The New Dimension

Transparency is a crucial topic to discuss when evaluating the rise of modern architecture. It seems to me that architecture of the past eras delivered its intrigue through direct formal language, with such wondrous forms as arches, vaults, columns, and domes. The person then who stands beneath a space will find his awe in his relationship to the direct forms surrounding him. Modern architecture almost seems to add a new dimension. The intrigue is not so much in the beauty and complexities of geometries, but in spaces overlapping and interfusing with each other. Thus, the forms become much simpler and mostly rectangular, but the spaces they create are arrayed with a new kind of complexity. This is why transparency is necessary to understand and perceive modern architecture. Through viewing the relationship of plane after plane, one can, to some extent, experience many spaces at the same time. So the wonder is no longer in one’s direct surroundings, but in the perception of what lies beyond them.