The architecture of space /

Space is the medium of relationship. For communication to occur there must be a space appropriate to it. Space is therefore much more than an empty volume in which events and objects occur, it is a continuity of sensation, thought and feeling which inform and mediate experience.

The physical nature of space is defined by sensation. An object within a space—a work of art within a gallery—is made visible by space. The color, texture and shape of the gallery reveal the work in a particular way. The work in turn influences perception of the space. All of this is the play of attention which is attracted or repelled unevenly by sensation—visual, auditory, kinesthetic and so on. Space is the separation which enables engagement, a theatre for sensation as it dances with attention.

But there is more. The volume of external space is reflected in the mind. Sensations translate into images and thoughts which occupy the space within. The inner and outer spaces mirror and modify each other. Of course, the mind may be full of thoughts and associations unrelated to present experience—a subjective screen separating sensation from reflection. But when the mind engages with the space outside, representing it within, there is a new dimension of depth added to the sensory world’s height and width and length. These representations, objects of the mind, are reflected into the space outside, another palette for the attention, which etches these conceptions onto the textured perceptions of sensation.

And there is more. Objects and movement generate sensation and mental reflections and something else—a direct intuition of the essential nature of a gesture or thing. A rose is a perception of shape, color and scent. It is an image or cognition of perfection in the mind. And it is also a feeling of beauty in the heart. All three. The space of feeling is neither outside nor inside but unites them in one movement without separation. Each feeling is a radio frequency all its own, precise, eternal, ineffable.

What, then, is space? An architecture of sensations, thought and feeling; assembled and held by attention in the body, mind and heart, a complete and coherent universe inviting us to adopt a responsive posture so that it may inform us.