ce now held in his designs, he enthusiastically exaggerated the laws of nature: ‘The movement of space has velocity, for space flows much in the manner of water from one volume to another. Especially important are the ”connections” between one spatial volume to another.’ (6)
He was of course emphasizing that these architectural spaces should be visually interlinked so they did not appear to leak out at the corners, something to which he often referred to in his teaching. The contrasting effect of a narrow corridor or pathway, which then dramatically opens up into a courtyard or an atrium, created a theatrical effect by controlling the movement through such spaces in a time-honored manner which had often been used to good effect in interior design. He also applied these same spatial principles to urban design and felt that buildings around a public square should be carefully positioned so that the corners of the space should not leak visually, but were contained – unless, of course, there was a meaningful purpose for doing otherwise, such as if the space led to an exit or a view or a feature or a focal building.
Rudolph was concerned to establish the appropriate relationship between the height of the buildings around courtyards and the appropriate width of the open space. Based on historical precedent, he considered a 1:3 ratio was usually comfortable. His reference points for these principles were often Classical and related to European examples.
The formation of exterior spaces was considered by Rudolph to be almost a lost art, and the ability to create an environment appropriate to its activities to be seldom well achieved in modern architecture and urban design. He believed that: ‘These exterior ”rooms” should have varying characteristics: solemn, awesome, refined, quiet, hectic, dynamic, good-time . . .’ (7)and of course the atmosphere in these areas was dependent on the activities of the occupants and their uses. The designed environment needed color, texture and materials as well as the architectural features appropriate to enhance these functions. Rudolph applied the same criteria to the design of both exterior and interior space. Internally he was able to control the height of the volume better by varying the ceiling level and to allow the larger and smaller spaces to interrelate as major and minor areas. He pointed out that internal and external space can draw inwards as well as upwards and that the design of architectural space is unique because it consciously moulds the environment not only to accommodate humans, but also to create an atmosphere that activates the imagination. He said many times that he considered architecture to be used space formed to satisfy people’s psychological needs.
At the time of writing his ‘Enigmas of Architecture’, Rudolph was still overwhelmingly preoccupied with the importance of space in the design of his buildings, The Art and Architecture Building at Yale which he had completed over a decade before had space as the heart and body of the design. It was centered around two large volumes with thirty-six different levels of interlocking studio and other spaces. The building was an all-embracing spatial concept. Even the modest entrance was purposely designed to be up a long narrow flight of steps to give an enhanced emphasis to the grand spaces inside. The all-pervasive idea of space-making was so powerful in this building it was jokingly suggested by Joseph Esherick that you could not go to the men’s room without having a spatial experience!
In order to communicate and study the visual impact and proportions of these buildings, containing large spaces and volumes, Rudolph even extended his masterly techniques of graphical presentation that enabled him also to study and design the shapes and characteristics of these important internal spaces. He produced his now unique and famous single-point perspectives, which were built up from accurate sections through key parts of the building. By illustrating in minute detail an exact replica of the interior as it would be seen if the buildi