Recently, I read some interesting books again about developments in quantum physics and space relativity, essentially the micro and macro aspects of physics, and the attempts to unify the two. It’s not entirely my field, but incredibly fascinating. What I struggle with most in the formation the theory are the 7 to 11 dimensions that are considered. I remember from my studies that I would lose track in lectures when the professor started discussing many dimensions. But now, several decades later, and as I read, I started to visualize it more, thanks to vivid descriptions: imagine it as numerous networks, like fabrics with interwoven threads that encompass everything—gravity, magnetism, radiation, etc.—with these networks layered over and through each other like strings, not so much as particles, but strings that can all vibrate. And these vibrations influence local conditions, like gravitational waves, vibrations of the “fabric” that alter length and width of spaces. as all the other layers.*
This brought me back “down to earth” and to the concept of spatial experience, or more pragmatically, to buildings. Even buildings change dimensions with gravitational waves, though it’s imperceptible to us. Thus, I reasoned, if the familiar and trusted dimensions aren’t even absolute and can vary under certain circumstances, then within a space, like a building or environment—the “meso-physics,” if you will—there are many more dimensions than the three or four we usually consider.
After all, we design primarily in a static way: drawing and sketching on flat surfaces, creating spaces to be built. This approach is quite limited. Space itself isn’t a constant, even in the short term, beyond gravity. Think of light: when sunlight streams in or not, it creates a different space with new properties and experiences. Or think of color temperature indoors, depending on the interior design and paintwork.
These changes we can observe and consciously experience. But there are many more dimensions we cannot see. There are dimensions we can hear: sound changes throughout the day, even from one second to the next, a room’s acoustics can alter sound, just by hanging curtains. This makes every space different, even if the first three dimensions remain identical. These are all properties—dimensions—of that space in addition to the familiar measurements.
You can even feel dimensions: like temperature. Nowadays, we can even see them with infrared cameras. If humans had eyes that could register infrared, walls would appear in different colors or, at least, with varying nuances. The air within a space can differ, just as the magnetic field within the space can. In Berlin, houses built from reused reinforced concrete panels (“plattenbau”), which made using a cell phone inside impossible (Faraday cage effect).
The conception of space as only three dimensions is thus quite a constricted view. Yes, we do consider things like color when designing interiors, but we need to start thinking in terms of many dimensions and incorporate that into our designs. The traditional perception of space is a highly limited concept; in reality, space has many dimensions and many states in which it can exist. The effects I’ve described are only the short-term changes in dimensions.
Then there’s also time: Over longer periods, space changes too. Think of houses that settle or even subside over decades; even the first three dimensions aren’t constant, not even on a human time scale. Or spaces disappear altogether due to renovations, demolitions, bombings, or floods.
Even then, we’re not done. In quantum physics, effects exist where particles influence each other over distance (entanglement). On Earth, in our “spaces,” something similar happens: One space influences another. I don’t just mean hearing arguing neighbor’s. Think about the materials used to build a space; they come from somewhere and alter space elsewhere: a forest was cut down for window frames, a mine excavated for iron ore, surrounding land polluted. Where that tree once stood, there is now empty space. Spaces are “entangled”! Incidentally, even when the tree was still there, the space wasn’t constant: as the crown grew, the space changed.
This is actually an integrated effect of the known space, the multi-dimensional constructed space: with spatial effects elsewhere. This is where it really becomes interesting: because these dimensions—land alteration, material depletion, acidification, pollution, or soil impoverishment—are hardly considered in design. Yet, they are indeed connected: You cannot create space without altering space elsewhere!
Every space is not like another; rather, one space always influences another! That’s already eight dimensions: three known ones plus time, on both sides of the balance. Not to mention the other experienced spatial dimensions mentioned earlier. Few designers or architects consciously account for these, designing spaces with these unseen spatial dimensions in mind. At most, a concert hall might get an acoustic expert’s input, or light might be used deliberately on occasion. Most spaces result from linear design and typical layout models. Rarely, if ever, do architects or the construction industry consider the reciprocal effects, the impact of other space dimensions. However, each time an architect draws a line, it will have impact somewhere else in the world…
The relevance today of these other dimensions is becoming more visible, especially with biobased construction becoming necessary. Everyone understands that trees are needed and the resulting effects occuring elsewhere. This is true for minerals and metals too, even though we regard them out of sight. Designers should therefore consider these distant impacts, the “construction waves” that alter dimensions elsewhere. We must account for the consequences of land use. It needs to be planned because otherwise, it is randomly displaced to far-off places. Farmers here have to change “their space” to create space elsewhere, whatever the dimensions involved. Designers and developers must consider these remote effects, the land area needed for their materials! They might even need to design both spaces simultaneously, reconnecting directly with the materials they use—something we’ve lost over the last 200 years!
Building involves more dimensions than you think.
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*And then there should also be extra spatial dimensions… very small, invisible so to say:
I did not find a suitable visualization yet…
