locales can be non-places

Examples of striking and effective locales, such as a harmonious clearing in the forest or a beautiful mountain valley, are not necessarily places in my sense of the word. Criticisms of places often confuse harmonious character with social grammar. Whether a place produces a feeling of appropriateness and completeness is a different issue from whether or not its grammar of action is complex, useful, humane, liberating, and so on. Some places with wonderfully unified character have had very oppressive social grammars; do we not feel a bit queasy looking at the Pyramids?

In separating a place's social grammar from the quality of its unified place character I have no intention of downgrading the long heritage of skills and perceptions* that allow architects and designers to create exquisite places whose character aids and confirms their social role. But the social role of a place, while enhanced by good design, is not automatically destroyed by bad design. Too many discussions of contemporary places confuse these dimensions.


Index
Place theory outline

(c) David Kolb, 1 August 2001