From 2015 : My Architecture Journal
After being introduced to the concept of the in-between, I moved to look further into what different terms are coined for it in the spatial sense. One of the terms was 'Transient spaces' which are not meant to be long lasting, enduring, permanent. Staying only there for a short time, existing briefly and temporary. What's the requirement for such spaces or even the need to study about them? Well according to me, everything reaches it's saturation point and sometimes as they say we need to read between the lines. We move so often, that we are not even aware of the presence of certain spaces. It is interesting to know about it. We experience them from macro to micro levels. We need breathing spaces as much as we want built ones, as a result of creating built forms, there are some spaces inside it which are unthought of or not planned the way they turn out to be later. These are the spaces which connect the dots and which set the framework of your choices any which way you want to move through it. Now transient spaces, don't necessarily have to be inside something, they can be anywhere while walking on the street, consciously subconsciously you are in them. These are spaces which at times give you the pause to think, reflect, reorganise yourself and your thoughts. These are spaces which are sometimes put to some specific use or are just a spill out zone next to a dense functional space.
The industrial infrastructure that we have today, it requires transient spaces- spaces that are intended for passing through, not to keep lingering in them, even less for residing, these are the spaces for absence and nothingness. Due to the increasing speed of life, there is very rarely a perfect co- incidence between schedules, and various other factors associated with it which can/ cannot be computed in the form of a specific time or a plan. These things provide a pocket for transient spaces to fit in. And the best part is, there is no specific use/ function associated with these spaces. The world has always been a complicated tissue of events in which connections of different kinds overlap, combine, alternate and thereby determine the texture of our lives. In this rut of doing things endlessly, or over- doing them to get better and the best, there is always a balance that needs to be created. There is a space for no space has to be created, since creation of space has always been associated to use and function and otherwise it's considered to be a 'waste of space'. The next terms that kicks in is 'Transitional Spaces' which is defined as the space within which one can explore changes in one's life. For the person undergoing it, it is about creating a holding environment within which those people are wanting to initiate change. Through this change, one can always take the time and space to understand where they are currently and experiment with what they want to do/ be. Now I would finally want to talk in the architectural sense what 'transitional spaces' mean. They are located in- between outdoor and indoor environments acting as both buffer space/ physical link. Other than being functional as circulation routes for the building, corridors, lobbies, atriums, stairwells, the designs of these spaces are considered important just for aesthetic, health, comfort and as emergency exit routes in the event of fire. The percentage of such areas may vary in between 10- 40% of the total volume in different building types. It's like a 'neutral zone' which we inhabit on the journey between the ending of our previous state and beginnings of our new state. The transitional space can be strange and confusing, but with a great potential and latent creativity. It is a different and a potentially creative place where there is a possibility fir experiments to happen, people to become innovative and enthusiastic given the right focus. It is the space between inner + outer subjective + objective reflection + action stimulus + response betwixt + between “Liminal space psychologists call ‘liminal space’ a place where boundaries dissolve a little and we stand there, on the threshold, getting ourselves ready to move across the limits of what we were into what we are to be” [Source : https://jorgealveslino.com/designhuis/liminal-space]
To reply you need to sign in.