eu msth a t a re d e l i b e ra te l cy o n c e i vedand bui tt for the purposeof preservi ng
and evo k i n gm e m o ri e sa n d s p e c i fi ce moti ons;bui l di ngscan mai ntai nfeel i ngsof
gr iefan d e c s ta s yme
, l a n c h o la
y n d j o y , as w el Ias fearand hope.A tt bui tdi ngsmai np
e
rc
e
p
ti
o
n
t ain ou r
o fte m p o ra ld u ra ti onand depth,and they recordand suggest
c ult ur a la n d h u ma n n a rra ti v e sWe
. c a nnotconcei veor rememberti me as a mere
phy s ic a d
I i m e n s i o nw
; e c a n o n l y g ra spti me throughi ts actual i zati ons;
the traces,
plac esa n d e v e n tso fte mp o ra lo c c u rr ence.
JosephB rodskypoi ntsout anotherdefi c ienc yo f h u m a n me mo rya s h e w ri te s about the composi tei magesof ci ti esi n
humanmemoryand finds these citiesalwaysempty:"[Thecity of memory]is empty
bec au s efo r a n i m a g i n a ti o ni t i s e asi er to conj ure archi tecturethan human
being5 ." lzs th i s th e i n h e re n tre a s o nw hy w e archi tects
tend to thi nk of archi tecture
m or ein te rmso f i ts ma te ri aeI x i s te n c e
than the ti feand humansi tuati onsthattake
plac ein th e s p a c e sw e h a v ed e s i g n e d ?
ArchitecturaIstructuresfacilitatememory;our understandingof the depthof
time would be decisivelyweaker,for instance,withoutthe imdgeof the pyramids
in
our m i n d s . T h e me re i ma g e o f a p y rami dmarks and concreti zes
W
e
ti me.
al so

-t

SPACE,PLACE, MEMOFY AND IMAGINATION

re me m ber
our own c hitd h o o dl a rg e l yth ro u g hth e h o u sesand pl acesthat w e have
l i ve di n . W e hav epr oje c te da n d h i d d e np a rtso f o u r l i vesi n l i ved l andscapesand
h o u se sex
, ac t lyas t he o ra to rsp l a c e dth e me so f th e i r speechesi n the contextof
i ma g i ned
buit dings T
. h e re c o l l e c ti o no f p l a c e sa n d rooms generatesthe recal l
o fe ve ntand
s people.
of its
fittedwiththecoolness
filledwiththememory
of itssmells,
I wasa childof thathouse,
it tife.There
waseventhesongofthefrogsinthe
thathadgiven
haltways,
filledwiththevoices
pools;
theV
came
to bewithmehere,
A nt oinede Sa i n t-Ex u p 6 ry
th,e l e g e n d a ryp il ot and w ri ter,after havi ng
re mi nis c es
wit h his ol a n ei n a s a n dd e s e rti n N o rthAfri ca.B
cra sh -landed

Thementalpowerof fragments
ln his noveITheNotebooksof Malte LauridsBrigge,RainerMaria Rilkegivesa simi l a rl ym ov ingr ec or dof a d i s ta n tme mo ryo f h o m ea n d sel f,ari si ngfrom fragments
' s s ei n th e p ro ta g o n i s t'me
s mo ry:
o fth egr andf at her hou
it isallbroken
up
memories,
it isnocomptete
building:
mychild-wrought
AsI recover
it inrecalling
piece
does
not
connect
these
two
ofhatlway
that
there
a room,
andherea
inside
me;here
a room,
withinme. . . allthat
byitself.Inthiswayit isalldispersed
asa fragment,
rooms
butispreserved,
picture
house
hadfallen
of
this
the
cease
to bein me.lt isasthough
isstitlin meandwitlnever
ground.e
my
very
against
intomefromaninfinite
height
andhadshattered
im agea ri s e sg ra d u a ttyp,i e c eb y p i e c e,fromfragmentsof memory
Th ere m em ber ed
p
a
int
ed
Cubis tpic tu ree me rg e sfro md e ta c h e dv i s ualmoti fs.
a sa
I hav e wr it t en ab o u t my o w n me mo ri e so f my grandfather' shumbl e farm
point edout th a t th e me mo ryh o u s eo f my e arl ychi tdhoodi s a col tageof
h o u seand
,
fra g me nt ss,m ells ,c on d i ti o n so f ti g h t,s p e c i fi cfe e ti n gsof encl osureand i nti macy,
b u t ra r elypr ec is eand c o mp l e tev i s u a Ire c o l l e c ti o n sM. y eyeshaveforgottenw hat
th e yo nc es aw,but m y b o d ys ti t[re m e m b e rs .
Buit dings
and t hei rre m a i n ss u g g e sst to ri e so f h u m anfate,both realand i magand to
i n a ry.R uinss t im ulat eu s to th i n k o f l i v e sth a t h a v e a l readydi sappeared,
have
eroded
setti
ngs
a
R
u
i
n
s
a
nd
i ma g i net he f at e of t he i r d e c e a s e do c c u p a n ts .
p
o
w
e
r;
i
magi
ne.
fo
rc
e
remi
ni
sce
and
th
e
y
u
s
to
sp e ci alev oc at iv eand e mo ti o n a I
l n co m plet enesand
s f r a g m e n ta ti opno s s e s sa s p e c i a Ievocati vepow er.In medi eval
and Rena i s s a n cpea i n ti n g sa rc h i te c tu ras le tti ngsare oftendepi ctedas
i l tu strat ions
a me reedgeof a wall o r a w i n d o wo p e n i n g ,b u t th e i sol atedfragmentsuffi cesto
s etti ng.Thi s i s the secretof
e f a c o m p l e tec o n s tru c te d
co n j u r eup t he ex per ie n c o
a
rc
h
i
te
c
ts
s
,
u
c
h
a
s
th e a rt of c o[ [ agebut a l s o s o me
,| ohnS oaneand A l varA al to
p
o
w
e
r
fragment.R i tke' s
o
f
th
e
a
rchi tecturaI
o
f
e
m
o
ti
o
n
a
I
h a vetak enadv ant age th i s
house
i
n
d
e
m
o
l
i
s
hed
tri ggeredby the
im
a
g
e
s
o
f
l
i
fe
l
i
v
e
d
a
d e script ionof t he
house,
i s a stunni ng
w
a
l
l
o
f
th
e
n
e
i
g
h
b
ouri
ng
lef
t
o
n
th
e
e
n
d
re ma i nsand s t ains
m
e
m
o
ry
:
wav
s
of
hu
m
a
n
re co rdof t he

191

2OO7:JUHANI PALLASMAA

'192

Thestubborn
lifeof theseroomshadnot
of all werethewallsthemselves.
Butmostforgettable
had
beenleftthere,it stood
out.lt wasstillthere;it clungto the nailsthat
tetitsetfbetrampled
it crouched
underthe corneriointswheretherewas
hand-breadth
of flooring,
on the remaining
0ne coutdseethatit wasin the paintwhich,yearbyyear,hadstowly
stitta tittlebit of interior.
green,
greenintogrey,andyellowintoan old,stalerottingwhite.'o
altered:btueinto moldy

of memory
andsituationality
Spatiality
O ur r e c o l l e c ti o n a
s re s i tu a ti o n a Ia n d spati al i zedmemori es,they are memori es
places
and events.lt is hard to recall,for instance,a familiaror iconic
attachedto
phot og ra p ha s a tw o -d i m e n s i o n ai lmage on photographi cpaper; w e tend to
rememberthe depicted object, person or event in its full spatial reality.lt is
pi ctori alspace,i t i s
obv iou s th
, a t o u r e x i s te n ti asl p a c ei s n evera tw o-di mensi onal
and intenby
memories
a tived and multi-sensoryspacesaturatedand structured
I
we
encounter,
everything
projecting
to
meaningsand signification
tions. We keep
gods,
but
my
house
one
of
Brodsky,
haverarelydisagreedwith the viewsof Joseph
when he arguesthat after having seen touristicbuitdings,such as Westminster
Abbey,the EiffelTower,St Basil's,the Tai Mahal or the Acropolis,"we retainnot
l g e b u t thei r pri nted versi on" ,and concl udesthat
t heir t h re e -d i m e n s i o n ai ma
"stricttyspeaking,we remembernot a placebut our postcardof it",* | haveto dis'
agreewith the poet.We do not rememberthe postcardbut the real placepictured
in it. A recailedimageis alwaysmorethan the once seen imageitself.In my view,
Brodskypresentsa rushedargumenthere,perhapsmisguidedby SusanSontag's
ideas o f th e p o w e r o f th e p h o tographedi mage i n her semi nal book 0n
Photography."
thi ngs,al l serveas condensati on
P i c tu re s o, b j e c ts ,fra g m e n tsi,n si gni fi cant
poet, writes about the roteof
Finnish
Laine,
the
centresfor our memories.Jarkko
objec t si n h i s me mo ry :
pleasure
their
in them. . . nordo I recall
I don'tseekaesthetic
I tikelooking
at thesethings.
poem
A
real
and
imagined.
memories,
they
atl
arouse
important.
But
even
so
thatis not
origins:
ad
in thewindow
. . . Thethings
things
memories
of realandimagined
is a thingthatarouses
in
window.'3
things
the
.
.
.
I
sing
of
the
poem.
do
not
reftect
anything
images
that
likea
They
are
T h e s i g n i fi c a n c eo f o b j e c ts i n o ur processesof rememberi ngi s the mai n
reasonwhy we like to collectfamiliaror peculiarobiectsaround us; they expand
and reinforcethe realmof memories,and eventually,of our very senseof setf.Few
of the objectswe possessare reallyneededstrictlyfor utilitarianpurposes;their
functionis sociaIand menta[."l am what is aroundme", arguesWallaceStevens,'4
wher e a sN d e [A rn a u d ,a n o th e rp o e t,cl ai ms:" l am the space,w hereI am." ' 5These
condensedformulationsby two poets emphasizethe intertwiningof the wortdand
groundof remembrance
and identity.
the self as well as the externalized
byturni ng
and takeni nto one' spossessi on
A ro o mc a n a l s o b e i n d i v i d u a l i zed
and dreami ngare i nterrel ated,
; e a c tso f memori zi ng
it int o a p l a c eo f d re a mi n gth
the
As Bachelardputs it: "The house shettersdaydreaming,the house protects

SPACE,
PLACE,MEMORYAND IMAGINATION

d re a m ert he
, hous eal l o w so n e to d re a mi n p e a c e ." ' 6
A fundamentalqual i tyof a
l a n d sc ape,
hous eand r o o mi s i ts c a p a c i tyto e v o k ea n d contai na feeti ngof safety,
fa mi tiar itand
y at - hom e n e sasn d to s ti m u l a tefa n ta s i e s.
W e are not capabteof deep
i ma g i nat ion
out door si n w i td n a tu re ;p ro fo u n di ma g i nati onca[[sfor the focusi ng
i n ti ma cof
y a r oom .F o rm e , th e re a l m e a s u reo f th e q u ati tyof a tow n i s w hetherI
ca ni maginem y s et f at ti n gi n l o v eth e re .

Thelivedworld
Wed o not liv e in an o b j e c ti v ew o rl d o f ma tte ra n d facts,as commonpl acenarV e
re a l i s mt ends t o as s u m e .T h e c h a ra c te ri s ti c a lhl yu man mode of exi stencetakes
p l a cei n t he wor lds of p o s s i b i ti ti e smo
, u l d e db y th e human capaci tyof rememb ra n c e,
f ant as yand im a g i n a ti o nW
. e Ii v e i n m e n ta lw orl ds,i n w hi ch the materi al
a n dthe s pir it ua[ ,as w e l l a s th e e x p e ri e n c e dre
, m e mberedand i magi ned,consta n tly
f us eint o eac ho th e r.As a c o n s e q u e n c eth, e Ii v e dreal i tydoesnot fol l owthe
ru l e so f s pac eand t im e a s d e fi n e da n d m e a s u re db y the sci enceof physi cs.I w i sh
to a rg u et hat t he I iv edw o rl d i s fu n d a m e n ta l l"yu n s ci enti fi c"w, hen measuredby
th e crit er iaof wes t er ne mp i ri c a sl c i e n c e .In fa c t, th e l i ved w ortd i s cl oserto the
re a l i tyof dr eamt han a n y s c i e n ti fi cd e s c ri p ti o nIn
. o rderto di sti ngui shthe ti ved
sp a cefr om phy s ic atan d g e o me tri c asIp a c e ,w e c a n c atIi t exi stenti alspace.Li ved
e xi stent ial
s pac eis s t ru c tu re do n th e b a s i s o f m e a n i ngs,i ntenti onsand val ues
re fl e c t ed
upon it by an i n d i v i d u a [,e i th e rc o n s c i o u s lor
y unconsci ousl y;
exi stenti al
sp a ceis a uniquequa ti tyi n te rp re te d
th ro u g hth e memoryand experi enceof the
i n d i vi d uatE. v er yliv ed e x p e ri e n c ta
e k e s p l a c ea t th e interfaceof reco[l ecti on
and
i n te n tion,per c ept iona n d fa n ta s y ,m e m o rya n d d e s i r e.T.S .E ti otbri ngsforth the
pair ingof opp o s i te si n th e e n d o f h i s fo u rthq uartet," Li ttl eGi ddi ng" :
i mp o r t ant
Whatwecallthebeginning
isoftentheend.Andto makeanendisto makea beginning
. . . We
notcease
shalL
fromexploration.
Andtheendof all ourexptoring
willbeto anivewherewe
started.
Andknowtheplace
forthefirsttime.'7
On t he ot her han d , c o l te c ti v eg ro u p so r e v e n n ati ons,share certai nexperi e n ce sof ex is t ent iaIs p a c eth a t c o n s ti tu teth e i r c o tl e c ti vei denti ti esand senseof
, e l d to g e th e rb y o u r sharedmemori esmorethan
to g e ther nesW
s . e ar e, p e rh a p s h
b y a n i nnat es ens eof so l i d a ri tyI.w i s h to re c a [[h e rethe famoussoci ol ogi cal
study
b y Maur ic eHalbwac h sth a t re v e a l e dth a t th e e a s e of mutual communi cati on
b e tw eenold P ar is ians
l i v i n gw i th i na d i s ti n c tq u a rte rw a s groundedi n thei rri chand
sh a re dc ot lec t iv m
e em o ri e s .
Th eliv eds pac eis a l s oth e o b j e c ta n d c o n te x to f b oth the maki ngand experi encingof art as well as architecture.
Art projectsa lived reality,not meresymbolic
re p re s ent at ions
of lif e.T h eta s k o f a rc h i te c tu rea,l s o ,i s " to makevi si bl ehow the
w o rl d touc hesus " , as M e rl e a u -P o n ty
w ro te o f th e p ai nti ngsof P aul C 6zanne.' B
We l i ve in t he " f les h o f th e w o rl d " ,to u s e a n o ti o no f the phi l osopher,
and l andsca p e sand ar c hit ec tu res tru c tu rea n d a rti c u l a teth i s exi stenti alfl esh gi vi ng i t
sp e ci f ichor iz onsand m e a n i n g s .

193

2OO7:JUHANI PALLASMAA

1s'4

Experience
as exchange
o f a p ta c eo r s p a c ei s al w aysa curi ousexchange;as I settl ei n a
T heex p e ri e n c e
s pac e,t h e s p a c es e ttl e si n me . I l i v e i n a ci tyand the ci tydw el l si n me.W e are i n a
the setti ngand
w i th o u r s e tti n g ss; i muttaneouslwye i nternal i ze
c ons t a n e
t xchange
pr ojec to u r o w n b o d i e s ,o r a s p e c tso f our body schemes,on the setti ng.Memory
and ac t u a l i ty p, e rc e p ti o na n d d re a mm erge.Thi ssecretphysi catand mentaIi nter"
In ,| oseph
t wining a n d i d e n ti fi c a ti o na l s o ta k e s ptace i n al l arti sti cexperi ence.
B r ods k y ' sv i e w e v e ryp o e m te l l s th e reader" B e [i ke me" .' eH erel i es the ethi cal
powero f a l l a u th e n ti cw o rk so f a rt;w e i nternal i ze
themw i th our
them and i ntegrate
very senseof self. A fine pieceof music,poetryor architecturebecomesa part of
m y phys i c a al n d m o ra ls e l f.T h eC z e c hwri terB ohumi lH rabalgi vesa vi vi d descri pt ion of t h i s b o d i l ya s s o c i a ti o inn th e a c t of readi ng:
in mymouth
andsuckit likea fruit
sentence
read;I popa beautiful
WhenI read,I don'treatly
mybrain
and
infusing
dissolves
inmelikealcohol,
untilthethought
droporI sipit tikea liqueur
vessel.'o
totherootofeachblood
heart
andcoursing
onthrough
theveins
Re m e m b e ri nigs n o t o n l y a m e n ta levent;i t i s al so an act of embodi mentand
processes
pr ojec ti o nM
. e m o ri e sa re n o t o n ty h i d deni n the secretel ectrochemi cal
of t he bra i n ;th e y a re a l s os to re di n o u r skel etons,muscl esand ski n.A tl our senses
and or g a n sth i n k a n d re m e m b e r.

The embodiedmemory
I c an r ec a l th
l e h u n d re d so f h o te Iro o m saroundthe w orl d,w hi chI havetemporari l y
w i th thei rfurni ture,col ourschemes
inhabit e dd u ri n gm y fi v e d e c a d e so f travel l i ng,
and t igh ti n g ,b e c a u s eI h a v e i n v e s te dand l eft partsof my body and my mi nd i n
The protagoni stof MarcelP roust' s/n
t
t hes e a n o n y mo u sa n d i n s i g n i fi c a nrooms.
similarlyhis veryidentityand locationthroughhis
Searchof Lost lime reconstructs
em bod i e dm e m o ry :
ofits
to construe
fromthepattern
withsleep
to move,
wouldendeavour
Mybody,
stilltooheavy
ofthewall,
thedirection
timbs,
inorder
to deduce
therefrom
tiredness
theposition
ofitsvarious
in whichit tay.lts
to thehouse
to piece
together
andgivea name
thelocation
ofthefurniture,
offered
it a whole
its shoulder-blades,
memory
of its ribs,its knees,
memory,
thecomposite
walls,
shifting
and
slept,
white
theunseen
ofrooms
inwhichit hadatonetimeoranother
series
whirted
it inthe
roomthatit remembered,
to theshape
ofeachsuccessive
adaptingthemselves
of
thestyleofthebed,theposition
woutd
recall
fromeachroominsuccession
dark.. . mybody,
wasa passage
came
inatthewindows,
whether
there
atwhich
thesunlight
thedoors,
theangte
whenI awoke."
andfound
there
whatI hadhadinmindwhenI wenttosleep
outside,
that bri ngsto mi nd a fragmented
W e a re a g a i n e n c o u n te ri n a
g n e xperi ence
Cubis tc o m p o s i ti o nW
. e a re ta u g h tto t hi nk of memoryas a cerebralcapaci ty,but
t he ac t o f m e m o rye n g a g e so u r e n ti reb o dy.

195

SPACE,PLiACE,MEMORY AND IMAGINATION

"Body memoryis . . . the naturalcenterof any sensitiveaccountof remembering",phitosopherEdwardS. Caseyarguesin his seminalbook Memorizing:A Phenomenological
Study,and concludes:"Thereis no memorywithoutbody memory.""
Inmyview,we c out ds aye v e nm o re ;b o d yi s n o t o n ty th el ocusof remembrance,
it is
alsothe siteand mediumof al[ creativework,includingthe workof the architect.

Memoryandemotion
Ina d d i tiont o beingm e m o ryd e v i c e sl,a n d s c a p eas n d b ui l di ngsare al so ampl i fi ers
o fe mo t ionst;heyr einf o rc see n s a ti o nos f b e to n g i n g
o r a li enati on,
i nvi tati onor rej ection,tranquillityor despair.A landscapeor work of architecturecannot,however,
create
feelings.Throughtheirauthorityand aura,they evokeand strengthenour own
emotionsand projectthem back to us as if these feelingsof ours had an external
source.In the LaurentianLibraryin FlorenceI confrontmy own senseof metaphysis
ca lme lanc holy
awak en e da n d p ro j e c te db a c k b y M i c h el angel o'archi
tecture.
The
o p ti mi s mt hat I ex per i e n c w
e h e n a p p ro a c h i n th
g e Pa i mi oS anatori umi s my ow n
The
senseof hope evokedand strengthened
by AlvarAalto'soptimisticarchitecture.
hill of the meditationgroveat the WoodlandCemeteryin Stockholm,for instance,
evokesa state of longingand hope throughan imagethat is an invitationand a
p ro mi se.T his ar c hit ec tu rai lma g e o f l a n d s c a p ee v o k essi mul taneousl rememy
n s th e c o m p o s i tep a i n te di ma g eof A rnotdB rj ckti n' "sl sl and
b ra n ce
and im aginat io a
o f D e a t h"A. ll poet icim a g e sa rec o n d e n s a ti o nasn d m i c r ocosms.
. * @.

IW..@

."# .... W - ffi, d

#/#&"#
.w nC
:lrir:iiffilllll:i:iiiir@lll:rrirli6lll:rrrir:
. r.rliiffiirli:..,ii@illllri,.rilliffillll:

The modernist architectureof

the P ai mi oS anatori umproj ects
i magesof hope and heal i ng.
A l var A al to, P ai mi oTubercul osi s
S anatori um,P ai mi o,I929-33

2OO7: JUHANI PALLASMAA

196

:i:i::,rrrrr:.,::,,,,,r1
..:15r..i:ii!|ri:
r"..trlffllrr
:ii:ii

lrl,:i
,rrlSll

GunnarA spl undand S i gurdLew erentz,

T he M ed i t a t i o nG r o v eo n t h e h ill is a n im a g e o f h o p e a n d r e su r r ecti on.
The Woodland cemeterv. Stockholm,1915/1932

sug"
" H o u s e ,e v e n m o re th a n th e l a ndscape,i s a psychi cstate" , B achel ard
ges t s .2In
3 deedw
, ri te rs ,fi [m d i re c to rs,poets,and pai ntersdo not j ust depi ctl andc
physi calsetti ngsof the events
s c ape so r h o u s e sa s u n a v o i d a b l eg e ographi and
emoti ons,mental
T
of t he i r s to ri e s ;th e y s e e kto e x p re s s,evokeand ampti fi human
s t at esa n d me mo ri e sth ro u g hp u rp osefuldepi cti onsof setti ngs,both naturaIand
m an-ma d e ". L e t u s a s s u mea w a [[:w hat takes pl ace behi nd i t?" , asks the poet
J eanT a rd i e u ,'bau t w e a rc h i te c tsra re l ybotherto i magi new hat happensbehi ndthe
are usual l ymereaestheti by archi tects
wallsw e h a v ee re c te dT. h ew a l l sc o n cei ved
c iz edc o n s tru c ti o n sa,n d w e s e eo u r crafti n termsof desi gni ngaestheti cstructures
r at he rth a n e v o k i n gp e rc e p ti o n sfe, e l i ngsand fantasi es.
of pl aceand humanmi nd,memoryand
A rti s tss e e mto g ra s pth e i n te rtwi ni ng
do, and that i s w hy theseotherart formscan
des ir e ,mu c hb e tte rth a nw e a rc h i te cts
educa'
pr ov i d es u c hs ti m u l a ti n gi n s p i ra ti o nfor our w ork as w el l as for archi tectural
capaci tyof arti sti ccondensat ion. T h e rea re n o b e tte rl e s s o n so fthe extraordi nary
t ions i n e v o k i n gmi c ro c o s mi icma g esof the w orl d than, say,the short stori esof
A nt on C h e k h o va n d J o rg eL u i s Bo rg es,or Gi orgi oMorandi ' smi nutesti [[ l i fescons is t in go f a fe w b o ttl e sa n d c u p so n a tabl etop.

SPACE,PLACE, MEMORY AND IMAGINATION

Slowness
and remembering
- speedand forgetting
"There
is a secretbond betweenslownessand memory,betweenspeedand forgetl the i ntensi tyof memory:
ti n g. . . t he degr eeof s l o w n e s si s d i re c tl yp ro p o rti o n at o
l th e i n te nsi tyof forgetti ng"suggests
,
th ed e g r eeof s peedis d i re c tl yp ro p o rti o n ato
Mi l a nKu nder a. 'W
5 it h t h e d i z z y i n ga c c e l e ra ti oonf th e vel oci tyof ti me today and
l a l i tyw
, e a re seri ousl ythreatenedby
th eco ns t ants peedingup o f o u r e x p e ri e n ti are
a g e n e raI
c ult ur aIam ne s i aIn
. to d a y ' sa c c e te ra teldi fe ,w e can fi na[[yonl y percei ve,
n o tre m em berI.n t he s o c i e tyo f th e s p e c ta c l ew e c a n onl y marvet,not remember.
Sp e e dand t r ans par en cwy e a k e nre m e m b ra n c eb,u t th ey have been fundamental
fa sci n at ions
o f F .T.Mari nettii n the Futuri st
of m oder n i tys i n c eth e p ro c l a m a ti o n
has beenenri ched
ma n i fes talm
o os ta f u[ [ c e n tu rya g o :" T h ew o rtd ' sma g ni fi cence
b ya n e w beaut y ;t he b e a u tyo f s p e e d " ,' 6a n d l (a r[M a rx' sprophesy:" E verythi ng
seeksthe sensati on
th a ti s solid. . . m elt sin to th e a i r." ' 7 T o d a ye,v e na rc h i tecture
o fsp e e d,ins t ants educ ti o na n d g ra ti fi c a ti o na,n d tu rn sauti sti c,as a consequence.
thi s asoi rati onfor draIh e a rchit ec t ur aI
c onf ess i o o
n f C o o oH i m m e l b l a ui l l u s tr ates
ma ti zear
d c hit ec t ur al
ac ti o na n d s o e e d :
in tiledhospital
The
Theaesthetics
ofdeathin whitesheets.
Death
rooms.
ofthearchitecture
pierced
death
Death
froma rib-cage
bya steering
shaft.
architecture
ofsudden
onthepavement.
Thepathofthebulletthrough
a dealer's
headon4zndStreet.
Theaesthetics
ofthepeep-show
plastic
boxes.
0fthebroken
tongues
andthedried-up
eyes.'8
sexinwashable
i s i n h e re n tl a
y s l owand qui et,emoti onal l ya
In my v iew,howeve r,a rc h i te c tu re
low-energy
art form in comparisonwith the dramatic arts of sudden affective
impact.lts rote is not to createstrongforegroundfiguresor feelings,but to estabThetask of archi tecture
is
l i shfra m esof per c ept io n
a n d h o ri z o n so f u n d e rs ta n d i n g.
n o tto m ak eus weepor l a u g h ,b u t to s e n s i ti z eu s to b e abl eto entera[[ emoti onal
sta te s.A r c hit ec t ur eis n e e d e dto p ro v i d eth e g ro u n d and proj ecti onscreenof
re me mbr ancand
e em ot i o n .
I b e liev ein an ar c h i te c tu re
th a t s l o w s d o w n a n d f ocuseshuman experi ence
has to safeguard
i n ste a dof s peedingup o r d i ffu s i n gi t. In my v i e w , a rc hi tecture
me mo ries
of human experi ence.
and pr ot ec tt h e a u th e n ti c i tya n d i n d e p e n dence
Arch i te c t urisef undam e n ta tty
th e a rt fo rm o f e ma n c i p ati on,
and i t makesus underwh o w e a re .
sta n da nd r em em ber

Architectural
amnesia
i n re l a ti o nto memory:one that cannot
Th e rea r e dif f er entk ind s o f a rc h i te c tu re
re ca lol r t ouc h upon t he p a s t a n d a n o th e rth a t e v o k e sa senseof depth and conth a t s e e k sto re m e mberIi teral l y,l i ke the archi ti n u i ty.T her eis als oan a rc h i te c tu re
wor
k
s
of
P
os
t
m
o
d
e
rn
i
s
m,
a
n
d a n o th e rth a t c re atesa senseof deep ti me,
te ctu ral
as the w orksof A l varA al to,
a n de p i cc ont inuit ywit h o u ta n yd i re c tfo rm a Ire fe re n c e,
D i mi trisP ik ionisand Ca rl oS c a rp aT. h e s ea re p ro d u c tsof a " poeti cchemi stry"to
,
not iono f B a c h e l a rd .'Ev
e e rys i g n i fi c a nand
t truew ork setsi tsetfi n
u sea n e v oc at iv e

' t97

2OO7: JUHANI PALLASMAA

198

A t the sameti me
a r es p e c tfudI i a l o g u ew i th th e p a s t,b o th di stantand i mmedi ate.
i t revi vesand
t hat t h e w o rk d e fe n d si ts e l fa s a u n i queand compl etemi crocosm,
r ev it a l i z eth
s e p a s t.Ev e rytru ew o rko f art occupi esa thi ckand l ayeredti me i nstead
of m er ec o n te m p o ra n e i ty .
i mages,
memory.A rchi tecturaI
Th e rei s y e t a n o th e rd i m e n s i o ni n archi tectural
begi ns
or ex p e ri e n c e sh,a v e a h i s to ri c i tya n d ontol ogyof thei r ow n. A rchi tecture
the fl oori s the " ol dest"
wit h t h e e s ta b l i s h m e notf a h o ri z o n talpl ane;consequentty,
Thew a[[i s morearchai cthan the dooror
and m o s t p o te n te l e m e n to f a rc h i te cture.
Moderni tyhassuft he wi n d o w ,a n d p ro j e c tsa d e e p e rm e ani ngas a consequence.
el ementsand i mageshave
f er ed f ro m a n o th e rk i n d o f a mn e s i aas archi tectural
The
essences.
bec omea b s tra c te da n d d e ta c h e dfro m thei rori gi nsand ontol ogi caI
, a s fo rg o tte ni ts o ri gi nas l evel l edearth,and turnedi nto mere
f loor ,fo r i n s ta n c e h
humanconstructi ons
suggests,
c ons tru c te h
d o ri z o n tapl l a n e s .In fa c t,as B achel ard
of the technologicalage haveforgottenverticalityaltogether,and turnedinto mere
and havelostthe
consistof stackedhorizontality
horizontality.
Today'sskyscrapers
, e fu n d a me n taIontol ogi caIdi fferencebetw eenbel ow and
s ens e o f v e rti c a l i tyth
. s o ,th e fl o o rand the cei l i nghavebecomei denti cathori abov e ,H e tla n d H e a v e nAl
z ont a Io l a n e s .T h ew i n d o wa n d th e d o or are oftenmerehotesi n the w al l . I do not
hav e th e s p a c eh e reto e l a b o ra teo n thi s theme of the hi stori ci tyof archi tectural
im age sa n d th e c u rre n ta rc h i te c tu raaImnesi aresul ti ngfrom the l ossof the hi stor
of thi s di mensi on.
ic it yof e x p e ri e n c e sI ;me re typ o i n ta t t he mentalsi gni fi cance

The tensesof art

I ventureto suggestthat in its very essenceartisticwork is orientedtowardsthe
pas t r a th e rth a n th e fu tu re . Bro d s kyseemsto supportthi s vi ew as he argues:
i f onl y because
" T her ei s s o me th i n gc te a rl ya ta v i s ti cin the processof recol l ecti on,
p
ro
c
e
s
s
remembers,
the
ctoserperhaps
n e v e ri s l i n e a r.A l s o the moreone
s uc h a
one is to d i e i n g ." :"
i nter'
ln a n y s i g n i fi c a net x p e ri e n c ete, m porall ayersi nteract;w hat i s percei ved
A
n
arti
sti c
w
i
th
the
archai
c.
, e n o veIshort-ci rcui ts
ac t sw i th w h a t i s re me mb e re dth
persona.
i
nsi
de
one'
s
adul
t
ex peri e n cael w a y sa w a k e sth e fo rg o ttenchi tdhi dden
and art that are fl at and
T h e rea re fa b ri c a te di ma g e si n today' sarchi tecture
novel
i
mages
that resonatew i th
wit ho u t a n e mo ti o n a le c h o , b u t th e re are al so
fami
l
i
ar,
obscure
and cl ear,at the
r em emb ra n c eT. h e l a tte r a re m y s te ri ousand
emoti ons
and
associ
ati ons,
s am eti m e . T h e ymo v e u s th ro u g hth e remembrances
provided
it
move
novelty
can
us
only
and empathythat they awakenin us. Artistic
profound
p
o
ssess
E
very
arti
si
n
our
very
bei
ng.
t ouc h e ss o m e th i n gth a t w e a l re a d y
Aftistic
grows
invention.
from
rootless
intellectual
from memory,not
tic work surely
oceani cw orl d,
wor k sa s p i reto b ri n gu s b a c kto a n u ndi vi dedand undi fferenti ated
poi
nt
"
the
from
w hi chthe
w
ri
tes
about,
T hisis th e Ome g ath a t T e i l h a rdd e C hardi n
wor lda p p e a rsc o m p l e tea n d c o rre c t" .3'
W e a re u s u a l tyc o n d i ti o n e dto thi nk that arti stsand archi tectsoughtto be
addr e s s i n th
g e fu tu rere a d e rsv, i e w e rs,and usersof thei rproducts.
JosephB rodsky
" W henone
perspecti
ve:
poet'
s
temporal
is v er y d e te rm i n e d i,n d e e d ,a b o u t t he

MEMORY AND IMAGINATION

Look ingt h r o u g h a w i n d o w i s a p r o fo u n da r ch ite ctu r ael n co u n te rr a therthan a vi sualdesi gnof the w i ndow i tsel f
Cas parDa v i dF r i e d r i c h",F r a u am F e n ste r ",1 8 2 2

199

2OO7:JUHANI PALLASMAA

200

letalone
is notone'sowncontemporaries,
audience
writes,one'smostimmediate
posterity,
"No realwritereverwantedto be contemporbut one'spredecessors.'32
Thisviewopensanotheressential
arguesin thesamevain.33
ary",JorgeLuisBorges
workis co[a[[ creative
perspective
and roleof remembrance;
on the significance
with the past and with the wisdomof tradition."Everytrue novelist
laboration
wisdom[thewisdomof the nove[],whichexplains
listensfor that suprapersonal
thantheirauthors.Novelists
why greatnovelsarealwaysa litttemoreintelligent
thantheirbooksshouldgo into anotherlineof work",
who are moreinteltigent
great
is equatly
trueof architecture;
Thesameobservation
argues.3a
MilanKundera
of a collaboratheyareproducts
arefruitsof thewisdomof architecture,
buitdings
as muchastheyareworksof
withourgreatpredecessors
tion,oftenunconscious,
diatogue
with
Onlyworksthat arein vitaIand respectfuI
creators.
theirindividuaI
[isviewers,
to survivetimeand stimulate
theirpastpossessthe mentalcapacity
in thefuture.
readers,
andoccupants
teners,

NOTES
1

3
4

5
6
Z
8
9
10
77
12
tj
74
t5
t6
77
18
79
20
27

in DavidSeamon(ed.),Dwelling,
KarstenHarries,"Thoughtson a Non-ArbitraryArchitecture"
Ecology,Albany, NY:State Universityof
Seeingand Designing:Towarda Phenomenological
NewYorkPrcss,7993,p. 47.
lournal
KarstenHanies,"Buildingand the Terrorof Time",Perspecta:TheYaleArchitectural
Blackwell,
Cambridge:
79,1982.As quotedin DavidHarvey,Ihe Conditionof Postmodernify,
1 992,p. 206.
GastonBachelard,ThePoeticsof Space,Boston,MA:BeaconPress,1969,p. 46.
1988,p.
As quotedin Max Picard,TheWorldof Silence,Washington,DC:BegneryGateway,
lfI
writes:"Thepresentstateofthe wortdandthe whoteof lifeis diseased.
z3r. Kierkegaard
were a doctorand were askedfor my advice,I shouldsay:CreateSilence!Bringmento
silence."
ln MaxPicard,TheWorldof Silence,p.227.
ln Max Picard,Ihe Worldof Silence,p.2L2.
fosephBrodsky,"A Placeas Goodas Any" in On Griefand Reason,NewYork:Farrar,Straus
and Giroux,1997,p.43.
Books,r99r, p. 39.
Wind,SandandStars,London:Penguin
Antoinede Saint-Exup6ry,
RainerMariaRitke,TheNotebooksof Malte LauridsBrigge,M.O.HerterNorton,trans.;New
Yorkand London:W.W.Norton&Co.,t992,pp.30-31.
Ritke,Ihe NotebooksofMalteLauridsBrigge,pp.47-48.
"APlaceasGoodasAny"in OnGriefandReason,p.37.
losephBrodsky,
Harmondworth:
PenguinBooks,1986.
SusanSontag,OnPhotography,
6, t982, pp.323-24.
JarkkoLaine,"Tikustaasiaa"in Parnasso
Poems,NewYork:VintageBooks,r99o, p. 85.
WaltaceStevens,"Theory"in TheCollected
NodlArnaud,as q uotedin Bachelard,ThePoeticsof Space,p. t37.
Bachelard,ThePoeticsof Space,p.6.
Publishers,
SanDiego:HarcourtBraceJovanovich
T.S.Etiot,FourQuartets,
ry7\pp.58-59.
"C6zanne'sDoubt" in Senseand Non'Sense,Evanston,lL: North'
MauriceMerleau-Ponty,
westernUniversityPress,1964,p. t9.
p. zo6.
OnGriefandReason,
JosephBrodsky,
lnc.,1990,p. 1.
SanDiego,CA:Harcoutt
BohumilHrabat,Ioo Louda Solitude.
Kilmartin,
MarcetProust,In Searchof LostTime:Swann'sWay,C.K.ScottMoncrieff& Terence
House,1992,pp.4-5.
TheRandom
trans.;London:

PIACE, MEMORY AND IMAGINATION

SPACE,

S. Casey,Memorizing:
A Phenomenological
22 Edward
Sfudy,Btoomington,lN: IndianaUniversityPress,2ooo,p. r48, t72.
ThePoeticsofSpace,p.7z.
23 Bachelard,
24 Asquotedin GeorgesPerec,Tilojaja avaruuksia,Esp6cesd'espaces,originaltitle; Helsinki:
Loki-Kirlat,
t992,p. 72.
Slowness,
NewYork:
HarperCotlins
25 MilanKundera,
Pubtishers,
1966,p. 39.
26 A s qu ote din Th omM ay ne, "St at em enl"inPet er Pr an , L i g a n g Q u i : D U T P r e s s , 2 0 0 6 , p . 4 .
pre.iudices
27 "Allfixed,fast-frozen
relations,
withtheirtrainof ancientandvenerable
and opinions,aresweptaway,all newformed
onesbecomeantiquated
beforetheycanossifi7.
Al[ that
is solidmeltsintoair,all that is holyis profaned,
and men at lastareforcedto face. . . the
realconditions
of theirlivesandtheirrelations
withtheirfellowmen."
"Die Fascination
der Stadt"in AnthonyVidler,TheArchitecturalUncanny,
28 CoopHimmelblau,
Cambridge,
MA:TheMITPress,1999,p.76.
29 GastonBachela"d,Waterand Dreams:An Essayon the Imaginationof Matter,Dallas,TX:The
Pegasus
Foundation,
ry83,p.46.
30 JosephBrodsky,LessThanOne,NewYork:FarrarStrausGiroux,1986,p. 3o.
31 Asquotedin TimoVatjakka(ed.),JuhanaBlomstedt:muodonarvo,Helsinki:Painatuskeskus,
1995.
j2 Joseph
Brodsky,
"LettertoHorace"in OnGriefandReason,p.43g.
The Ecco
33 Asquotedin NormanThomasdi Giovannief a/. (eds),Borgeson Writing,Hopewell:
Press,
t994,p.53.
he elNewYor k : Har per Co l l i n s P u b l i s h e r s l n c . , 2
1o
5o
8o
. ,p.
34 Mila nKu nd era ,Th eAr t of /t Vov

201