Polytechnic University of the Philippines

College of Architecture and Fine Arts

Department of Architecture
Sta. Mesa, Manila

THE LANGUAGE OF SPACE

By: Bryan Lawson

(A BOOK REVIEW PART 1)

Submitted by:
Ellaine Benice R. Lapuz
BS ARCH 2-3

August 10, 2017

ARCH 3043

Ar. Michael John Manalo

 The Language of Space by Brian Lawson articulates about how we use space as an everyday –
and powerful – method of communication in our lives. The first chapter is divided to some parts that talks
about language and spaces in different ways and aspects. Space as language tells about communication
‘face to face’ it is not ‘back to back’, for he said that it is more understandable or he would rather be able
to sit down in space and talk to someone in ‘face to face’ to see someone’s expression about this subject
or about this topic that he is discussing than writing this book. But not all behavior in space involves
conversation, but much of our behavior in space involves communication in some way or other.

Anyone can learn more about language of space, about its purposes and many more, that through
this we can express our individuality and solidarity with others. Communicating ‘face to face’ will give
you more impact to someone, by means of this you can express what you want to persuade or what you
want to discuss so that they will fully understand what you want to say about rather than through e-mail,
fax, book or any other material way to communicate with someone.

“We use language of space, then for many purposes. We can indicate our values and lifestyles,
allegiances and dislikes. We can use it to help generate feelings of excitement or calm. We can
communicate our willingness or otherwise to be approached, interrupted, greeted, and engaged in social
intercourse. We can control the proximity of others. We can demonstrate our dominance or submission
and our status in society. We can use it to bring people together or keep them apart. We can use it to
convey complex collections or rules of acceptable behavior. We can also use it on occasion to signal our
intention to break those rules!”
-Bryan Lawson

This is a brief reflection on a typical day’s worth of activities can conjure up the many ways
space can be and is used. For we behave in space to some particular purpose in our daily activities or
some activities, however directed or purposeful our behavior, it also communicates whether we intend it
to or not. Spaces belong to us or come under our control and still communicate through the way we have
laid them out. We are all different, but in general ultimately it is our relationship not directly with spaces
or buildings that matters most to us, but the relationships with other people. In this chapter the author
consider the purely physical characteristics of spaces, the objects they contain and envelopes that define
them.

The message in here is that experience of space is an integrative one, we just need to understand
it better to see more or to observe more the constituent parts. We need to understand more first of
ourselves, we need to understand what drives us in life, and what our expectations from space, and that
we shall understand space.
 He also shows an illustration on how human behavior divides, through conative (feelings or
emotions), cognitive (thinking or solving problems), instinctive (reflex or reactions) and skills. The two
independent dimensions of control and consciousness give rise to four quite different forms of behavior,
each described by their own field of psychology.

“The brain responds only to certain selected visual features. No doubt in primitive brain these
features were especially important, and so were highly selected while unimportant features were ignored.”
-Richard Gregory, Perception

So in order to fully comprehend our connection or relationship with space, we first need to
explore how we become aware of it. To make sense of the world around us, we also need to have an
active process of perception, because it is more than just sensation. But of course we need to rely upon
sensation to do this, but normally we integrate the experience of all our senses without conscious analysis
based on the last chapter on this first part of the book.