ABSTRACT
Representations of space within the computer require some form of mathematical formalisation. Such formalisations of new kinds of space are relevant to design in that they permit computer implementations which can then be used by designers. Mereotopology is quite different from topology which provides a mathematical notion of space which is also less detailed or less rigid than Euclidean space, but which is based fundamentally on points. Metaphor is a human resource that appears indispensable in discourse around abstract ideas, such as space and spatiality. Space and spatiality are abstract concepts and so are themselves talked of metaphorically. Mathematicians and computer scientists, linguists and artists are exploring aspects of spatiality which have resonances with the uses of spatiality in design. The three-dimensional is seen as delivering greater fidelity for representations, and much virtual reality work and computer modelling is driven by a desire to construct representations which appear close to perception of the real world.
