Selected Bibliography Architecture - Form Space and Order | Page 171

FO U R PLANES: CLO SURE

Four vertical planes encompassing a field of space is
probably the most typical, and certainly the strongest,
type of spatial definition in architecture. Since the field
is completely enclosed, its space is naturally introverted.
To achieve visual dominance within a space or become
its primary face, one of the enclosing planes can be
differentiated from the others by its size, form, surface
articulation, or by the nature of the openings within it.
Well-defined, enclosed fields of space can be found in
architecture at various scales, from a large urban square,
to a courtyard or atrium space, to a single hall or room
within a building complex. The examples on this and the
following pages illustrate enclosed spatial fields in both
urban and building-scale situations.
Historically, four planes have often been used to define a
visual and spatial field for a sacred or significant building
that stands as an object within the enclosure. The
enclosing planes may be ramparts, walls, or fences that
isolate the field and exclude surrounding elements from
the precinct.

The Sacred Enclosure, Ise Shrine, Mie Prefecture, Japan, reconstructed every 20 years since A.D. 690.

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