SPIRIT OF PLACE, STRUCTURE,
CHARACTER AND ATMOSPHERE
The 'Spirit of Place' (Genius Loci) is a Roman concept. According to ancient Roman
belief, this spirit gives life to people and places. During the course of history the genius
loci of a place, as a cultural construction, became imbedded in value systems that were
shared by individuals, communities and societies. Important examples of places, with
unique qualities and 'spirit', are the medieval villages in the South of France, Tuscany in
Italy and the natural and historic places of Africa, to mention a few. These places are
widely recognized for their quality, atmosphere and uniqueness by the people who live
there and, in the recent era of globalization, by people across the world.
The spirit of place is often revealed by artists and writers and, in this way, they are
discovered and rediscovered in a manner that enriches people's lives. The spirit of place
has, over the past century, evolved as a major human interest on a global scale as is
testified by the growth in tourism. It is also a profoundly important dimension of the film
industry.
Unfortunately the quality of places has steadily deteriorated globally over the years as
modern man increasingly became mentally disconnected from a direct dependence on the
quality of places and the values uphold such qualities. The recognition of the value of the
qualitative experience of place, for the psychological and spiritual well-being of people, is
hardly discussed or considered in modern times. The magical and qualitative dimensions
of places have therefore become increasingly diluted. In the process, a culture started
developing in which it is believed that science and technology have set modern man free
to do as he wishes and that real places and their tangible qualities can just as well (and
better) be experienced in cyberspace. It is however an illusion that modern man does not
require a meaningful connection to place anymore. There are significant signs that people
are beginning to reflect on the problems created by this new evolving global culture, where
everything and every place is beginning to look the same and where there is a general
lack of identity with the qualities and uniqueness of places and, therefore, also a loss of
meaning. Awareness seems to be growing for the need to rediscover the meaning of
place as a qualitative and enriching dimension of human life and experience and not just
as another consumer resource.
Qualitative places have always been a central concern of the film industry and there is
significant evidence of a growing appreciation of these qualities. Lynch argues that the
perceived interrelationship between all the elements of place constitutes an
'environmental image'. He argues that a good environmental image gives its possessor
an important sense of emotional security. For this to be achieved people need to
identify themselves with an environment in a qualitative sense of the word. In the
planning and design of the new Desert Star complex it is considered an imperative that a
good environmental image be created that would be exemplary and that will provide
both a competitive and a comparative advantage to Desert Star and would be of education
value.
The Desert Star site has to be discovered, so to speak – both physically and mentally. It is
located on the edge of a predominantly flat landscape that stretches hundreds of
kilometers northwards. In contrast to the flat landscape the site is dramatically defined by an escarpment on its southern edge (almost half the size of Table Mountain in Cape Town,
if measured from the top down to the Orange River)
A new settlement is to be established within this natural basin.
The basin of the Desert Star resort site can be viewed as a large natural room that
contains many smaller rooms. Within this basin there are many places each with its own
character as may be defined by the topography of the site and other natural features. It is
within this natural landscape that the new Desert Star settlement is to be built.
From a design perspective, differentiation should be made between the natural
landscape and the inhabited landscape.
The natural landscape of the Desert Star site is ancient and dramatic. It is defined by
'things' such as mountains, valleys and a major river. Mountains can be considered as
objects (things) in the landscape with deeply rooted significance and meanings in many cultures. In ancient times mountains were considered as centres that the Romans called
the axis mundi from and where man can reach out to God (Moses on Mount Sinai, for
example). In ancient cosmologies we also encounter another basic element that is
present in the Desert Star site, namely water. In Genesis God separated the dry land from
water after the creation of heaven and earth, light and darkness. The presence of water
gives identity to the land and is a symbol of life (Norberg Schulz 1980: 27). As was the
case in ancient Egypt it is the source of identification, orientation and life.
The inhabited landscape is contained by the natural landscape, and such containment is
an important consideration in determining the quality of an environmental image. The
natural and the inhabited landscape possess similar characteristics and qualities in terms
of their structural properties and atmosphere. In the case of the natural landscape these
phenomena are mostly given and, in the case of the inhabited landscape, these
phenomena must be created. These characteristics include; sense of enclosure and
exposure (rooms) movement routes, a sense of direction/orientation, edge continuity,
colour, texture, figure ground relationships (footprint on the land), etc.
The urban rooms of the Desert Star settlement will consist of streets, squares, harbours
and buildings, parkland etc. The sense of enclosure and exposure created by the river, as
it carved its way through the ancient rocks, together with the new development along its
banks, would define both outdoor and indoor spaces of unique quality. (As mentioned, the
Desert Star resort to be developed along the riverbank would be designed to double-up as
film sets. The 1st century Roman city offer excellent practical examples of the application
of the above urban design principles for the development of the resort).
To this must be added small characterful places like the African lapa, a rock pool here and
there, and the atmospheric interiors of the new buildings, even a place defined by the
shade of a big tree. All these places are real and have meaning and they are all
connected in the human psyche. A true understanding of the value and quality of places,
like identity and meaning associated with it, lies in comprehending the essence of place
and its inter-connectedness. Developing this understanding is a process of discovery or
'work in progress'. Like any art, it is never fully mastered – nevertheless a work worthy of
human endeavour.
It is often forgotten that the character and quality of a place is best experienced through
movement, and not statically. As one moves through a place one's view changes,
experiencing focal points, vistas down streets, etc., and through urban squares and across
landscapes where the degree of exposure and enclosure changes. The content of place is
dependent on its character and atmosphere. In experiencing a place one should be able
to sense the memorable dimensions of place, history, nature, craft and limits - determined
by both scale and design. People intuitively feel comfortable when proportions of a place
feel right and when there is a balance between objects in space – from the small to the
large scale. The sense of rhythm, rhyme, harmony, balance and proportion is somehow
embedded in our DNA (why for example would someone feel uncomfortable when a bowl
of flowers, on a beautiful table, in a well proportional room, is positioned off-centre, or feel
comfortable when a small urban square in a medieval village with an old fountain located
off-centre, feels just right).
The above principles will be taken into consideration in the design of the inhabited
landscape of the future Desert Star settlement. These phenomena are also of great
educational value and will be articulated through the environment education programs of
Desert Star.
The philosopher Martin Heidegger points out that the way humans are on earth is
inextricably linked to the way they build their world. The way the world is built is a function
of the work of art, as opposed to the abstraction of science. Design (architecture, urban
and landscape design) belongs to art and the challenge is to concretize the genius loci of a
place in a manner that is qualitative and within which enriching life can take place.
It is the intention of Desert Star to create a new place along the Orange River that can help
the visitor to rediscover the nature and qualities of natural and man-made place – a place
that can help society to regain an understanding of values lost over time. The film industry
would play a major role in communicating this and conveying this message to a wider
audience.
Norberg Schulz states that, when God said to Adam, you shall be a fugitive and a
wanderer on the Earth; he put man in front of his most basic problem, namely to cross the
threshold and regain lost place.
Desert Star presents an opportunity to experience and communicate the art of placemaking
that could have a positive impact on the way we perceive the natural and built
environment.
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