SPATIUM UDC 711.4/.

8
No. 43, June 2020, pp. 35-43 72.012
Review paper
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2298/SPAT2043035J

FLUID SPACES IN A CONTEMPORARY URBAN CONTEXT:

QUESTIONING THE BOUNDARY BETWEEN ARCHITECTURE
AND INFRASTRUCTURE

Bojana Jerković-Babović1, Faculty of Architecture, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia

Ivana Rakonjac, Faculty of Architecture, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
Danilo Furundžić, Faculty of Architecture, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia

The aim of this paper is to research the relations between the contemporary networked context and transformations
in the understanding of architectural and infrastructural spaces, and to research the main models of fluidity within
this relation. The contemporary urban context is characterized by globalization, transculturalism and increased
technological development, which simultaneously change the everydayness, usage and perception of urban spaces and
architecture. New networking phenomena occurring on informational, communicational and spatial levels transform
the city and its architecture into constant processes of flows. Fluidity is positioned as the main problem of this research,
simultaneously causing, and manifesting in, transformations of contemporary spatial conditions where the notion of
flow becomes the new spatial quality. This research is focused on one of the main spatial manifestations of the fluidity
phenomenon in contemporary cities – the dispersion of the boundary between architectural and infrastructural space.
The aim of the paper is to present the idea that fluid spaces are characterized by: 1) increased loss of disciplinary
boundaries; 2) loss of physical boundaries – inner-outer space overlapping; 3) dispersion of perceptual boundaries in
space. The research is significant because it defines new meanings of spaces of flows and movement in a contemporary
urban context.
Key words: fluidity, flow, architecture, infrastructure, boundary.

INTRODUCTION Therefore, fluidity is positioned as the main conceptual

phenomenon in a contemporary urban context, where the
The main idea presented here is based on the hypothesis
notion of flow becomes the new main determination of
that fluid spaces are expressed in diverse aspects of the
spatial use and design. Such dynamized conditions transform
dematerialization and loss of the architecture-infrastructure
the relation between architecture and infrastructure and
boundary. Globalization and the information revolution,
the position of their boundary in terms of the fading of
which are the biggest contemporary phenomena, have
typological boundaries and their hybridization. Functions of
shifted the values and appropriations of space on many
movement and mobility become the main and the essential
levels. The new context of social and spatial networks
ones in modern cities. Accordingly, such spaces of flows are
has constantly changed and accelerated in terms of
the subject of this research.
perception, communication, mobility needs, transfers etc.
The dynamized network, based on continuous processes This research starts with the hypothesis that fluidity
of flows – flows of information, traffic, money, energy – in a contemporary urban context is notable through
dematerializes its qualities into fluid, variable character. the position of the boundary between architecture and
infrastructure, observed through transdisciplinary, physical
and perceptual aspects of its dematerialization. The
infrastructural character of contemporary architecture is
mainly associated with networked infrastructural systems,
1
Bulevar kralja Aleksandra 73/II 11000 Belgrade
bojana.jerkovic@arh.bg.ac.rs which present new spatial and functional potential for the

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notion of place. Accordingly, new architectural patterns are out. Its main hypothesis is that fluid spaces are characterized
made in the contemporary urban context. Contemporary by: 1) increased loss of disciplinary boundaries; 2) loss
architecture transforms into an infrastructure of flows, of physical boundaries – inner-outer space overlapping;
and infrastructure becomes the subject of the design as and 3) dispersion of perceptual boundaries in space. The
well. This relation between contemporary architecture and actualization of the fluidity phenomenon from these three
infrastructure becomes the expression of transformations aspects is its main scientific contribution. The aim is to
and changes every-day urban experience. Additionally, the present the potential of fluid spaces in the contemporary
question of contemporary architectural form is replaced context of globalization, since it influences the development
with new adaptable spatial patterns in which the notion of and diverse directions of cities and urban spaces
flow becomes the main design principle. transformations. In addition, the concept of the networked
city, as one of the possible approaches in the understanding
Recent research on the relationship between architecture
of contemporary patterns of urbanization and globalization,
and infrastructure includes changes in the meanings of
is also explored. The main conditions for contemporary
architectural and infrastructural, and it opens up the
conceptualizations in architecture and urbanism are
ideas of the architectural qualities of urban infrastructure,
identified.
but there have been no studies that link architecture and
infrastructure to the phenomenon of fluidity by researching The first section analyzes diverse theoretical approaches
the position of the boundary in their interrelations. Stan on the topic, while the second part focuses on an analysis
Allen analyzed the theme of infrastructure as an object of how architectural models of fluidity concepts are applied,
of architectural design, whereby we may recognize by means of selected case studies. The main question asked
the indications of disciplinary boundary loss between is: how can the conceptualization of fluidity give adequate
architecture and infrastructure (Allen, 1999). Gilles Delalex direction in the field of sustainable architecture and
continues Allen’s ideas and directly links the urban and urbanism?
architectural scale of infrastructure, which is important
for the development of the idea that infrastructure at all THE CONTEMPORARY URBAN CONTEXT AND
levels can be the subject of architectural creation, thus GLOBALIZATION: FLUIDITY AS A NEW DESIGNATION OF
recognizing the transdisciplinary nature of the architecture- THE NETWORKED CITY
infrastructure relation (Delalex, 2006). The idea of
In the contemporary context of the information age and
contemporary architecture as a continuation of urban
global interconnectedness, the city becomes a complex
infrastructure and urban landscapes has been developed
system of flows within the networks, comprising
by a number of different authors (Delalex, 2006; Koolhaas
architectural, infrastructural and social spaces, where the
et. al., 1998; Easterling, 1999; Angelil and Klingmann,
permanence of change leads to changes in the physical
1999; and others). The change in the understanding of
foundations of our everyday experience, perception and
physical architectural elements as a continuation of the
apprehension. Accordingly, form in the contemporary
infrastructure and environment can be recognized in
urban context could be understood as the following:
the theoretical positions of these authors, although each
position focuses on a different aspect of understanding the “Contrary to stances saying that form is a visual and
notion of infrastructure in the context of architecture and the aesthetic phenomenon, in the theory of urban morphology
city. Delalex researches the theme of infrastructural ground, form is seen as a complex phenomenon and physical result
Easterling researches infrastructural space, while Koolhaas, influenced by different factors of development: socio-
Angelil and Klingman talk about architecture as an element economic, functional, sociological, psychological, visual
of a dynamic system, formed with the urban environment and perceptual” (Niković and Manić, 2018: 18).
and the new design principles by which such architecture This research is based on recognizing the phenomenon of
can be created. Fluidity, as a phenomenon in architecture, fluidity as a contemporary phenomenon founded on these
has not been defined so far in the field of architecture and factors, as well as information overload, and elements of
urbanism. Contemporary theoretical positions on the city the urban structure losing their identity within the fluid,
and architecture introduce the notion of flows, systems dynamic totality. The phenomenon of fluidity manifests
of flows and networks from other fields, such as culture, itself as a consequence of globalization and ubiquitous
sociology and technology. Stephen Cairns introduces the interconnectivity, whereby flow, circulation, changeability,
connection between the notion of flow and architectural speed, etc. become the new determination of the city and
typologies in architectural theory (Cairns, 2012), and its structure.
Sanford Kwinter uses the term fluidly in the understanding
and theories of “new urbanism” (Kwinter, 1998). David Talking about the context of contemporary changes in
Goldblatt uses the term fluidity in architecture as a new the urban environment, Stephen Graham and Simon
aesthetic quality representing lightness and elegance Marvin introduce the term “sociotechnical process” while
(Goldblatt, 2007). Accordingly, the originality of this work considering the influence of globalization, technological
is in the study of fluid spaces through the relationship advancement and infrastructural networking on changes in
between architecture and infrastructure, which questions city structure, architecture and culture. The development
the position of their boundary. of technology infrastructure, its use and growth, transform
the contemporary city into “a complex and dynamic
A comparative analysis of theoretical approaches to the sociotechnical process” in which cities and urban regions
problem of fluid spaces in contemporary cities was carried become places of perpetual flux of infrastructurally mediated

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flow, movement and exchange (Graham and Marvin, relation between nodes and exchanges within the network,
2001: 8). Thus, the architectural form becomes reduced and the management of flows in architecture becomes the
in order to support the constant stream of information fundamental organizational and formal principle (Pawley,
and communication effects, accentuating the message co- 1998). In this respect we underline the emergence of the
produced with the subject of the contemporary city. new value system in architecture in which “technologies
and infrastructures simply and deterministically shape both
This immediate relationship between the space and the
the forms and worlds of the city and wider constructions
subject, emphasizing transience and the fast accumulation
of society and history” (Graham and Marvin, 2001: 9).
of images and information in our mind, so fast as to turn our
Infrastructural landscapes followed by socio-technological
attention only to information that is useful and momentarily
processes form the contemporary experience of culture,
required, results in spaces called non-places by Marc Augé.
city and “‘structures of feeling’ of modern urban life” (ibid.,
Augé defines non-places as a total of all the air, rail and
2001: 12). As a result, by increasingly participating in the
motorway routes, all the mobile cabins, means of transport,
urban structure, infrastructural landscapes shape our
the airports, terminals and stations, and all the cable and
experience and perception, and carry the meaning of society
wireless networks of installations and communication (Augé,
and culture development.
1995). Station signposts, airport markings, advertisements,
screens and boards have become an essential and dominant Diverse directions of urban transformations are influenced
part of our habitat, and “infrastructure takes over the by globalization processes. An ecological approach to
contemporary urban landscapes” (Augé, 1995: 93). Non- contemporary urban development is recognizable in
places are embodied by constant high-intensity dynamics, theories that deal with the infrastructural landscapes
where the phenomenon of flow is conjoined by the aspect of in contemporary cities. James Corner (2006) notes that
speed, which describes the quality of perception, usage and contemporary urban dynamics are increased with the effects
inhabitation of Augé’s non-place, thus the manifestation of of mass tourism and massive urban growth, resulting in
architecture is primarily defined by the information effect it transdisciplinary interactions between architects, urbanists,
produces and the functional circulation it supports. designers, landscape designers, engineers etc. Referring to
Victor Gruen’s “cityscape” concept of an urban environment
The concept of space of flows was introduced to the theories
consisting of buildings, paved surfaces and infrastructures
on the contemporary urban context by Manuel Castells
– “technoscapes”, “transportation-scapes”, “subcityscapes”
in The Rise of the Network Society, where he said that in
etc., Corner (2006) introduces infrastructural landscapes
the contemporary network society, “interaction between
as a significant infrastructural element in the city. The
places breaks spatial patterns of behavior in the city into a
potential of such an approach is, as he says: “the ability to
fluid network of exchange, which points to the need for a
shift scales, to locate urban fabrics in their regional and
new space - space of flowsˮ and that “the global city is not
biotic context and to design relationships between dynamic
a place but a process” (Castells, 1996: 429). In Castells’
environmental processes and urban form” (Corner, 2006:
theory of urbanism, the technological and cultural changes
24). The same study also states that such “fluid urbanism”
in the information age are closely followed by problems
is based on dynamic relations, implying the complexity
of increased mass transit under the influence of the rising
of interaction between the elements, rather than forms.
number of everyday activities and “time compression”, as a
Therefore, Corner’s Terra fluxus evokes the meaning of
consequence of new spatial networks which intensify the
the urban context as a dynamic field of constant shifting
flow and physical mobility of people in the city (Castells,
processes occurring within it. In this context, the relation
1996: 426). The phenomena within the domain of functional
between architecture and infrastructure loses its boundaries
interconnectedness lead to a specific social and cultural
because the separation between the environment and
fragmentation within the frame of fluid networks of global
buildings becomes blurred. A similar theoretical approach
and local exchange.
can be noticed in Elizabeth Mossop’s “landscape urbanism”,
In this context, Castells says: “the technological infrastructure which also conceptualizes contemporary cities as dynamic
defines new spaces” (ibid., 1996: 426). The space of flows systems where the disciplinary position of architecture
refers to a socio-spatial context in the contemporary is transgressing urban discourse and practice, and
paradigm of networking and, as he says, “space does not infrastructure is the most important generator of public
reflect society, it expresses it” (ibid., 433), thus we can landscapes (Mossop, 2006: 166). In the chapter “Blurring
establish a relation between social transformations and boundaries and hybrid landscapes” Mossop presents the
the transformation of the value system in architecture. importance of intellectual shifts in contemporary landscape
In this way, the contemporary urban experience is based urbanism, influenced by architects Kenneth Frampton, Peter
on the functional and symbolic meaning of the space of Rowe and Rem Koolhaas, who transformed the disciplinary
architectural flows within the context of mass migrations of divisions in the complexity of contemporary urban patterns
the population and tourism. “Network Fever” by Marc Wigley (ibid., 2006: 170-171). On the other hand, the economic
describes the preoccupation of the modern and postmodern aspect of urban transformations influenced by globalization
context with networking and new ways of thinking about processes is discussed by John Forrester in Urban dynamics.
the architecture and city structure, expressed by the form of Forrester provides the understanding of complex urban
fluid, interconnected central functions and communication systems in which urban problems are examined in terms
lines that transform the constructed environment into of the interactions between the elements of the urban
complex systems of functions and flows (Wigley, 2001). structure (ibid., 1969). The urban context is presented as a
Architectural design becomes a process of managing the dynamic system where the flows are the main determiners

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of interactions between urban elements (ibid). In this modernist utopian projects such as Walking City and Plug-in
approach, architecture becomes a tool of the economic City by Archigram, and Fun Palace by Cedric Price in which
infrastructure in cities. architecture behaves like infrastructure and vice versa.
Cited examples of the architectural avant-garde elaborate
UNDERSTANDING THE BOUNDARY BETWEEN the concept of redefining the status of architecture as an
ARCHITECTURE AND INFRASTRUCTURE IN object, symbol or monument, into the convergence of places
CONTEMPORARY FLUID SPACES and ever-changing programs and events. Furthermore,
Japanese Metabolists, with their megastructures, likewise
Contemporary interpretation of the urban environment
erasing disciplinary boundaries between architecture and
erases the conventional boundaries between the meaning of
infrastructure, presented the concept of architecture as an
infrastructure and architecture. The ambiguous relationship
interconnected system. These utopian concepts, although
between architecture and infrastructure in the contemporary
never effected, are important for understanding the roots
city environment is evident not only globally, but also in
of the ideas brought to life and executed by contemporary
the new design concepts and the new formal strategies
architecture. The question of the boundaries between
of architecture and urbanism. A wider interpretation of
architecture and infrastructure can be put into perspective
infrastructure opens up the space for emphasizing its
with technological changes which alter the contemporary
generative role in terms of its direct impact on the built
urban context in a physical sense.
environment, and thus on creating the contemporary notion
of place. Accordingly, beyond the systems and networks of The question of the disciplinary boundary between
communications and resources, the infrastructure includes architecture and infrastructure in this context is not only
all constructed facilities and constituent environments, as the question of parallel and correlated changes between
well as public spaces for cultural and social programs. technology and the tectonic qualities of architectural form,
but also the new meanings taking shape at their intersection.
In architectural discourse, the phenomenon of the boundary
Innovations and new meanings create new design principles
has been defined by both the physical elements of space
and values which occur in between the complexity of
and social parameters shaping the value system. The
managing the flows and designing the form, which is not
significance of the boundary in a contemporary urban
merely infrastructural. Therefore, new meanings and spatial
context, and its role in creating a new value system of
manifestations are developed through mutual intention
architecture, is determined by the users of the space and
through both technology and architecture to shape our
their comprehension of its meaning.
perception within culture and the city. Rem Koolhaas, Stan
Bearing in mind that architectural form becomes a Allen and Keller Easterling explore the needs and possibilities
support to the constant circulation of information and of fusing infrastructure, architecture and landscape into
communication effects, the manifestation of architecture a unique dynamic system (Koolhaas et al., 1998; Allen,
is defined by contemporary urban experience. The fluidity 1999; Pawley, 1998; Easterling, 1999). By exploring formal
of the boundary is examined through the concept of flow transformations and hybrid structures, both in the sense
in architecture. The perceptual evaluation of space is of form and meaning, contemporary architectural practice
formed by users’ impressions of the fluidity of the spatial often transcends architecture’s conventional field of study.
boundaries during their movements; it describes the unity The transdisciplinary transformation of architecture links
of static and dynamic architectural elements. The qualities the architecture and infrastructure with the landscape,
of diffusion and dispersion give the boundary the dialectic resulting in the natural and urban space lacking clear edges.
relation of enclosing and interlacing through integrating Therefore, the loss of disciplinary boundaries in terms
the characteristics of content and form by the fusion of of understanding the fluidity in a contemporary urban
constructions, activities and events. Therefore, with regard context is a matter of coordinating complex functional and
to function, hybrid integration of transportation, mobility, design principles, whereby flows in space stay functionally
public and cultural spaces become a unified system. separated according to protocols and infrastructural
principles, but the structure they belong to overcomes the
In the following sections, the problem of the boundary
infrastructural utility and becomes a matter of architectural
between architecture and infrastructure will be critically
design. Accordingly, disciplines such as design, architecture
analyzed through the criteria: 1) loss of disciplinary
and urbanism transgress into traffic, structural engineering
boundaries, 2) loss of physical boundaries, 3) dispersion
and technology, and vice versa, providing new models of
of perceptual boundaries in space with the idea of
built achievements and transforming the contemporary
presenting their merging to form uninterrupted urban
cities.
landscapes that increasingly characterize the contemporary
city environment. The main research methodology in this Loss of physical boundaries
paper relates to the examination of theoretical approaches
The loss of physical boundaries in terms of fluidity
and their application in selected examples of architectural
researched in this paper refers to the complex structures in
practice through the analysis of the opuses of representative
which functions based on the articulation of flows in space
authors.
remain separated while the whole form of space becomes
Loss of disciplinary boundaries unified, fluid and liquid with no sharp edges, and it almost
becomes hard to recognize their zonal and spatial beginning
The loss of disciplinary, physical and perceptual boundaries
and end.
between architecture and infrastructure stems from

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Stephen Cairns (2012) in his text “Flowsˮ, referring By perceiving flows of movement, we are equally informed
to Manuel Castells’ theory, links the spaces of flows to about the material and immaterial properties of space and
airports, railway stations, terminals, intermodal transfer we may equally conceptualize space by form, dynamism,
areas, telecommunication infrastructure, harbors, ports speed and flows as the main aspects of fluidity. Flows
and computerized trading centers. Castells describes of movement are determined by constant variability – a
“communication exchangers” (Castells, 1996: 453) as “the change of position over time, by which we equally observe
significant building types of the space of flows”. Castells differences, repetitions and changes that form a fluid
says that, when it comes to architecture, the spaces of continuity. The perception of variability and mobility, and
flows are: corridors and halls which connect places around the differences in their intensities, blurs boundaries in
the world and we have to understand them as places of space and between spatial zones. In addition, the perception
exchange, shelters, homes and offices of the contemporary of flows in space, as well as the perception of space by
society (ibid., 1996: 448). Castells notes that how we movement, are equally important aspects of experiencing
relate to airports, to train and bus stations, to freeways, to contemporary fluid spaces, in which by moving through
customs buildings, etc. is how the new urban experience space, the continuity and mutual integration of the
is formed (ibid., 1996: 407-459). In the relation between architecture and our experience is achieved. The perception
technological discourse and architectural productiveness, of the whole is built on the basis of the cognitive process
Sanford Kwinter’s new “soft urbanism” defines the city of assembling sequences of space, i.e., visual images that
as: “the medium of the flow of population, information, we perceive with movement. Therefore, fluid spaces in
goods and communication, i.e. the formation of functions a contemporary urban context are considered through
and the changeable field of perception” (Kwinter, 1998: dispersion of the perceptual boundaries. These boundaries
586). Corresponding to Manuel Gausa’s understanding are fluid and softened so the zones and programs overlap
of the contemporary urban environment: “which can be and dissolve into each other. The form of such spaces frames
understood as an endless interior of blurred boundaries, programs and action occurring within, while allowing the
where the citizens are located in the form of flow” (Gausa, perception of the users to flow freely and change constantly.
2003: 230), Kwinter talks about negating the limits of three-
dimensional space and boundaries between the interior and MODELS OF FLUIDITY IN A CONTEMPORARY URBAN
exterior, where the architecture consists of social, economic, CONTEXT
biological and spatial elements.
Based on the previously defined criteria that identify the
Such a contemporary context transforms the physical characteristics of fluid spaces in terms of disciplinary,
boundaries in architectural space. Architectural form physical and perceptual boundary redefinitions, reference
increasingly becomes a continuation of the infrastructure or examples will presented of some selected projects that
an extension of a landscape. In relation to the phenomenon manifest one dominant aspect, while others equally fulfil
of flows and the dynamics of a contemporary context, the all aspects of fluidity within relevant typological groups.
architectural form becomes open to their influence, and its The loss of physical, perceptual or disciplinary boundaries
physical elements become dynamic fragments integrated in fluid spaces is mutually conditioned and interconnected.
into a unique assemblage. By blurring the boundaries Accordingly, examples of contemporary architectural
between the interior, exterior, object and context, and by practice are selected to present how the notion of fluidity,
overlapping architectural layers of events, form and function, manifested through disciplinary, physical and perceptual
the architectural structure becomes a new determination of boundary dispersions, creates new meanings, knowledge
contemporary architecture in the urban environment. and potential in a contemporary urban context (Figure 1).
The research covers the works of Santiago Calatrava, FOA
Dispersion of perceptual boundaries in space
Architects, Zaha Hadid, SANAA, Rem Koolhaas’s OMA and
Fluid spaces are characterized by the loss of perceptual UN studio, and the selected projects respond to all three set
boundaries, in which the infrastructural flows become part aspects of the manifestation of fluidity in the context of the
of the architectural spatial experience in the contemporary loss of the architecture-infrastructure boundary.
urban environment. The perceptual experience of fluid
Architecture, interpreted and designed as an extension of
spaces comes down to functional, momentarily useful
infrastructure (as shown in the works of Santiago Calatrava,
information, namely the accumulation of visual images
OMA, Zaha Hadid, FOA architects, UN studio et al.), is
at high speeds, at which the sequences of space cannot be
recognized also as an extension of the landscape, urban as
separated from the sequences of movement in the space
well as natural. That being so, the architectural form arises
itself. Based on everyday observations, experiencing the
based on flows from the contexts it absorbs and remodels in
social and spatial context as a network of flows composed of
the interior space. Through superimposition of architectonic
dynamic forces and mutual relations of elements shapes the
and infrastructural layers and blurring of boundaries between
experience of the contemporary urban context as a dispersed
them, the architectural form becomes an open tectonic field,
field of effects. In this field, the perception of constant
countering traditional notions of architecture as a finite
changes creates the spatial experience of architecture as an
entity. This form is not necessarily mobile, but shaped so it
integral element of a dynamic urban system. Accordingly, the
can assimilate the architectural and environmental trends in
spatial perception characterized by increasingly dynamic
a kinesthetic and empirical way. Architectural form is defined
and fluid effects overlapping in space changes the structure
by Angelil and Klingmann (1999: 24) as “accumulations,
of our living space from a system of solid boundaries to a
connections, densities and fluctuations”, and this use of
system of connections, networking and flows.

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the term determines the city and its architecture to be a principles of this group, this time applied in defining the
dynamic system where the flows and the shaping of space architecture-infrastructure boundary in the contemporary
they occupy erase the boundaries between architecture, city of Tokyo. UN studio’s Arnhem Central Transfer Terminal
infrastructure and landscape. Both spatial, and consequently also demonstrates design principles based on the integral
formal, constellations develop as uninterrupted fluctuating flow of movement within an object and in its environment.
processes and new interpretations of architectural design The design process of this facility involved exploring
and methodologies. Therefore, the fluid spaces analyzed in human flows and different modes of transport in order to
this paper are characterized by the transformation of the make the terminal a “transfer machine” that incorporates
architecture-infrastructure boundaries as presented below. the full spectrum of public urban transport and individual
passenger needs of the user. The methodological process
One of the most distinguishable examples of traditional
of UN studio in many projects is flow-based. Therefore,
disciplinary boundary loss due to the artistic and complex
the flow is a methodological tool of architectural form
tectonic treatment of structures, which are simultaneously
shaping that is functionally organized. Accordingly, such
infrastructure and architecture, is Santiago Calatrava. Large
design methodology follows the unique nature of flows
infrastructural units, primarily bridges and terminals, in a
and the spontaneity of events in the context in which they
unique way embody and affirm the aesthetics of form by the
exist, while articulating them into a dynamic system of
tectonics of their construction and shaping of the structural
architecture, infrastructure and urban landscape with no
elements, mainly linear, whose repetition and translation
defined and sharp boundaries in between. In addition, Rem
fashion surfaces. Selected Calatrava projects, such as the
Koolhaas (OMA) integrates urban infrastructure into an
Orient Station in Lisbon, Liege-Guillemin station in Liege,
architectural object in the Tate Modern project, as well as in
the World Trade Centre Hub Terminal in New York, Lyon
Jussieu library and Cardiff Opera, thus directly transgressing
Airport Station etc., are typologically and functionally in the
the interrelationship between the disciplines of architecture,
domain of city infrastructure and engineering, but according
urbanism, engineering and technology.
to their aesthetic and tectonic quality they without doubt
go beyond their infrastructural meaning. The architectural Calatrava’s works, mentioned above, are mainly terminals
design principles involved in creating these spaces are the and bridges that are masterpieces of both architecture
principles of fluidity, where the coordination of flows of and infrastructure, representing spaces where areas are
movement and traffic also become a matter of experience, overlapped to make the whole space flow and manifest
perception and architectural form. Calatrava’s works are the physical boundary loss between inside and outside.
structurally complex achievements in which the disciplines of The structures are transparent and the combinations
architecture and urbanism are intersected with engineering of materials and shapes transform the meaning of the
and technology in the most specific way. A similar example physical boundary. Functionally divided flows of traffic
of disciplinary boundary loss is Yokohama Terminal by FOA and pedestrian movements, as well as the integration of
Architects, which is one of the most representative examples other diverse programs, are organized and shaped to create
of where function, complex tectonics and shaping surpass one unique, dynamic, fluid spatial whole. Another space
the infrastructural meaning and transform the architectural without sharp physical boundaries between functionally
disciplinary framework. Yokohama Port Terminal is a distinct zones is Yokohama Terminal by FOA Architects.
masterpiece of formal design, as well as a functional The terminal is designed through a diagrammatic take on
articulation of protocol. This project is also an example of the research of flows and movements of all sorts (physical
how new technical and technological possibilities, which flows of people, vehicles and ships as well as motions of
transform formal and tectonic possibilities in architecture fluids – air and water within the premises). The terminal
and infrastructure, contribute to socio-technological represents the fluid shaping of volume, with no boundaries
transformations in contemporary society. Buildings by between the interior and exterior spaces, where the spaces
Zaha Hadid are the most obvious examples of the formal entirely dissolve into each other and flow unceasingly.
expression of dynamic spatial fluidity. The hybrid nature Zaha Hadid’s unique formal expression conveys the
of her methodology and absence of standard architectonic blurring of boundaries between the elements for a larger
classification are both the cause and result of specific fluid urban scope, as well as in the interior. On a city scale, the
shaping of form, characteristic of the greater part of Zaha architectural form is developed by assimilating the flows
Hadid’s opus. Selected projects, such as the Bridge Pavilion from the environment in constructing a unique system
in Zaragoza, Galaxy Soho in Beijing and BMW Centre in with no boundaries between landscapes, infrastructure and
Leipzig, are representations of specific overlapping and architecture. On the other hand, by shaping the volume of
transgression of architecture and engineering, i.e., the loss the interior space, by curving the membrane of space and by
of their disciplinary boundaries. Complex structures and fluid forms of walls, ceilings and floors, she creates specific
forms, characteristic of Zaha Hadid’s opus, require constant kinesthetic impressions in which the flows and motions
technological and technical innovations which go beyond are the base of formal and methodological principles. The
the common architectural domains. Ryue Nishizawa from boundaries between spaces and areas within one formal
SANAA created Kumamoto Station in Tokyo as an extension whole are blurred, elastic and sometimes completely absent
of its infrastructural functions, attempting to generate a in a unique free-flowing and fluid space. The absence
calming, park-like square area in a complex environment for of boundaries between inside and outside, internal and
mass transit. Composed of multiple roofs, all meandering external flows, and those between the interior and exterior,
and organic in shape, this recent example of SANAA’s work landscape and architecture, is characteristic of the work of
represents the well-known architectural philosophy and SANAA Architects. The distinct features of oriental culture

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are reflected in the contemporary architectural tendency Farms in Connecticut, Rolex Learning Center in Lausanne,
to enable the unobstructed circulation of air, light and Serpentine Gallery Pavilion etc. are examples of the form
movement of people within the architectural space. SANAA’s of surfaces which enable the kinesthetic experience of the
architecture is defined by bright, weightless surfaces that interior and sensory unity of the context and architectural
are as transparent and open as possible. As a result of space. Voids and the absence of solid walls provide views
assimilating the flows from the environment and inner in every direction, allowing the external environment to be
space, the form is revealed by shaping the surfaces that seen and become part of the interior. This loss of perceptual
partly enclose the space. The Dutch Embassy in Berlin by boundaries in space is emphasized by the city or nature as
OMA is another example of architecture where the flow of a background. Therefore, the fluid space appears to frame
movement through an object is main the design principle the activity and action which is taking place within, while
that determines the form. The free flow of the ramp, which allowing the perception of the users to flow freely between
zigzags through eight levels, determines the organization inside and outside. In the Terminal 3 project by UN studio,
of space and programs and dematerializes the boundaries the shaping of the horizontal surfaces creates a soft form that
between the spaces and programmatic zones. This design follows the spatial fluidity, flows of movement and events in
approach, on the other hand, enables the coexistence of it. A similar design principle, by which form develops as a
architecture with the environment through a form that tracks support for flows and events, is noticeable in the Center for
the external and internal movements of people, and the Virtual Engineering in Stuttgart. Through the adaptability of
circulation of air, vapor and humidity. The volume of flows architecture to the processes of communication, subjectivity
that diagonally permeates the cubic form is also projected and experimentation, the architectural program becomes
onto the object’s membrane, which visually dematerializes hybridized and the form flexible, with visible loss of both
the facade itself into the form of flow, and dematerializes physical and perceptual boundaries.
the boundaries between inside and outside. In relation to
Koolhaas’s view of the city as a form of landscape evolving in CONCLUSION
the form of a dynamic process, the architectural form loses
The main idea of this paper was to position the phenomenon
its autonomy and isolation and opens itself to the processes
of the fluidity of a contemporary socio-spatial context into
that make up its environment. The architectural object is
the spatial perspective, with the aim of questioning the
not a closed entity, but integrates into the context through
boundary between architecture and infrastructure. These
fluid and dynamic processes, achieving the connection of
boundaries were researched in terms of meaning, perception
interior and exterior space and becoming a continuation
and the function of architectural and infrastructural space
of the infrastructure and landscape with no sharp physical
in a contemporary urban context. The relations between
boundaries in between. UN studio’s Arnhem Central
architecture and infrastructure have been transformed
Terminal was also intended to blur the physical boundaries
according to new dynamized conditions where mobility,
between exterior and interior in a form that represents
speed, movement and flows become the necessities of
the extension of the urban landscape to the interior of the
contemporary urban life. Accordingly, the phenomenon
building, where ceilings, walls and floors overlap and the
of fluidity is the main conceptual phenomenon in a
common understanding of physical spatial boundaries is
contemporary urban context, in which the notion of flow
lost.
has become the new main determination of spatial use and
The works of Calatrava mentioned so far are examples of design.
architecture-infrastructure boundary loss on many levels.
The theoretical framework in this paper is based on a
One of these levels is most certainly the dispersion of
transdisciplinary synthesis of recent approaches to the
perceptual boundaries, with no boundaries between the
problem of fluidity and the contemporary concepts of the
interior and exterior spaces creating a very dynamic, unique
theory of architecture and urbanism, in order to explain the
ambient. The spatial limits of perception are softened and
relations that have been made, their origins, and the possible
dispersed, the spaces entirely dissolve into each other and
forms of their interpretation. This research examined the
flow unceasingly. The opus of Zaha Hadid is characterized
relevant theoretical approaches through their application in
by the design methodology and principles by which specific
the opuses of representatives of contemporary architectural
perceptual qualities in space are created. The Bridge
practice, such as Santiago Calatrava, FOA Architects, Zaha
Pavilion in Zaragoza provides the experience of inner-
Hadid, group SANAA, Rem Koolhaas’s OMA and UN studio,
outer space overlapping while moving through the space,
with the aim of analyzing how selected projects by these
which is accomplished by the effects of a semipermeable
authors fulfil all of the aspects of fluid spaces: the loss of
membrane of the space in the design of the façade. Projects
disciplinary, physical and perceptual boundaries in the
such as Galaxy Soho in Beijing, the BMW Centre in Leipzig,
relation between architecture and infrastructure.
Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku, and many other designs by
Hadid were designed so that during movement through the Although the ideas of overlapping architecture, infrastructure
space, dynamic forms, materials and programs overlap with and landscape in an urban context, which becomes a
no boundaries in between them. Programs take their own space with no defined boundaries, started with modernist
functional spaces and develop within a fluid whole, while utopian concepts, contemporary technological innovations
the perceptual experience is in constant change – dynamic, have allowed the rethinking and implementation of these
fluid and continuous. SANAA’s projects such as Toledo ideas. Therefore, both architectural and infrastructural
Museum of Art, the Glass pavilion in Toledo, University form become an expression of the position in a process of
café in Okayama, the meandering river building at Grace constant dynamics.

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Jerković-Babović B., Rakonjac I., Furundžić D.: Fluid spaces in a contemporary urban context: questioning the boundary...

Figure 1. . Classification of contemporary architectural examples in terms of boundary loss

(Source: authors)

42 spatium
 Jerković-Babović B., Rakonjac I., Furundžić D.: Fluid spaces in a contemporary urban context: questioning the boundary...

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Acknnowledgments
This work was supported by the Ministry of Education,
Science and Technological Development of the Republic
of Serbia: “Research and systematization of housing
development in Serbia in the context of globalization
and European integrations for the purpose of improving
housing quality and standards” [grant number TR36034]
and “Climate Change and its effects on the Environment
- Monitoring, Adapting and Mitigating” [grant number
III43007].
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Received May 2020; accepted in revised form June 2020.

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