I rarely read a book powerful enough to change the way I design and think about architecture. Capire lo spazio architettonico (Understanding Architectural Space) by Cesare de Sessa was an important read – in some ways a revolutionary one.
The author was a pupil of Bruno Zevi and, like his master, has extremely clear and precise spatial references. The book is not easy, but it leaves us with a very important message we often forget: space acts on individuals and on crowds in an objective way, shaping their habits, actions and thoughts.
It seems hard to believe, yet architects – and anyone who creates spaces – have the power to change the lives of the people who will use those buildings and places. There is an architectural grammar of archetypes and spatial ideas, built up over centuries, which we draw on, more or less consciously, when we work. These words can change people’s everyday lives for better or for worse.
Space can crush us, or let us breathe.
