A HISTORY OF THRESHOLDS: LIFE, DEATH & REBIRTH

Thresholds are an–often overlooked–anthropological constant found in every era and every culture. From the spatial understanding of Greek antiquity to the establishment of the private sphere in the 18th century and the transparency of modern architecture, the threshold has always been a central architectural element. Like a visual symbol of a boundary or a transition, thresholds divide spaces, but are also a connecting element, opening up ways through and across, which have a subtle influence on one’s own perception of space.
It is only in recent decades that thresholds have lost significance as part of our everyday experience with architecture. What remains is a growing emptiness between people and the spaces in which they live.
Sensual City Studio not only provides an inspiring overview of this important architectural stylistic feature from all eras and cultures, but also shows in particular: thresholds can and must be rethought and rebuilt. In this respect, this book is a plea for the renaissance of the threshold and therefore also a manifesto for a human architecture.

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* Sensual City Studio, founded by Jacques Ferrier and Pauline Marchetti, in association with the philosopher Philippe Simay and the architect Estefania Mompean, is a laboratory of ideas, creation and urban foresight. It brings together a network of professionals from the worlds of art, architecture and urban planning, as well as the social sciences. Working at different levels, from design to urban planning, the studio analyses changes in architecture and large modern cities in order to predict the effect that they will have. Sensual City Studio seeks to develop a sensitive, humanist approach to the city, combining sustainable development and new technologies in a quest for innovation and urban delight. The result is a preliminary analysis, procedure and stance which inform the architectural design process.

Thresholds are an–often overlooked–anthropological constant found in every era and every culture. From the spatial understanding of Greek antiquity to the establishment of the private sphere in the 18th century and the transparency of modern architecture, the threshold has always been a central architectural element. Like a visual symbol of a boundary or a transition, thresholds divide spaces, but are also a connecting element, opening up ways through and across, which have a subtle influence on one’s own perception of space.
It is only in recent decades that thresholds have lost significance as part of our everyday experience with architecture. What remains is a growing emptiness between people and the spaces in which they live.
Sensual City Studio not only provides an inspiring overview of this important architectural stylistic feature from all eras and cultures, but also shows in particular: thresholds can and must be rethought and rebuilt. In this respect, this book is a plea for the renaissance of the threshold and therefore also a manifesto for a human architecture.

More Information about the event

* Sensual City Studio, founded by Jacques Ferrier and Pauline Marchetti, in association with the philosopher Philippe Simay and the architect Estefania Mompean, is a laboratory of ideas, creation and urban foresight. It brings together a network of professionals from the worlds of art, architecture and urban planning, as well as the social sciences. Working at different levels, from design to urban planning, the studio analyses changes in architecture and large modern cities in order to predict the effect that they will have. Sensual City Studio seeks to develop a sensitive, humanist approach to the city, combining sustainable development and new technologies in a quest for innovation and urban delight. The result is a preliminary analysis, procedure and stance which inform the architectural design process.