ABSTRACT
This chapter explains how threshold spaces have a social meaning. This chapter studies the way social aspects of the context and of the architectural programme can be expressed in architecture. In the case of singular spaces that express social aspects in their contradictions or dialectics, these social aspects can be represented as an array of forces. The contemporary example of the Yokohama Ferry Terminal by FOA exemplifies the expression of dialectics through threshold spaces.
Singular architecture, fostering the expression of dialectics between public and private spheres, has an impact on people. Studying architecture through envelopes enables us to identify how architectural spaces affect behaviours.
Through the cause and effect of the social context, some architectures can be considered as “metaphors for changes in society.” Walter Benjamin presents the Arcades as threshold spaces that are metaphors for changes in the socio-political context. Could a contemporary architecture have the same impact on people as the Arcades from the nineteenth century? We answer that question using the Yokohama Ferry Terminal as an example.
