HETEROTOPIA
Tomeci ︎ 2016
Rome, Italy
A heterotopia is a compressing of time and space into one place.
These are spaces of otherness, which are neither here nor there, that are simultaneously physical and mental, such as the space of a phone call, or the moment when you see yourself in the mirror.
As part of my architecture course, I needed to go on a study-trip to Rome and find a Heterotopia. These are some of my thoughts:
These are spaces of otherness, which are neither here nor there, that are simultaneously physical and mental, such as the space of a phone call, or the moment when you see yourself in the mirror.
As part of my architecture course, I needed to go on a study-trip to Rome and find a Heterotopia. These are some of my thoughts:
Preserving the history can restrict the new from emerging.
Excessive tourism can warp and damage the perception of the built/urban environment - does this lead to a loss of authenticity?
Excessive tourism can warp and damage the perception of the built/urban environment - does this lead to a loss of authenticity?
Everything becomes smaller and smaller for the contemporary Romans.
The real life of the city is squashed, forced to re-appear almost as a by-product of the monumental. It pops out of residual spaces.
The real life of the city is squashed, forced to re-appear almost as a by-product of the monumental. It pops out of residual spaces.
I found the entire central part of Rome to be a heterotopia, as the touristic reality transforms it into something that is not the same ‘Rome’ that is so ingrained in the collective knowledge.
None of the monuments were intended to be experienced the way they are now, as the locals have developed their own universe, with its own authenticity and contemporary relevance.
None of the monuments were intended to be experienced the way they are now, as the locals have developed their own universe, with its own authenticity and contemporary relevance.