One of the principles of montage, the ability of ‘fragments of reality’ to surprise, does

not necessarily apply to architecture because fragments of reality are expected in the

building, and often a fragment must be unusual to be noticed. A building may be

shocking when first seen but shock wears off very quickly, and is comparatively unim-

portant in architecture as most buildings are experienced many times. Montage is,

however, applicable to architecture because the experience of the building depends

upon a complex reading of many conditions at the same time. Just as the juxtaposi-

tion of the parts of the artistic or literary montage can resist easy resolution, the

juxtaposition of the uses and the spaces of the building can be rich in ambiguity.