Jun 14
2010
The notion of place is most often tied to a location or environment. It is also defined by the ephemeral nature of memory, history, and social interaction.
How do you define place?
Max gave the final word
Since places are arguably created by our feelings about them, or about the qualities and things present within them, one person’s place can be another person’s non-place. Take, for instance, driving on the highway: for me, much of the highway is simply physical space to pass through, so for me it’s practically a non-space, whereas for Anna, it might be a place of its own, complete with anecdotes, memories and emotional connections.
Our collective values also form a template for placehood such that even places that lie forgotten or undiscovered by humans can easily be termed places even without us knowing where they are, as per the collective sentiment, to which Anna refers, which is so instrumental in making a place a place.
Tuesday, June 15 at 1:20pm
Max gave the Final Word
Place, for me, is tricky to define without simultaneously providing a definition for ‘non-places’ – similar to Anna’s emotionally-undefined physical spaces. Everywhere you go, by definition, you are surrounded by space – but for somewhere to be a ‘somewhere’, a place, it needs to have a significance beyond its own physicality. Otherwise, it’s a non-place, though clearly there’s a spectrum. Since places are arguably created by our feelings about them, or about the qualities and things present within them, one person’s place can be another person’s non-place. Take, for instance, driving on the highway: for me, much of the highway is simply physical space to pass through, so for me it’s practically a non-space, whereas for Anna, it might be a place of its own, complete with anecdotes, memories and emotional connections.
Our collective values also form a template for placehood such that even places that lie forgotten or undiscovered by humans can easily be termed places even without us knowing where they are, as per the collective sentiment, to which Anna refers, which is so instrumental in making a place a place. Just because a place is still a mystery to us, that doesn’t mean we don’t – or wouldn’t – have feelings about it. What’s more, I’d say that even after the sun burns out and there are presumably no people left on earth to create places with their imaginations, and even after the places themselves have started to crumble back into dust, the fact that of their having existed will be irreversible. Because of their inherent link to consciousness, places are not so different from people in this regard.
Tuesday, June 15 at 1:20pm
To the point of Anna and Max’s notion of collective sentiment and memory, I recently joined a tour of the Glass House and found these elements key to defining my experience. Wandering through Johnson’s pastoral landscape designs it was the docent’s stories of the social interactions and past events that had taken place in the fields, such as concerts and the creation of works of art, that captivated my imagination and provided a context for the place.
On my visit I encountered a wonderful and unexpected element of place that could only be experienced first hand: scent. Our docent began by pointing out an area with a bright orange ground cover of pine needles that Johnson intended as an element of his landscape design. We proceeded to walk through a fresh breeze, across fields with their own grassy fragrance, and into the Glass House, which had the faintest scent of leather from several types of Mies van der Rohe seating – something I was previously unable to consider through photographs and text. This unexpected and delightful sense enriched my experience and is now inextricably tied to my memory and understanding of this place.
Friday, June 18 at 11:04am
To Emily ‘s point, place is often defined—and remembered—through senses other than sight. One of my favorite places in New York is Union Square, in part because it encapsulates all the sounds I positively associate with the city: melodies of street musicians, a chorus of barking from the dog run, laughter of kids at the playground, the ambient noise of traffic, and, of course, the sound of someone offering to sell you something, from incense to t-shirts to participation in a noble cause. The rhythm and closeness of the sounds is distinct to Union Square as a place but also represents what I love about New York.
Friday, June 18 at 7:31pm
Keywords
Selected list of words appearing in this and other conversations.
Anna Yuwen
Student
1
Place is determined by the mind, as it is constantly alive and changing. Any location, real or not, is considered a place as long as it has been touched by emotional value. However place must be confined within set boundaries, for an undefined area would cease to contain the emotion that created it. When two people come together, their sense of place may intersect, creating an overlapping area which would be a place for someone new. Places may be built up and torn down at will, some places may be become obsolete; it is an ever-changing design that follows human perception.
Ultimately, place is a construct of the collective (or individual) imagination.
Monday, June 14 at 4:17pm