Prospect & Refuge
These 2 words explain why…
we love views.
Why we love going…
to a rooftop deck,
–or the penthouse.
Why we love window seats, and porches….and hidden gardens.
It explains sacred places of the Crow Indians,
Or, turrets in a castle,
Or why Eagles will nest in the highest tree.
Why kids like a small tent.
or sleeping in an attic…..
Why cats perch on high,
or sleep in a cubby hole.
It echoes in Art, Paintings, Street Design, Urban Planning.
It explains why some houses, cities, neighborhoods work,
…and some don’t.
Not bad for a 2-word paradigm.
This idea, came from Jay Appleton, in his book EXPERIENCE OF LANDCAPE.
He made a whole career on this 3-word phrase.
Here are some examples.
Examples in Art
Two men talking on a cliff, with view for miles.
Protected by trees, with an escape path of the road.
They are at ease in Nature.
So much of the Art of this era, is of Men staring at mountains and distant views.
Examples in movies
Remember the opening scene of Gone with the Wind…?
Scarlett is between her father on one side, and a massive oak tree on the other…Such a REFUGE.
The great view of Tara in the opening Scene of Gone with the wind….is PROSPECT.
Their view, is of the entire earth and sky, …in all its violence and harmony.
At this point in the movie, you stop…
You sit back…, relax, knowing you are being handled by an expert in Human Nature, with a great plot, and director.
Examples in Hotels
REFUGE – sheltered with flowers, Yes.
PROSPECT – Yes
With a door to go back inside, only a step away… escape ready.
What lion would not like this perch?
Ok, this is a $900/night room in Paris….but it would be $400 without this balcony! So, P&R adds value to your design ideas, adds JOY to life.
Now, just for fun…
swap out the breakfast for two,
and toss in guy with dirty feet,
and this exact same balcony still is a great Prospect and Refuge even better?
Examples in magazines
Refuge from prying eyes, and probably refuge from the people in the apartment…An easily identifiable moment….just needing a bit of peace and quiet, to dream, to hope to think…a view, and safety…..and a sweet cat to share it with.
The title of this in The New Yorker, is “ESCAPE”.
Example at a mountain Spa
Therme Vals by Peter Zumthor made use of a stunning Prospect and Range.
“The idea was to create a form of cave or quarry like structure. Working with the natural surroundings the bath rooms lay below a grass roof structure half buried into the hillside.”
Google this beautiful, pond in the mountains, with views, and quiet…such a dream moment….all because Zumthor made glorious use of views (Prospect) while still maintaining seclusion, and protection in the pools, (Refuge). THAT makes the magic happen….and why he is a world class architect.
“The perspective is always controlled. It either ensures or denies a view.”
A poor example of Refuge.
Examples of a cat
Prospect & Refuge..
This cave looks safe…but not really….if an animal came in…. you need a second way out.
Good design understands instincts…people feel creepy going into dead end rooms. Design a room with a second opening…to a deck, a porch, a hall… a Jack & Jill bathroom… just something.
See Alexanders’s #165 Opening to a Street.#190 Ceiling Height variety
The cat sleeping under the chair would never sleep on a deck, out in the open, in sight of hawks.
But, she will sleep under a chair (Refuge) next to the edge of the deck (Prospect)
Examples in Modern Library
This is the Binhai Library in Tianjin, China. It fits the definition of “magazine architecture”.
With a little Googling, you will find this took only 3 years to build… from design to opening… (in comparison, my house renovation took 2 years…!)
Rush jobs are rarely good jobs….(however, everyone got paid… and moved on to the next job.).Errors include shelves too high for anyone to reach, so they made fake books up there. Really?
This orb is supposed to BE an eye…is that creepy? The ceiling feels heavy, like a heavy storm tornado in the sky.
Just walking thru here, I’d feel self-conscious…eyes everywhere. NO REFUGE.
It has flat uniform illumination. As Alexander says flat uniform light P. 1160 “makes people feel disoriented and unbounded” YES.
Alexander & Appleton, give you words, to express WHY you feel weird here….when it is so obviously “beautiful”
You cannot fight Human Nature… we like safety, and views, and a quiet space…
This is a failure….and not for lack of money, or desire for something great… .but lack of thinking of what PEOPLE need… not what Architects want to do do “express themselves” or get reward or eye pops…. OK…you got that…but at what cost….
Is our society so rich we can please just the builders, but not the people using the building for the next 50 years? Something is not right, unbalanced… regrettable, embarrassing here.
Examples in Great Rooms
Think of other massive rooms that don’t feel creepy….Grand Central Station… it feels inspiring, exciting, fun. ?Why?
GCS obeys Alexander’s #252 Pools of Light to break up the space.
The light beams thru glass in Grand Central, is totally opposite of the uniform florescent lighting of the Chinese library. The morning beams are flipped in the evening, changing with the time of day… keeping you oriented without having to think why, … you just are.
Think of the massive stain glass windows of Notre-Dame…how that changed the interior feel to highly spiritual and reflective, personal….not exposed.
Or another classic library, UW in Seattle.
It has separate light from the chandeliers in the ceilings, natural light from windows, and individual study lights on the tables…
These things matter!
Example of Prospect and Refuge... done badly
It looks like this cost a “whole lot of money”….so money wasn’t the limiting factor….It is just not very “thoughtful.”
Outside, the people in the brown chairs, feel like someone is always looking at them… creepy…. The people in the windows too, are fully exposed.
There is no privacy, no shelter, no calm…just really bad design, no PROSPECT & REFUGE.
Besides that, you can play a game, counting design errors here.
- Balcony on right too small for a chair, to get out, you have to shuffle chairs around for someone to join you.
- The center windows are square, the two adjacent towers are curved.
- One tower has 3 top windows, the other 1 small one.
- The shutters don’t fit.
- The center windows might look good inside…but atrocious outside…
THINK! you guys!!!!
Someone said, “ah yes….lost of light in the center area…” …”ah, OK… how ’bout this?” The stack of windows THAT DO NOT OPEN!!!
It all just screams cut corners, mistakes, no foresight, and cheap and uncomfortable.
Examples world class architecture.
The oddest but SPECTACULAR…. Prospect &Refuge …
Consider Casa De Retiro Espiritual, in Seville Spain, 1975
See this tiny video, (with nice cello music),…hang in there… it is a laugh, at what a PURE Prospect & Refuge place the is….including
A death march stair, to a high nest….. just an astonishing creation….
Do you know how much guts it takes to build something this weird, this odd, this purposeful…and it still might be a huge embarrassing mistake?
Me? Oh, I’d visit there, and walking up those steps would be undeniable….and I am LAZY…. the perch up there is such a magnet!!!! And the view….so appropriate…
So, while the structure might be unique…it is NOT ABOUT THE STRUCTURE…. but it is an appreciation of the view, the peace, the land….THAT is what make this a success….The architect is very clear, and direct, on what he wants to happen here….YOU to be involved, YOU to see, You to experience...it has NOTHING to do with him… Such a gift!
However… who wouldn’t want to fearfully walk up to that height (risk/challenge..) and rest behind the wooden grill work (safety), to see the WORLD (reward).
It is just TOOO inviting…it draws YOU up there… YOU become part of the building… YOU now make the building WORK.
Very manipulative, but clever, successful….if also insane.. with a smile….
don’t forget to see the video…so well done.
P & R, in art...spectacular...
needs no words.
For more writings of Jay Appleton, try these.. 3 links.
REVISITING AN IMPORTANT THEORY, JAY APPLETON
The Prospect-Refuge Model and the University College of the Cariboo Campus
LANDSCAPE AS SIGN LANGUAGE, In Memoriam to Jay Appleton 1919 -2015
Using Prospect and Range in my Design.
My addition, has 2 massive decks, with side wings (REFUGE) that provide perfect shelter from view, while still providing full views of woods outdoors (PROSPECT).
From the neighbor’s side, the wall looks like room, with a window opening.
Both decks have both a 180-degree view 30 to 40 feet up in the trees, just spectacular.
The low ceiling, refuge the hight ceiling, prospect
All the windows are higher than normal, so no one can see in. High windows have views of only trees and sky….PROSPECT–
REFUGE — The low wall and window seat, create a refuge.
The sunroom below, is wide open but, no one can see in, perfect refuge, on 1/4 acre urban lot. The gallery below is a good mixture of virtual photos done in the planning stage, and real photos after.
