The Tall Building and Urban Space

If public spaces in the urban environment are seen as extensions of one’s home, then what role do tall buildings play in this setting? In terms of space, they can have various roles. They are visible from afar and often act as landmarks, but at the same time they give one a possibility to see the urban whole in its entirety, from above. One of most iconic images of modern urban planning and modern urban space – Le Corbusier’s plan for Paris – is shown from such a vantage point, depicting an urban area dotted with individual buildings set within a continuous spatial field. This modern space has often been described as open and homogeneous. The simplified general interpretation has further been complemented by the concept of heterogeneous space, paving the way for a more diverse spatial theory. Heterogeneous space has brought much needed complexity to interpretations of architectural space. Modernist space is revisited in this article, explored through two particular cases. In addition to Le Corbusier, the study includes the work of another architect and urban planner of the early 20th century, Eliel Saarinen. The role of tall buildings in the designs and writings of the two architects is compared, with a specific focus on the spatial implications of these buildings in the cityscape. The comparison illustrates the fact that modern architects were not unanimous in their visions of urban space, although they shared the knowledge of a contemporary spatial theory.

‘He Saw Heaven Opened’: Heavenly Temple and Universal Mission in Luke-Acts

Numerous scholars have argued that in Luke-Acts the location of sacred space or divine presence passes from the Jerusalem temple to Jesus, Christian believers, or both; in Acts, this transfer is understood as integral to the universal mission. The present article argues that such studies overlook the important motif of heaven as temple, which plays a role in Jesus’ trial and crucifixion and the Stephen and Cornelius episodes. Using Edward Soja's spatial theory, previous studies’ binary categorisation of temple space is critiqued. The heavenly temple disrupts and reconstitutes understandings of sacred space, and thus undergirds the universal spread of the Way.

Negativity: space, politics and affects

This paper reflects on the status of ‘negativity’ in contemporary social and geographical thought. Based on a panel discussion held at the American Association of Geographers Annual Meeting 2021, each contributor discusses what negativity means to them, and considers its various legacies and potential future trajectories. Along the way, the contributors offer ways of attending to negative spaces (voids, abysses, absences), affects (vulnerabilities, sad passions, incapacities, mortality) and politics (impasses, refusals, irreparabilities). However, rather than defining negativity narrowly, the paper stays with the diversity of work on negativity being undertaken by geographers and other scholars, discussing how varying perspectives expand or dismantle particular elements within spatial theory. Collectively, the contributors argue for paying attention to negativity as the faltering, failure or impossibility of relations between body and world, thus situating it in conversation with relational thought, vitalist philosophies and affirmative ethics.

Overview of the research work of Prof. Fumiko Sugimoto

Professor Fumiko Sugimoto has been analysing the history of the 18th century and first half of the 19th century with a focus not only on the temporal axis but also on the relationships between specific spaces and the people who live and act as subjective agents in these spaces. During the past few years, she has been endeavouring to decipher the history in the period of transition from the early modern period to the modern period by introducing the perspective of oceans, with a focus on Japan. Through the study of history in terms of spatial theory that also takes oceans into consideration, she is proposing to present a new concept about the territorial formation of modern states. [Main subjects] Law and Governance in Early Modern Japan Judgement in Early Modern Society The Evolution of Control over Territory under the Tokugawa State A Human Being in the Nineteenth Century: WATANABE Kazan, a Conflicting Consciousness of Status as an Artist and as a Samurai Early Modern Maps in the Social-standing-based Order of Tokugawa Japan The World of Information in Bakumatsu Japan: Timely News and Bird's Eye Views Early Modern Political History in Terms of Spatial Theory The Emergence of Newly Defined Oceans and the Transformation of Political Culture.

Interreligiös Theologie betreiben?

The religious pluralization of Western societies raises the question: Should theology also be pursued interreligiously in this setting? This paper critically inquires into how »interreligious theology« is to be understood, distinguishing between position, methodology, and institutionalized space. The paper takes a spatial theory approach as it considers the theological quality of spaces of distance, devotion, and tactfulness. Methodologically, it reflects on whether the term »interreligious« is intended to refer to work done with texts, shared rituals, or the sharing of spaces - and what the implications of this may be. In view of the »outcomes« of interreligious theological work, the piece distinguishes between the religious worldview and the many truths. It unequivocally affirms the feasibility of an interreligious pursuit of theology on the basis of a confessionally grounded Christian identity.

How sf is embodied in level structures

The experience of game intrinsic space is an architectural mode of perception more congruent to actual experiences of physically real architecture than to filmic space. This paper thus centres on the aesthetics of production, concerning the game worlds’ geometry, level structures and game mechanics, within the broader context of how sf and computer games are inextricably merged. This is to investigate how game intrinsic spaces communicate properties of sf or a media-specific ‘science fiction-ness’ through their aesthetics and digital condition. By first building a foundation on the topic of singular space and its liminality, I will then proceed with a few remarks on sf theory, sf imagery and the staging of (im)possible worlds in relation to the concept of ontological possibility space. For this purpose, I refer to two authors of sf theory: Vivian Sobchack and Simon Spiegel. Based on these two sections, I will give an introductory overview on game intrinsic space, its non-linear properties and the incorporation of the player. Here, differences between filmic and game intrinsic space will also be emphasised through a brief discussion. Thus, sf theory and film theory are interwoven with spatial theory and game studies in order to analyse the ontological possibility space that goes beyond the player-character’s everyday experience in actuality. Several examples clarify the theoretical groundwork while Portal 2 (2011) and Echo (2017) function as case studies.

Developmental trajectories of number line estimations in math anxiety: evidence from bounded and unbounded number line estimation

In the number line estimation task, participants are instructed to place a number, spatially, on a number line. In the present study, 2nd, 3rd and 5th grade children (n = 94) participated in bounded and unbounded number line estimation tasks, half with low math anxiety (LMA) and half with high MA (HMA). The spatial theory views MA as resulting from weakness in spatial abilities, subsequent to deficits in basic numerical abilities. Accordingly, due to number space associations, weakness in estimations are expected in HMA individuals. Accordingly, young children with HMA show non-mature numerical estimations compared to participants with LMA. Specifically, HMA participants showed higher logarithmic tendency than LMA peers, and showed indications for usage of 2 reference points rather than 3 reference points in number line estimations (bounded and unbounded). However, for older HMA children, estimations were normalized and group differences were eliminated. Finally, we found that estimations (linear fits and errors) in the bounded but not the unbounded tasks, predicted usage of advance memory-based strategies in simple addition operations. These results indicated that bounded and unbounded number line estimations are dissociable in 1) developmental trajectories, 2) in relation to MA and 3) in relation to math performances.

The Genesis of Architectural Space

The first version of this paper was written in Hungarian as the final summarizing study of the OTKA research entitled “Building and Settlement Characterology”.1 The study entitled “The Genesis of the Architectural Space” is a concise summary of Gyula Hajnóczi’s spatial theory research that offers a thorough overview also for less experienced researchers in architectural theory. This valuable writing – although published in Hungarian as a series of journal articles or in copied version – is hardly known to the architectural profession.2 The English version published here helps to make Hajnóczi’s space theory more widely available to professional circles, and on the other hand, it can also serve as an important reading for architecture students studying in English. The translation was made according to a later manuscript version of the OTKA final study intended for print, with the support of the copyright holder.Az itt közreadott tanulmány első változata magyar nyelven íródott, az „Épület- és településkarakterológia” című OTKA-kutatás zárótanulmányaként.4 „Az építészeti tér genezise” című tanulmány Hajnóczi Gyula térelméleti kutatásainak tömör, de az építészetelméletben kevésbé jártas kutató számára is alapvető áttekintést adó összegzése. Az értékes írást – jóllehet magyarul folyóiratcikk-sorozatként, illetve sokszorosított formában is megjelent – az építész szakma alig ismeri.5 Az itt közölt, angol nyelvre fordított változat egyrészt Hajnóczi térelméletének szélesebb körő megismerhetőségét segíti a szakmai körök számára, másrészt az angol nyelven tanuló diákság számára is fontos olvasmányként szolgálhat. A fordítás az OTKA-zárótanulmány későbbi, folyóiratba szánt változata szerint készült el, a jogutód támogatásával.6