Space as Place

What resonated with me this week was Aldo Van Eyck’s idea that “architecture is the construction of a place for the inhabitants’ duration, a space full of devices on which to anchor and build a narrative experience.”¹ This perspective begins to suggest that the author of a space is not the architect but the inhabitants themselves. Van Eyck’s Otterlo Circles attempts to critique aspects of modernism, emphasizing the concern for human identity within the built environment. An interesting example of this is Van Eyck’s own home in Loenen where the interior is designed as a cataloged library of memories and experiences in the form of souvenirs, drawings, books, and art. Since 1964, the home has been occupied by various inhabitants, each contributing to the original collection. It could then be argued that architecture is then realized when it is “interiorized” by its inhabitants. The objects begin to build and shape the space, creating a sense of place tailored to its users. The home could also be interpreted as a perpetual work in progress, evolving every day as long as it remains inhabited.   

1.  Uribe, A. C., Pastor, M. D. M., Montes, P. L., & Ventura, J. M. (2020). Multiculturalism in post-war architecture: Aldo van Eyck and the Otterlo circles. Architecture, City and Environment, 14(42), Article 7033. https://doi.org/10.5821/ace.14.42.7033