ABSTRACT
In-depth examination of the concept and typology of the capsule is presented through the analysis of its characteristics: The outer and inner envelope, functional, spatial, and visual wholeness, temporality, and mobility. In this chapter, some of the related theoretical themes are emphasized, such as individualization, search for a retreat from the oversaturated world of sensuous stimuli or immersion in it, society of control, simulation and reality of public and private space in the society of the spectacle, relation between the local and global, home, place, and dwelling, inside and outside, inclusion and exclusion, identity, consumerism, commodification, and expendability of everything—including space, etc.
Conditioned by temporality and mobility, and establishing the relationship between function and representation, these topics situate the concept and typology of the capsule within contemporary generic space of flows, networks, and second modernity, challenging the potential “freedom” of the individual in it.
For many of the selected and presented cases and projects, representation does not differ from the reality of the function and structure of the object itself—it is actually its presentation. Comparing the concept of the image, following Reyner Banham’s definition, it indicates more than its visual appearance. The image, which enables direct comprehension, is the architectural condition. With interdisciplinary activity, the complex task of harmonizing the structure, function, and representation into an imaginable whole, the crucial role of the architect is emphasized.
