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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

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

Thetime perspective
in architecture

Architectureis usua[[yseenin futuristic terms;novelbuitdingsareunderstood to

probeandprojectan unforeseen reality,andarchitectural qualityis directlyassoci-
withits degree
ated of novelty anduniqueness. Modernity at largehasbeendomin-
atedby this futuristicbias.Yet,the appreciation of newnesshas probablynever
beenas obsessive as in today'scult of spectacular architectural imagery.In our
globatizedworld,newness is not onlyan aesthetic and artisticvalue,it is a stra-
necessity
tegic of the cutture of consumption, and consequentty, an inseparable
ingredientof oursurreaImaterialist culture.
However, humanconstructions havealsothe taskto preserve the past,and
enable us to experience andgraspthe continuum of cultureandtradition. Wedo
notonlyexistin a spatialandmaterial reality,we alsoinhabitcultural,mentaland
temporaI realities.Ourexistential and[ivedrealityis a thick,layered andconstantly
oscillatingcondition. Architecture is essentiallyan art formof reconciliation and
mediation, andin addition to settling usin spaceandplace,landscapes andbuitd-
ingsarticulate ourexperiences of durationandtimebetween the polaritiesof past
andfuture.In fact,alongwith the entirecorpusof literature and the arts,[and-
scapesand buitdingsconstitutethe most importantexternalization of human
memory. We understand and remember who we arethroughour constructions,
bothmaterial andmental.Weatsojudgealienand pastcultures throughthe evid-
enceprovided bythearchitectural structurestheyhaveproduced. Buitdings proiect
enicnarratives.
In additionto practicalpurposes, architecturalstructures havea significant
existential and mentaltask; they domesticate spacefor humanoccupationby
turninganonymous, uniformand limitless spaceinto distinctplacesof human
significance, and equallyimportantly, theymakeendlesstimetolerableby giving
duration its humanmeasure. AsKarsten Harries,thephilosopher, argues:

Architecture helpsto replacemeaningless or ratherarchitecturally,

realitywith a theatrically,
kansformedreatity,which drawsus in and, as we surrenderto it, grantsus an illusionof
meaning Chaosmustbetransformed
. . . wecannottivewithchaos. intocosmos.'

"Arch i tec t uris s p a c e.l t i s al so a deep defence

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, a n d b u i tdi ngsdo not onl y servepracti caIand uti l i -

e n v i ro n m e n ts
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.

andmemory
Architecture
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 remem-
beredarchitecturalimagesand 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 existingfrag-
mentsof 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 y n d j o y , as w el Ias fearand hope.A tt bui tdi ngsmai n-
, l a n c h o la
t ain ou r p e rc e p ti o n
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 ti me. W e al so
 -t

SPACE,PLACE, MEMOFY AND IMAGINATION 191

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.

I wasa childof thathouse,filledwiththememory fittedwiththecoolness

of itssmells, of its
filledwiththevoices
haltways, thathadgiven
it tife.Therewaseventhesongofthefrogsinthe
pools;
theV came to bewithmehere,

A nt oinede Sa i n t-Ex u p 6 ry
re mi nis c es th,e l e g e n d a ryp il ot and w ri ter,after havi ng
cra sh -landedwit h his ol a n ei n a s a n dd e s e rti n N o rthAfri ca.B

Thementalpowerof fragments
ln his noveITheNotebooksof Malte LauridsBrigge,RainerMaria Rilkegivesa sim-
i 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
o fth egr andf at her hou ' s s ei n th e p ro ta g o n i s t'me
s mo ry:

AsI recoverit inrecalling

mychild-wrought memories, it isnocomptete it isallbroken
building: up
insideme;here a room,
therea room, andherea pieceofhatlway thatdoesnot connect these two
rooms butispreserved,asa fragment,byitself.Inthiswayit isalldispersedwithinme. . . allthat
isstitlin meandwitlnever cease to bein me.lt isasthough the picture
ofthis house hadfallen
intomefromaninfinite height andhadshattered against myveryground.e

Th ere m em ber ed im agea ri s e sg ra d u a ttyp,i e c eb y p i e c e,fromfragmentsof memory

a sa p a int edCubis tpic tu ree me rg e sfro md e ta c h e dv i s ualmoti fs.
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
h o u seand, point edout th a t th e me mo ryh o u s eo f my e arl ychi tdhoodi s a col tageof
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 mag-
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, and to
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 . R u i n sa nd eroded setti ngs have a
sp e ci alev oc at iv eand e mo ti o n a I p o w e r; th e y fo rc e u s to remi ni sce and i magi ne.
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
i l tu strat ionsand 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
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
co n j u r eup t he ex per ie n c o e f a c o m p l e tec o n s tru c te d s etti ng.Thi s i s the secretof
th e a rt of c o[ [ agebut a l s o s o me a rc h i te c tss, u c h a s ,| ohnS oaneand A l varA al to
h a vetak enadv ant age th i so f e m o ti o n a p
I o w e r o f th e a rchi tecturaI fragment.R i tke' s
d e script ionof t he im a g e so f l i fe l i v e d i n a d e m o l i s hedhouse tri ggeredby the
re ma i nsand s t ains lef t o n th e e n d w a l l o f th e n e i g h b ouri house,
ng i s a stunni ng
re co rdof t he wav sof hu m a nm e m o ry :
'192 2OO7:JUHANI PALLASMAA

Butmostforgettable of all werethewallsthemselves. Thestubborn lifeof theseroomshadnot

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

of memory
andsituationality
Spatiality
s re s i tu a ti o n a Ia n d spati al i zedmemori es,they are memori es
O ur r e c o l l e c ti o n a
attachedto places and events.lt is hard to recall,for instance,a familiaror iconic
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
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 pi ctori alspace,i t i s
a tived and multi-sensoryspacesaturatedand structured by memories and inten-
tions. We keep projecting meaningsand signification to everything we encounter, I
haverarelydisagreedwith the viewsof Joseph Brodsky, one of my house gods, but
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."
P i c tu re s o, b j e c ts ,fra g m e n tsi,n si gni fi cant thi ngs,al l serveas condensati on
centresfor our memories.Jarkko Laine, the Finnish poet, writes about the roteof
objec t si n h i s me mo ry :

I tikelooking pleasure
I don'tseekaesthetic
at thesethings. in them. . . nordo I recall
their
origins:thatis notimportant.
Buteven so they
atlarousememories, real
and imagined.A poem
is a thingthatarousesmemoriesof realandimagined
things . . . Thethingsin thewindowad
likea poem. They areimages
thatdo notreftect .
anything . . I sing ofthethingsin thewindow.'3

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
the self as well as the externalized groundof remembrance and identity.
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 takeni nto one' spossessi onbyturni ng
it int o a p l a c eo f d re a mi n gth ; e a c tso f memori zi ng and dreami ngare i nterrel ated,
As Bachelardputs it: "The house shettersdaydreaming,the house protects the
 SPACE,
PLACE,MEMORYAND IMAGINATION 193

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
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 ma g i nat ion
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 remem-
b 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,con-
sta 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
e k e s p l a c ea t th e interfaceof reco[l ecti on
i n d i vi d uatE. v er yliv ed e x p e ri e n c ta 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
i mp o r t ant 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" :

Whatwecallthebeginning
isoftentheend.Andto makeanendisto makea beginning
. . . We
notcease
shalL fromexploration.
Andtheendof all ourexptoring
willbeto anivewherewe
Andknowtheplace
started. 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
to g e ther nesW s . e ar e, p e rh a p s h , e l d to g e th e rb y o u r sharedmemori esmorethan
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 me 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 and-
sca 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 .
1s'4 2OO7:JUHANI PALLASMAA

Experience
as exchange

T heex p e ri e n c e 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

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
c ons t a n et xchange w i th o u r s e tti n g ss; i muttaneouslwye i nternal i ze the setti ngand
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"
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. In ,| oseph
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 them and i ntegratethemw i th our
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 p-
t 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:

WhenI read,I don'treatly read;I popa beautiful

sentence andsuckit likea fruit
in mymouth
droporI sipit tikea liqueur dissolves
untilthethought inmelikealcohol, mybrain
infusing and
heart
andcoursing onthrough theveinstotherootofeachbloodvessel.'o

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

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 processes
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

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

I c an r ec a l th
inhabit e dd u ri n gm y fi v e d e c a d e so f travel l i ng,w i th thei rfurni ture,col ourschemes
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
t hes e a n o n y mo u sa n d i n s i g n i fi c a nrooms.
t The protagoni stof MarcelP roust' s/n
Searchof Lost lime reconstructs similarlyhis veryidentityand locationthroughhis
em bod i e dm e m o ry :

Mybody, stilltooheavy withsleepto move, wouldendeavour fromthepattern

to construe ofits
tirednesstheposition ofitsvarioustimbs, inorder to deduce therefromthedirectionofthewall,
thelocation ofthefurniture,to piecetogether andgivea name to thehouse in whichit tay.lts
memory, thecomposite memory of its ribs,its knees,its shoulder-blades,offered
it a whole
ofrooms
series inwhichit hadatonetimeoranother slept,white theunseen walls,
shifting and
adaptingthemselves to theshape ofeachsuccessive roomthatit remembered, whirtedit inthe
dark.. . mybody, woutd fromeachroominsuccession
recall thestyleofthebed,theposition of
thedoors, theangte atwhich thesunlight came inatthewindows, whether
there wasa passage
outside,whatI hadhadinmindwhenI wenttosleep andfound there whenI awoke."

W e a re a g a i n e n c o u n te ri n ag n e xperi encethat bri ngsto mi nd a fragmented

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.
SPACE,PLiACE,MEMORY AND IMAGINATION 195

"Body memoryis . . . the naturalcenterof any sensitiveaccountof remember-

ing",phitosopherEdwardS. Caseyarguesin his seminalbook Memorizing:A Phe-
nomenological 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 ec-
tion,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 metaphysi-
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'archis tecture. The
o p ti mi s mt hat I ex per i e n c we 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
senseof hope evokedand strengthened by AlvarAalto'soptimisticarchitecture. The
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 remem- y
b ra n ceand im aginat io a 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
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
196 2OO7: JUHANI PALLASMAA

: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

" 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 sug"

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 and-
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 c physi calsetti ngsof the events
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 T emoti ons,mental
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
wallsw e h a v ee re c te dT. h ew a l l sc o n cei ved by archi tects are usual l ymereaestheti -
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.
A rti s tss e e mto g ra s pth e i n te rtwi ni ng of pl aceand humanmi nd,memoryand
des ir e ,mu c hb e tte rth a nw e a rc h i te cts do, and that i s w hy theseotherart formscan
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
t ion. T h e rea re n o b e tte rl e s s o n so fthe extraordi nary capaci tyof arti sti ccondensa-
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 fescon-
s 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 ' t97

- speedand forgetting
and remembering
Slowness
"There is a secretbond betweenslownessand memory,betweenspeedand forget-
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 the i ntensi tyof memory:
th ed e g r eeof s peedis d i re c tl yp ro p o rti o n ato l th e i n te nsi tyof forgetti ng"suggests
,
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
th eco ns t ants peedingup o f o u r e x p e ri e n ti are l a l i tyw
, e a re seri ousl ythreatenedby
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 of m oder n i tys i n c eth e p ro c l a m a ti o n o f F .T.Mari nettii n the Futuri st
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 has beenenri ched
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
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 seeksthe sensati on
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.
Ih 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 atesthi s asoi rati onfor dra-
ma ti zear d c hit ec t ur al
ac ti o na n d s o e e d :

Theaesthetics
ofthearchitecture
ofdeathin whitesheets.Deathin tiledhospital
rooms.The
architecture
ofsuddendeathonthepavement.Death pierced
froma rib-cage bya steering
shaft.
Thepathofthebulletthrough
a dealer's
headon4zndStreet. Theaesthetics ofthepeep-show
plastic
sexinwashable boxes.
0fthebrokentonguesandthedried-up eyes.'8

In my v iew,howeve r,a rc h i te c tu re y s l owand qui et,emoti onal l ya

i s i n h e re n tl a
low-energy art form in comparisonwith the dramatic arts of sudden affective
impact.lts rote is not to createstrongforegroundfiguresor feelings,but to estab-
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.
Thetask of archi tectureis
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 .
th a t s l o w s d o w n a n d f ocuseshuman experi ence
I b e liev ein an ar c h i te c tu re
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 has to safeguard
me mo ries 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 of human experi ence.
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 under-
sta n da nd r em em ber wh o w e a re .

Architectural
amnesia
Th e rea r e dif f er entk ind s o f a rc h i te c tu re i n re l a ti o nto memory:one that cannot
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 con-
th 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
te ctu ral 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,
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, as the w orksof A l varA al to,
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 ,
u sea n e v oc at iv e not iono f B a c h e l a rd .'Ev t truew ork setsi tsetfi n
e e rys i g n i fi c a nand
198 2OO7: JUHANI PALLASMAA

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. A t the sameti me

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, i t revi vesand
s e p a s t.Ev e rytru ew o rko f art occupi esa thi ckand l ayeredti me i nstead
r ev it a l i z eth
of m er ec o n te m p o ra n e i ty .
Th e rei s y e t a n o th e rd i m e n s i o ni n archi tectural memory.A rchi tecturaI i mages,
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 begi ns
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, the fl oori s the " ol dest"
and m o s t p o te n te l e m e n to f a rc h i te cture. Thew a[[i s morearchai cthan the dooror
t 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. Moderni tyhassuf-
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 el ementsand i mageshave
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 essences. The
f loor ,fo r i n s ta n c e h, a s fo rg o tte ni ts o ri gi nas l evel l edearth,and turnedi nto mere
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
suggests, humanconstructi ons
of the technologicalage haveforgottenverticalityaltogether,and turnedinto mere
horizontality. Today'sskyscrapers consistof stackedhorizontality and havelostthe
s ens e o f v e rti c a l i tyth , e fu n d a me n taIontol ogi caIdi fferencebetw eenbel ow and
abov e ,H e tla n d H e a v e nAl . s o ,th e fl o o rand the cei l i nghavebecomei denti cathori -
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
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 of thi s di mensi on.

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:
" 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, i f onl y because
s uc h a p ro c e s sn e v e ri s l i n e a r.A l s o the moreone remembers, the ctoserperhaps
one is to d i e i n g ." :"
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 i nter'
ac t sw i th w h a t i s re me mb e re dth , e n o veIshort-ci rcui ts w i th the archai A
c. n arti sti c
ex peri e n cael w a y sa w a k e sth e fo rg o ttenchi tdhi dden i nsi de one' s adul tpersona.
T h e rea re fa b ri c a te di ma g e si n today' sarchi tecture and art that are fl at and
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 novel i mages that resonatew i th
r em emb ra n c eT. h e l a tte r a re m y s te ri ousand fami l i ar, obscure and cl ear,at the
s am eti m e . T h e ymo v e u s th ro u g hth e remembrances and associ ati ons, emoti ons
and empathythat they awakenin us. Artistic novelty can move us only provided it
t ouc h e ss o m e th i n gth a t w e a l re a d y p o ssess i n our very bei ng.E very profound arti s-
tic work surely grows from memory,not from rootless intellectual invention. Aftistic
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 oceani cw orl d,
T hisis th e Ome g ath a t T e i l h a rdd e C hardi n w ri tes about, " the poi ntfrom w hi chthe
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
g e fu tu rere a d e rsv, i e w e rs,and usersof thei rproducts.
addr e s s i n th JosephB rodsky
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 poet' s temporal perspecti " W henone
ve:
 MEMORY AND IMAGINATION 199

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
200 2OO7:JUHANI PALLASMAA

writes,one'smostimmediate audience is notone'sowncontemporaries, letalone

but one'spredecessors.'32
posterity, "No realwritereverwantedto be contempor-
ary",JorgeLuisBorges arguesin thesamevain.33 Thisviewopensanotheressential
perspective and roleof remembrance;
on the significance workis co[-
a[[ creative
laboration with the past and with the wisdomof tradition."Everytrue novelist
listensfor that suprapersonalwisdom[thewisdomof the nove[],whichexplains
why greatnovelsarealwaysa litttemoreintelligent thantheirauthors.Novelists
who are moreinteltigent thantheirbooksshouldgo into anotherlineof work",
MilanKundera argues.3aThesameobservation great
trueof architecture;
is equatly
buitdingsarefruitsof thewisdomof architecture, theyareproducts of a collabora-
tion,oftenunconscious, withourgreatpredecessors as muchastheyareworksof
theirindividuaI Onlyworksthat arein vitaIand respectfuI
creators. diatogue with
theirpastpossessthe mentalcapacity to survivetimeand stimulate viewers,[is-
teners,readers, andoccupants in thefuture.

NOTES
1 KarstenHarries,"Thoughtson a Non-ArbitraryArchitecture" in DavidSeamon(ed.),Dwelling,
Seeingand Designing:Towarda Phenomenological Ecology,Albany, NY:State Universityof
NewYorkPrcss,7993,p. 47.
2 KarstenHanies,"Buildingand the Terrorof Time",Perspecta:TheYaleArchitectural lournal
79,1982.As quotedin DavidHarvey,Ihe Conditionof Postmodernify, Cambridge: Blackwell,
1 992,p. 206.
3 GastonBachelard,ThePoeticsof Space,Boston,MA:BeaconPress,1969,p. 46.
4 As quotedin Max Picard,TheWorldof Silence,Washington,DC:BegneryGateway, 1988,p.
z3r. Kierkegaardwrites:"Thepresentstateofthe wortdandthe whoteof lifeis diseased. lfI
were a doctorand were askedfor my advice,I shouldsay:CreateSilence!Bringmento
silence."
5 ln MaxPicard,TheWorldof Silence,p.227.
6 ln Max Picard,Ihe Worldof Silence,p.2L2.
Z fosephBrodsky,"A Placeas Goodas Any" in On Griefand Reason,NewYork:Farrar,Straus
and Giroux,1997,p.43.
8 Antoinede Saint-Exup6ry, Wind,SandandStars,London:Penguin Books,r99r, p. 39.
9 RainerMariaRitke,TheNotebooksof Malte LauridsBrigge,M.O.HerterNorton,trans.;New
Yorkand London:W.W.Norton&Co.,t992,pp.30-31.
10 Ritke,Ihe NotebooksofMalteLauridsBrigge,pp.47-48.
77 losephBrodsky, "APlaceasGoodasAny"in OnGriefandReason,p.37.
12 SusanSontag,OnPhotography, Harmondworth: PenguinBooks,1986.
tj JarkkoLaine,"Tikustaasiaa"in Parnasso 6, t982, pp.323-24.
74 WaltaceStevens,"Theory"in TheCollected Poems,NewYork:VintageBooks,r99o, p. 85.
t5 NodlArnaud,as q uotedin Bachelard,ThePoeticsof Space,p. t37.
t6 Bachelard,ThePoeticsof Space,p.6.
77 T.S.Etiot,FourQuartets,SanDiego:HarcourtBraceJovanovich Publishers,
ry7\pp.58-59.
18 MauriceMerleau-Ponty, "C6zanne'sDoubt" in Senseand Non'Sense,Evanston,lL: North'
westernUniversityPress,1964,p. t9.
79 JosephBrodsky, OnGriefandReason, p. zo6.
20 BohumilHrabat,Ioo Louda Solitude. SanDiego,CA:Harcoutt lnc.,1990,p. 1.
27 MarcetProust,In Searchof LostTime:Swann'sWay,C.K.ScottMoncrieff& Terence Kilmartin,
trans.;London: TheRandom House,1992,pp.4-5.
 PIACE, MEMORY AND IMAGINATION
SPACE, 201

22 Edward S. Casey,Memorizing: A Phenomenological Sfudy,Btoomington,lN: IndianaUniver-

sityPress,2ooo,p. r48, t72.
23 Bachelard, ThePoeticsofSpace,p.7z.
24 Asquotedin GeorgesPerec,Tilojaja avaruuksia,Esp6cesd'espaces,originaltitle; Helsinki:
t992,p. 72.
Loki-Kirlat,
25 MilanKundera, Slowness, NewYork: HarperCotlinsPubtishers,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 .
27 "Allfixed,fast-frozenrelations, withtheirtrainof ancientandvenerable pre.iudices and opin-
ions,aresweptaway,all newformed onesbecomeantiquated beforetheycanossifi7. Al[ that
is solidmeltsintoair,all that is holyis profaned, and men at lastareforcedto face. . . the
realconditions of theirlivesandtheirrelations withtheirfellowmen."
28 CoopHimmelblau, "Die Fascination der Stadt"in AnthonyVidler,TheArchitecturalUncanny,
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.
33 Asquotedin NormanThomasdi Giovannief a/. (eds),Borgeson Writing,Hopewell: The Ecco
Press,t994,p.53.
34 Mila nKu nd era ,Th eAr t of /t Vov
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
1o5o
8o. ,p.