The  Power  of  Negative  Space   By  Arno  de  Villiers   Architect  and  Contractor     CBC1255481       Ph  239-­‐571-­‐7585    

I  was  going  to  call  this  article,  “The  Power  of  Negative  Thinking”,   but  y’all  would  then  know  for  sure  that  I  was  crazy!  And  so  I   came  up  with  something  more  explanatory.     My  fellow  architects  all  just  love  the  buildings  they  design,  as  I  do   too.  They  would  look  at  their  drawings  from  all  angles  and  just   hope  that  others  would  appreciate  their  genius  as  much  as  they   did  themselves.  But  alas  my  fellows,  people  care  less  about   buildings  and  more  about  the  quality  of  the  lives  they  are  leading   in  the  towns  and  villages  where  they  live.     Look  at  this  well-­‐known  image:      

      You  will  either  see  the  vase  or  the  twin  faces.  When  the  vase  is   image  you  see,  it  becomes  the  figure  and  the  black  area  behind  is   the  ground  or  background,  hence  the  term  “figure  ground”  for  

this  kind  of  graphic.  You  might  either  see  the  vase  as  the  positive   image  and  the  background  as  the  negative  image  or  vice  versa.     Negative  space  is  the  space  that  surrounds  an  object  in  an  image.   Just  as  important  as  that  object  itself,  negative  space  helps  to   define  the  boundaries  of  positive  space  and  brings  balance  to  a   composition  especially  when  they  occupy  approximately  the   same  area.     Artists  have  had  a  field  day  with  this  idea.  Here  are  a  few   examples  that  will  help  you  learn  to  mentally  invert  what  seems     obvious  and  discover  something  else  of  meaning.    

     

 

 

  Wikipedia  tells  us  that,  “Figure  and  Ground  is  a  concept  drawn   from  Gestalt  psychology  by  media  theorist  Marshall  McLuhan,   which  in  his  work  underpins  the  meaning  of  his  famous  phrase,   "The  medium  is  the  message".  He  used  this  concept  to  explain   how  a  communications  technology,  the  medium  or  figure,   necessarily  operates  through  its  context,  or  ground.   McLuhan  believed  that  to  fully  grasp  the  impact  of  a  new   technology,  one  must  examine  figure  (medium)   and  ground  (context)  together,  since  neither  is  completely   intelligible  without  the  other.  McLuhan  argued  that  we  must   study  media  in  their  historical  context,  particularly  in  relation  to   those  technologies  that  preceded  them.  The  present   environment,  itself  made  up  of  the  effects  of  previous   technologies,  gives  rise  to  new  technologies,  which,  in  their  turn,   further  affect  society  and  individuals.”     Now  take  a  look  at  the  image  below  that  is  a  portion  of  a  well-­‐ known  1748  map  of  Rome  by  Nolli.    

  In  the  positive  print  on  the  left,  the  buildings  are  in  black  and  the   external  spaces  between  the  buildings  are  white.  The  opposite  is  

true  in  the  negative  image  on  the  right.  Notice  the  balance  of   positive  and  negative  spaces.  This  emphasizes  the  fact  that   besides  beautiful  buildings,  it  is  the  beauty  of  the  spaces  between   buildings  that  make  Rome  such  a  pleasant  city.     What  I  would  like  architects,  town  planners  and  developers  to   understand  is  that  they  should  view  the  buildings  that  they   create  in  context  or  in  relation  to  the  other  buildings  around   them.       For  individuals,  the  design  of  their  homes  and  places  of  work  are   important,  but  once  they  leave  and  step  outside,  the  town  or   village  they  live  in  becomes  their  home.  Outside  they  should   experience  the  same  sense  of  comfort,  protection,  variety,  design   quality  and  convenience  as  they  do  inside.     Now  tell  me,  which  of  the  cities  in  the  town  plans  below  provide   the  most  variety  in  its  outdoor  environment?    

 

How  much  attention  is  given  to  the  scale,  texture  and  design  of   the  outdoor  spaces  and  nearby  amenities  is  given  to  our  modern   neighborhoods?       Sadly,  the  answer  is,  “Very  Little!”  We  can  however  remedy  the   situation  in  our  new  developments  by  learning  to  invert  the   images  of  our  buildings  and  give  equal  time  to  applying  the   principles  of  design  and  convenience  to  the  spaces  between   them.    

 

  Thank  you  Marshall  McLuhan!    

 

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