The Hidden Dimension, Edward Hall
Intimate distance for embracing, touching or whispering
Close phase – less than 6 inches (15 cm)
Far phase – 6 to 18 inches (15 to 46 cm)
Personal distance for interactions among good friends or family members
Close phase – 1.5 to 2.5 feet (46 to 76 cm)
Far phase – 2.5 to 4 feet (76 to 120 cm)
Social distance for interactions among acquaintances
Close phase – 4 to 7 feet (1.2 to 2.1 m)
Far phase – 7 to 12 feet (2.1 to 3.7 m)
Public distance used for public speaking
Close phase – 12 to 25 feet (3.7 to 7.6 m)
Far phase – 25 feet (7.6 m) or more
Flight Distance and Critical Distance. Hediger's term for the inter-species spacing mechanism which measures the distance an observer approaches before the animals start to flee. As a general rule, the larger the animal the greater distance it must keep between itself and the "other". A "critical distance" occurs when a boundary is crossed and the animal turns around to retaliate. Aggression is regulated by developing a hierarchy and establishing spacing. These invisible boundaries are valued very differently from one culture to another. I was born in India, moved to Oman as a teenager, and am now living in Canada as an adult;three very different worlds each with their own ideas of personal space. I hope to explore the ways to expose each culture's response to "appropriate" proximity by experimenting with manipulations of architectural space.
The following is a story.
"There are 1.1 Billion people in India and they are all used to not having personal space. This is a country where families suffering from economic hardship (the government uses the terms: Economically Weak Sections) live in apartments with one room and often have 6-9 people living in it: the parents, the children, the parents of the father and if the eldest child is recently married--his wife would be there, too. If you come to India you will have no personal space. I have regularly used the urinal with someone standing close enough behind me that he could help me aim if he reached around. If he's chatty he might even start up a conversation. This is just how things are; too much space and someone might cut in front of you. Next, try riding the subway or the bus. The subway in Delhi is a study in contradictions. They are immaculately clean while everything street level is that of a developing country: gritty, haphazard and trampled upon by humanity's heaviest footprint. Subways in most cities are intended to be part of a rapid transit system. In Delhi, you have to go through a metal detector. First form a line to buy your token (they have smart cards, too, which save time and money) then form a line 100 people deep (if it's a popular train station) and wait 10 minutes to get through the line during rush hour. The line is the very image of diversity with young and old, the prosperous rotund, and the famished skinny. Women bedecked in the latest western trends standing behind women in traditional garb that could have been plucked from the 50s. While you are in line you have plenty of time to be observant ... unless of course you're distracted by the corpulent short guy behind you who persists on aligning his bellybutton with the apex of your butt-crack. Every time you move forward he moves forward the same distance and then adds a margin of 2cm just in case he gauged your distance from his orifice incorrectly. Okay, so maybe the pot belly was the exceptional character, right? That was the bag check line. Before that was the metal detector line where some waifish teenager was so close he seemed to be testing to see if my sneakers were properly inflated by kicking my heel as if I were equipped with tires. To ensure that no one cut between us and interrupted his courtship, he absentmindedly placed the back of his hand on my lower back as he casually jabbered to his younger family members behind him. Suddenly the tire inspection turned into a rodeo with him practically riding my back AND holding on. If I moved up he would move up and add the same 2 cm margin as Shri Potbelly-ji I don't scowl; I don't suck my teeth or sniff angrily at people. I just cope and will take my revenge by dry humping the guy in front the next time I have to queue up."- Jason Tapia, Miami-ite, friend and brave soul.
Investigating Cross-Cultural Receptors:
Visual and Auditory Space through materials in Japanese and German architecture
Olfactory Space of streets in Paris and Suburbia
Skin/Muscle memory in Japanese gardens and Wright's Old Imperial Hotel in Tokyo
Thermal Space through intimate perceptual contact
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