Aesthetics of the opening

In order to have an experience of space, we must first enter it. A space can already be made up of 2 walls. However, if the walls enclose the space, it needs to be opened, and not only for access. The opening reveals the thickness of the wall, essential information to understand the form of the wall and the experienced space. This visibility of thickness is a mediator for us, interpreting the interrelationships between the elements of the building. Such a fundamental relationship can be called neighbourhood and is directly proportional to the thickness of the element. But then how does the thickness of the wall affect the perception of the opening itself? The theme of this paper is to use experimental aesthetics to explore the proportion of the opening relative to the wall that gives one sensory pleasure. Already the Italian Scholastic philosopher Thomas Aquinas (c. 1225-1274) tried to capture the fundamental relationship between beauty and mathematics. People seem to respond with a sense of satisfaction to forms that express certain symmetries or follow certain geometric rules. The mythical golden ratio is quite fundamental in this matter. I dare not answer the question of whether the golden section is a decisive factor in the attractiveness of an opening, but it must be said that the proportions of an opening depend not only on its length and height but also on the dimensions of the wall. It should be noted that I do not set out to find a universal objective answer, nor do I even think that beauty can be unified to a numerical ratio. The passage serves as a powerful tool by which the architect directs our attention. It is the entrance that most influences our first impressions of a space. It is only this resonance of the entrance and the adjacent space that is the principle of beauty. Therefore, rather than looking for one numerical ratio, I find it more important to analyze openings as a means of expression, to seek their boundaries, and then to find the most satisfying ones within those boundaries.

2017