Introduction

The subject of urban design has been hotly debated in all European countries for the last decades. Good urban design is seen to be an appropriate vehicle to meet the demands for sustainable, liveable and secure urban environments as well as to foster economic development (Florida, 2005). It is believed that good quality of urban design will create a sense of belonging to and increase well-being of its users. Scholars widely agree that good quality of urban design can and will meet these demands. In the process of creating good-quality urban design, the support of face-to-face human interaction seems to be most relevant for the goal to receive well-accepted and well-used public open spaces (Jacobs, 1961; Newman, 1973; Gehl, 1987; Whyte, 1995; Tibbalds, 2001). Wherever good-quality public spaces are available, people enjoy using the amenities that are provided, such as outdoor cafes, facilities for sitting and watching others, window shopping and so on (Whyte, 1995); particularly in Europe, a boom in the use of public open space can be observed, even in regions where the inconveniences of weather seem detrimental (Gehl and Gemzoe, 2001). A thorough understanding of this phenomenon is given by many scholars (eg Sennett, 1976, 1994; Crowhurst-Lennard and Lennard, 1995; Tibbalds, 2001; Häussermann and Siebel, 2004; Siebel, 2004). The results of observations of human behaviour in public open space (Newman, 1973; Gehl, 1987; Whyte, 1995) guided urban designers in creating well-accepted and well-used public open spaces. A balanced mix of uses of buildings, moderate traffic flow, staggered opening times of cafes, offices and shops, outdoor restaurants, coupled with all sots of sitting spaces and natural elements are the core elements in establishing well-accepted places in cities and towns (Figure 1).

Figure 1.

Manchester's new city centre on a warm and sunny day where all come out and enjoy the urban environment.

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A mix of use of the adjacent buildings, seatings, outdoor cafes, fresh markets or nicely designed pavements led to very successful public open spaces, when success is measured in terms of the grade of use. However, such approaches are still far from being generally applicable. To bring a simple example, there are public open spaces that are not designed according to such suggestions, however are widely believed to be most beautiful and are often role models for the design of new city spaces. The Meidan el Shah in Isfahan (Figure 2), the Red Square in Moscow, Tianamen Square in Beijing, Plaza Luna of ancient Teotihuacan (Figure 3) or St. Peter's Square in Rome (Figure 4), to just name a few, are not only most splendid in outlook, but are also believed to be masterpieces of public open space design, many of them being world heritage. This suggests that their design follows a different set of underlying rules than the ones described above. With a closer look to many historic cities, villages and even vernacular compounds, it turns out that public open space had and often still has various functions and each space is designed according to its main assigned function. The functions of public open space are manifold and, according to the needs of a society, may be place for religious purpose, for mourning, worshipping gods or ancestors, they may be meeting points with spirit beings from forests, sea or the underworld. Public open spaces are used to demonstrate a system of power, for example, a dictatorship or show the democratic approach of its inhabitants. Other functions of public open space may facilitate social interaction, such as leisure places, meeting points with clan members, and others are created for the interaction between inhabitants and outsiders. The main function of a space can have technical purpose, such as marketplaces, workspaces for all sorts of work that have to be done commonly (eg processing harvest, distributing game among hunting groups, collecting water from wells) or more contemporary to organise traffic.

Figure 2.

Meidan el Shah, Isfahan.

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Figure 3.

Plaza Luna, Teotihuacan.

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Figure 4.

St. Peter's Square, Rome.

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The observation of historic examples taken from many different regions of the world, from different cultural and social backgrounds as well as stage of economic development, shows that public space was almost everywhere categorised and used according to its main function. Each category was treated differently by design to best facilitate its main function (Bornberg, 2003). The various functions were designed and used according to the main purpose of the space. Furthermore, it seems that solely in contemporary Western town planning, such a categorisation was lost or at least not used. In contemporary European urban design, public open space is widely treated as if it was a monofunctional area with consistent demands throughout the city or town. However, the look at examples taken from other regions proposes that the concept of categorising public open space is very successful due to the long and worldwide practice – as long as we look outside European urban design traditions. These observations of the study suggest that categorising public open space is not only a concept developed and used back in the past, but should have a fundamental meaning in our towns and cities if one attempts to improve public open spaces in terms of their main function.

The objective of this paper is to empirically test the concept of categories in public open space by discussing one selected category, termed here Topos. Topos, as will be shown below, is the space that creates space-bound identity and civic pride. Throughout the broader study (Bornberg, 2003), this category turned out to be very robust, that is, its existence could be observed in almost all investigated cultures, no matter of cultural background, tradition or economic system. Therefore, it serves as a perfect example to demonstrate how categories in public open space work and which factors are relevant for its successful creation. Thus, the paper starts with an introduction of a limited set of Topos examples aiming to demonstrate a wide range of varieties of these spaces. Nevertheless, it is possible to delineate genotypic design principles underlying the space concept, which will be discussed afterwards.

Topos, the meaningful place and creator of place-bound identity, is a very special category indeed since it is the space being used for social interaction. Thus, a short overview of work from social sciences dealing with place and identity will follow. Finally, the paper ends with an outlook of how to implement the idea of Topos and how other categories could be (re-)introduced.

Identity by space design – Topos

Topos, as it is defined here, is a particular space within a city, village or compound, that can and shall create place-bound identity and a sense of belonging to. It, too, is the space that ties a group of inhabitants together. The term Topos was chosen, because it is the Greek word for 'meaningful place'.¹ Since it shall create place-bound identity, Topos is the space that stands out of all other public open areas by its splendid design, often coupled with a vastness of space and lies more or less in the centre of the town, village or compound. Furthermore, Topos is mostly designed around a particular event, rite or celebration, aiming to and demonstrating the unification of the inhabitants of a town or village.

In the following paragraphs, some Topos examples will be introduced in order to demonstrate how Topos spaces work.² Although only five Topos spaces will be discussed below, they represent a large variety of cultural and social backgrounds, economic development as well as environmental conditions. Not only cities in the European notion (Weber, 1958) were chosen, but also cities which appear differently, such as the Inca town Huanuco Pampa or the Hindu temple town Shrirangam. Finally, vernacular compounds, such as the Yanoama Indians of Venezuela or the vernacular Nias settlements of Indonesia will be discussed to highlight that Topos seems to be deeply rooted in human interaction and organisation of a community. However, Topos was not always found in its pure form. It sometimes appeared blurred and overlapped with other functions. But to highlight the spatial features more properly in a limited contribution, the here discussed Topos examples are the ones that are pure in their form and in their social meaning.

The first case is taken from Münster, Germany, a member of the former Hanseatic League. The centre of the medieval town was in first place the 'Domimmunität', the bishop's seat with the dome, his palace and related buildings. The 'Domimmunität' had its set of laws, differing from those of the 'Bürgerstadt', the settlement of the burghers, the commoners, merchants and artisan gilds (Figure 5). In late medieval times, citizens gained power over the bishop and got the right to build their own church, a town hall and their own market (Weber, 1958). By building these structures, Münster's citizens, like many others at that time, demonstrated their independence from the landlord, their power and affluence (Gruber, 1983). Münster's citizens demonstrated their civic pride by building their own Topos, today's 'Prinzipalmarkt'. This widened street is located directly outside the area of the 'Domimmunität' and symbolises Münster's inhabitants with the town hall, their church St. Lamberti and the splendid townhouses of the ruling and most important families. Although the Prinzipalmarkt is a very impressive space by design, it would hardly function as a Topos if there were not at least one celebration taking place here. Accordingly, until today many celebrations are held on Prinzipalmarkt, one of the oldest and still vital is Karneval. Karneval celebrations in the Rhein tradition date back to the times when Prinzipalmarkt was formed: the time of the independence of superior landlords. Although Karneval season starts on 11th of November, the most important days are the week before Ash Wednesday. This week starts with the ceremony of passing over the key of the town hall to the Karneval's prince (or jester prince) and his cabinet of jesters, while the Lord Major and his counsellors are banished from the town hall. For the following week, jesters rule the city and parades and street parties with people in fancy disguises dominate the streets. Highlight of the Karneval is the Rosenmontags-Umzug, a parade on Monday before Ash Wednesday. Carts with gigantic caricature figures, dancers and jesters with banners, parade through the city cheered up by the spectating crowd. Focal point of the celebration is the Prinzipalmarkt where the passing parade is received by the Karneval prince and his Cabinet of Eleven (Figure 6).

Figure 5.

Domplatz, Münster, Germany.

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Figure 6.

Prinzipalmark, Münster, Germany.

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The Karneval parade ties Münster's citizens together. Until today, many citizens are busy creating carts, banners and disguises already months before the actual parade. Being part of the parade and even more, being the elected Karneval's prince or princess is very honourable. Although Karneval is not the only event taking place on Prinzipalmarkt, it is probably the most important one. Until today, the Karneval celebrations coupled with the layout of Prinzipalmarkt, namely the enclosing buildings of the main noble families with their splendid facades, the town hall and the church St. Lamberti are creating place-bound identity and this Topos is, until today, a very effective creator of civic pride (Figure 7).

Figure 7.

Karnevalsumzug in Münster on the Prinzipalmarkt, Münster, Germany.

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Celebrations or street parades on Topos were common in many other European cities, too. Examples are the Florentine game of football, the Bridge game in Pisa or the bullfights in many Spanish cities (Cecchini, 1958). Some of these celebrations are until today important and vital festivals and have the same motivation as in the times they once were set up. All of them were and are taking place on the main square, although the narrow winding streets of many medieval towns do not suit perfectly this purpose. The next example is taken from the widely known and often discussed Piazza del Campo di Siena. Siena's most important celebration is the Palio, a horse race. The dense urban fabric, the rickety town generally and finally the limited space on the Piazza del Campo are not the perfect place for a horserace. However, until today the Palio is a very vital celebration. Great is the honour of the winning team and therefore the Contradas with the colourful flagpole- and standard bearers, musicians, jockeys and horses are chosen with great care and already several weeks before the actual race all Sienesans are busy with the preparation. As in the previous example, the emergence of the Palio dates back to medieval times and a closer look at this time, its role for the society and the city reveals why this event had to take place on a comparatively small plaza in the city centre, the Piazza del Campo.

In the 13th century, Siena was a flourishing and wealthy city and became a regional power. Large parts of the Tuscany were subjected and in 1260 even Florence was under the dominion of Siena, however, just for a very limited period of time because in the 14th century Siena's importance and power faded. For the few decades of its heydays, Sienese inhabitants wanted to demonstrate importance, power and civic pride. After unifying Siena with three adjacent smaller towns, a new city plaza was needed that could represent the newly formed city and create civic pride (Waley, 1991) (Figure 8). To symbolise inhabitants of all former parts equally, the piazza had to lie on former greenland. The new piazza was also seen to be the counterpart of the existing and widely known Piazza del Duomo, which was naturally associated with the bishop and his power. The piazza was designed in the form of a semi-circle. On the blunt and lowest end of it, the Palazzo Publico, the town hall and its magnificent clock tower, the Torre del Magnia, were built, both being the biggest and tallest on the piazza to express the democratic approach of the young city. All other sides were edged by the private palazzi of the nine noble ruling families and only a few narrow paths lead to the piazza, which sometimes appear just as small gaps between the buildings (Coubier, 1985). Ground floors are on street level and nowadays host outdoor cafes and restaurants. The centre of the Piazza is a free open space with only the Fonte Gaia, a fountain perched on it. Pollards divide an outer circular road from the inner heart of the piazza.

Figure 8.

Piazza del Campo, Siena.

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The Piazza del Campo is actually not an example of a place which has been built solely for its beauty and which is used for everyday life or even more, it is actually far from being a role model for a highly used plaza: the piazza is sloping down more than 5%, which is, for example, in German building regulations nearly the maximum descend for ramps and definitely not comfortable for standing on the Piazza or sitting in one of the outdoor areas of the cafes and restaurants. However, considering the main event, the Palio, the design and layout becomes quite meaningful: the limited space and landscape conditions, the will to build a new space lying close to the centre of the newly unified city and the need to stage the Palio, the Piazza del Campo can be said to be a master piece of space design and worth to be looked at. The pollards divide the inner area where spectators could watch the Palio and an outer ring path for the racing horses. The colourful Contradas of the families enter the piazza and then the horses race around the Piazza del Campo, cheered up by the masses that swamp into the inner space to watch the winning team (Cecchini, 1958). In front of the Palazzo Publico, a temporary stand for the winning ceremony is attached, and big is the fame of the winning family. It is obviously important that the Palio is not held somewhere in the city, but in the very centre, even when the space provided is relatively small and sloping down. In conclusion, we can speculate that the combination of a festival combined with a layout of the main square or area can symbolise and represent a society in a very sustainable way such that until today the Palio is a vital ceremony that unifies Sienese inhabitants and creates civic pride.

So far, the discussed examples were taken from central European towns with both, a space design as well as a celebration dating back to the Middle Ages. To demonstrate that Topos is not solely a phenomenon emerging in Medieval Europe and being in use more or less accidentally, celebrated by people who are longing for glorious pastiche times, the next examples will be taken from other parts of the world with differing social, cultural, economical and environmental backgrounds.

First, the Topos of a Hindu temple town in Tamil Nadu, South India will be discussed: Shrirangam (Figure 9). Like most traditional Hindu cities as well as villages, Shrirangam was designed in accordance to religious beliefs that, too, shaped the town and set up rules for the layout of them. Central element of a town had to be a shrine with a holy enclosure. In very old days, villages were set up around a tree, marking the axis around which people imagined that Universe and its Celestial realms rotate and its branches marking the many worlds. To contrive cosmic harmony in all worlds, it was necessary to circumvent the tree (Bharne, 2004), which made it the most important element in the village or town. In later times, the tree was symbolised by a larger complex, namely a holy enclosure and a shrine, the umbilicus, the axis of universe connecting all worlds.

Figure 9.

Axonometric view of Shrirangam, Tamil Nadu, India.

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The second town planning principle was based on the belief that paths, defined in holy Mandalas, are important since they are symbols of cosmic order. Humans are considered to once have lost cosmic order and harmony, but by following certain trails, their inner harmony can be restored. Such ritual paths are very popular and ubiquitous on the Indian sub-continent and used for performing a wide range of religious acts. Sure enough, Mandalas also played an important role for town planning. Paths along and through cities were embedded in the layout of cities and towns. Consequently, the ideal city is set up in a square form in analogy to Mandalas that are rectangular as well. The corners or main axis of the city should mark cardinal points of the Celestial realm or refer to the direction of the sunrise of important days such as the day of the consecration of the city (Bier, 1990).

Being a Hindu temple town, Shrirangam was designed according to above-described town planning principles. Shrirangams temple once ranked with the most important Vishnu sanctuaries on the Indian sub-continent. Most of it was built between 13th and 17th centuries (Gunju, 1991). In analogy to a huge Mandala, the town itself has a square shape, enclosed by city walls. Shrirangam's residential areas are set up in several concentric rings, each enclosed by a wall. The holy temple district comprising the shrine, the 'hall of thousand columns', a temple lake and the shrine of Vishnu's companion mark the centre of Shrirangam (Gunju, 1991), coupled with the Ratha Mandapa, the hall of the temple cart as well as residents of the monks. The temple district is separated from the city by walls and connected only by four gates. The area outside of this enclosure is reserved for the quarters of the citizens. According to clans or castes, each family has its consecrated spot in one of the quarters: the more prominent castes in the inner ring, the lower casts in more distances. A wall from the adjacent areas separates each sector; only gates in all four sides of the walls connect the several parts. Paths lead from gate to gate and connect the city in cruciform. These roads connect the outside of the city with the various sectors of the castes, ending at the temple enclosure. Besides, paths run parallel to the city walls to enter individual house plots, but also to host the processions that move along all ring roads as well as the central roads in a predetermined way (Bier, 1990).

Shrirangam's holy temple district can be seen as Topos. As in the previous examples, the morphological structure alone would not be sufficient to transport civic pride; therefore, it is again combined with a major event, the temple festivals and the related processions. In this case, Topos is formed according to religious beliefs, which are different from the European examples discussed above. In the latter, Topos is defined by traditions and religion. However, the pictographic scheme of the Mandala underlying the town layout, the processions that are held on this Mandala in city shape, as well as the central shrine that symbolises the axis of universe, is a perfect method to deepen a sense of belonging to, to keep order in a society, and to strengthen civic pride.

The case of Topos in Shrirangam highlights that Topos must not be a solely democratic approach. As in Shrirangam, it can, too, be used to establish a certain social system, where all members of a community play a particular role to which they are bound. Particularly in systems, where not all benefit of the social model, Topos places are heavily used to establish and legitimise the superior regime, which is more effectively demonstrated in the next example, taken from Tahuantinsuyu, or the 'land of the four quarters', as the Inca called their empire.

Although widely known as the Inca Empire, it is important to note that the term Inca only refers to the small ruling class that formed the biggest empire ever south of the equator, but its real name was Tahuantinsuyu, the land of the four quarters. Cuzco was seen to be the umbilicus of universe and was the capital of Tahuantinsuyu comprising some 80 political provinces with nearly an uncountable number of small ethic groups with cultural, linguistic and even more importantly, environmental differences. Integrating these hostile groups into one empire was only possible by a sophisticated system of control and one significant part played their system of spatial order. Control over the provinces was strengthened by a vast all-weather highway system of up to 40 000 km (Moseley, 2001) and the formation of administrative towns along these highways. However, Tahuantinsuyu would most probably not have arisen around 1000 AD if there had not been a long period of drought and accordingly Inca nobles had not set up a very efficient system of warehouses and a distribution system in times of dearth. To assure people that the state could manage disaster, rows of warehouses, the qollqa, were placed on lofty hillsides such that they could be seen anytime from far and wide.

The here discussed example of Topos is taken from one of the Inca administrative centres, Huanuco Pampa. Since it is one of the best preserved administrative centres, it reveals lots of Inca town planning principles and the concept of spatial order and control. The city has no town walls, fortress-like buildings or any other sort of military structures, and it can be assumed that control of the empire was not based on military domination, but on a bureaucratic apparatus (Gasparini and Margolies, 1980) (Figure 10). Most impressive is the vast open plaza in the city centre, measuring 540 370 m. Such a plaza would be enormous anywhere, but compared to the outlines of the city it must have been impressive by its dimensions and was surely linked to the town planning principles of the Incas. Centrepiece of the plaza is the usnu, a cubical structure that was used as a throne and altar. Standing on a platform, the usnu towers 4 m up and hosts some stone seats that most probably were used as a throne for the Inca or his representative when they were in town. The 50 30 m dais could be entered by a monumental stairway providing access to the upper level of it. From notes of the Conquistatores, we have an idea, how the usnu once was used. An informant of Inigo Ortiz de Zuniga described it as follows: 'Tucuyrico had authority over all caciques. He gathered all the caciques and principal men of that land and many other Indians in the plaza and in the presence of all told them that they might see how that justice was done' (Gasparini and Margolies, 1980, p. 269). Therefore, it can be assumed that the usnu was used for ceremonies, prayers, parades, as well as execute justice. From the throne as well as from every point in the plaza, the qollqa stores – in the case of Huanuco Pampa 497 (Moseley, 2001) – were well viewable underpinning the claim to power of the Inca.

Figure 10.

Huanuco Pampa, Chile. The big plaza in the centre focuses on the stone platform, the usnu.

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Although not much is known about the celebrations and rites taking place in the central plaza of Huanuco Pampa, by just looking at the carefully chosen layout of the square in the very centre of the town, its vast dimensions, the massive usnu in its centre, as well as the visual contact to the qollqa and finally the Inca highway cutting the plaza diagonally, it can be assumed that rites, prayers, immolations and execute justice have been very spectacular and impressive. It must have been so impressive that the Inca only dealt with a comparably small military apparatus that was mostly stationed in far away Cuzco and still controlling such a big empire with so many different ethnic groups. This case reveals that Topos is not only a phenomenon of democracy but was often used in oppressive systems, too. However, in the case of Huanuco Pampa, we only have a vague notion of the effectiveness of Topos and much could be speculation. The next discussed case shows a similar attitude of Topos, but is less speculative since it is taken from a society that still adheres to old traditions.

Nias is a small island off the western coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. For a better understanding of this distinct culture, it is important to note that Nias Island was created by innumerable earthquakes and finally arose from under the water. Since then, earthquakes are frequent, indicated already by the many different names Nias had in its long history: Hulo Solaya-laya, the dancing island or Hulo ze'e, the island of the weeping people or Uli Danö Hae, the island being a cradle constantly rocked. The last destructive earthquake occurred on 28 March 2005 with 8.7 RS when thousands left the islands in fear that the whole island would sink below sea level (Dawson and Gillow, 1994). To understand this distinct culture, it is important to note that people lived in fear and shock by its natural environment, but also by the many tropical diseases. Besides, the custom of headhunting added to the uncertainty of every day life in traditional Nias (Hämmerle, 2007). Although nowadays people in Nias live isolated and encapsulated, in previous times they were famous for their trading ability with other islands and even mainland Asia. The most important export product were captured people sold as slaves overseas. This tactic was particularly profitable for chiefs and upper ruling class people who in the turn showed off their wealth in the villages (Figures 11 and 12). A rigorous hierarchy, which divided people in three casts and an oppressive system of the ruling class, shaped the spatial layout of the villages.

Figure 11.

Nias, Indonesia. Scheme of an ideal village.

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Figure 12.

Nias, Indonesia. The megaliths and other ritual artefacts displayed in front of the chief's hut.

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The traditional villages are laid out either in a long and wide path or in a cruciform. The chief's house has a special spot in the centre of the village from where the whole village can be overlooked. Although head hunting and intertribal warfare no longer exist, villages still have a defensive character. They are built on high areas and are only reachable by steep stairways guarded by a sentry. Besides, stonewalls surround the villages to avoid enemies entering the village unseen. Particularly in the South, houses are built in long terraces along the road. Massive ironwood piles rest on stone slabs to enhance the house on top for the frequent earthquakes. This zone is only used for storage and only a narrow wooden stairway leads to the interior of the house. Interconnecting doors link the houses and provide an upper floor path in full length of the terraces, which was used in times of attack. The street, 'ewali', in front of the houses is divided into a central paved area, or 'iri newali', being the public realm, followed by a semi-private zone which is used for drying corps or washing and other duties that are done outside the house. A wall of megaliths screens off the private path under the lattice windows, and a stairway leads to the trapped entrance of the houses (Viaro, 2007). These megaliths are on the one hand ritual stones and statues symbolising ancestors and on the other hand show off the wealth of the family living in the house behind (Lehner, 2007).

In front of the chief's hut, which is both, a temple of ancestors and meeting house as well as the private home of the chief, lies a central plaza or widened street which is the ceremonial ground and the space where ancestors sit on the megaliths and stones to watch the remarkably large variety of celebrations, dances and other festivals (Viaro, 2007), such as war dances, or stone jumping, a manhood ritual where young men jump over the ritual often 2-m-high megaliths to the music played by the women. Megaliths are an integral part of social memory. Each stone is related to his founder, such as important persons or feast holders, and helps establishing personal as well as collective memory. Particularly, the megaliths in front of the chief's house are proving his social status and his claim to rule the village since the stone of the village founder stands here connecting the common ceremonial ground and the chief's house as his private retreat. The megaliths statue together with the other displayed stones is a social marker of the high status of the chief as well as the focus of the identity of the villagers as such (Bonatz, 2007).

The central ceremonial place is a distinct symbol of Nias society. However, the megaliths alone seem not to be sufficient in the process of place-bound identity for the inhabitants and therefore many feasts and dances are performed as well as social integration ceremonies in the presence of the megaliths that symbolise important ancestors. This Topos layout is important to keep the social system of three casts alive to show each family its spot in this system and finally to underpin the chief's claim to rule the village. Maybe not as oppressive as in the previous example, Topos is used to support the hierarchy in Nias society.

Similar to the previous examples of Shrirangam and Huanuco Pampa, Topos in Nias was used to particularly underpin the claim to rule of minority of clans. Topos represents their power and nobility. Topos is a very successful feature for this demand. Chiefs and nobles do very well understand how the interplay of spatial layout combined with rites helps to strengthen collective memory and shows each member its assigned spot in the society as a whole. However, it seems that ruling clans just used a very fundamental spatial pattern that was used already for a long time, before chiefdom and ruling clans did emerge: it is often argued that human tribes in first place were equal members and chiefdom as such did appear much later (Service, 1971). Therefore, it is helpful to close the deliberations about Topos with an example of a semi-nomadic culture, namely the Yanoama.

The Yanoama lived traditionally in Amazonia/Venezuela on the upper course of the Orinoco. In the last century, their territories began to shrink and today solely lie in the jungle and along the sidearms of the Orinoco. Besides, recently upcoming tourism weakens their traditions and today it is not quite clear how many groups still live their traditional way of life (Guidoni, 1975). However, the few remaining groups still live in largely unchanged traditions dating back at least to the 18th century, as was evidenced by notes from missionaries (Smole, 1976). Therefore, it can be observed how Topos is created in a primitive, that is, primary living society, since our complex social and spatial behaviour descends from such a way of life.

Yanoama are foraging horticultural tribes. For 5–10 years, the various groups live in permanent settlements, the shabonos scattered in the region. A shabono will be normally built in the territory of a kinship, who are in the turn the settlers and owners of such a compound. The search for the right place is vital for the community since drinking water must be easily accessible throughout the year, appropriate land for garden plots must ideally lie adjacent to the compound as well as sufficient natural resources such as game, wild plants and others to ensure the surviving of the community (Smole, 1976).

Once a new spot is found, a large space will be cleared from all plants to erect the new shabono. This shabono has a vast inner open space enclosed by roofs, rising to heights of 7–8 m. These weather sheds sometimes appear as single huts, in other regions as large lean-tos, or appear as ridged roofs, particularly in lower regions. These sometimes enormous constructions are the private retreats and each nuclear family has an assigned spot under these roofs. Especially in the lower regions, members of a shabono lack privacy since no walls, screens or other sort of dividers are found. Focus of each household is an open fireplace which is required for cooking but also protects from beasts or insects and, in the belief of the Yanoama, even from spirit beings especially at night time (Zerries and Schuster, 1974). The few personal possessions are stored either hanging from the thatch or they are stuck into it. Hammocks for sleeping are hanging from the thatch as well and if a household has more than three members they are hanging in tiers. Firewood is stored under the eaves of the ridged roofs, piled in a way that it almost appears as a wall to screen off the outside world. Each shabono is surrounded by log palisades, which are sometimes fallen into disrepair when no attacks are feared, but quickly repaired in times of aggressions. A cleared belt runs outside the palisade, another defensive element, since enemies cannot penetrate the strip silently and unseen. Beyond this strip, some narrow paths lead to the garden plots of the villagers (Smole, 1976) (Figure 13).

Figure 13.

Yanoama, Venezuela. Scheme of an ideal village.

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For this contribution, the central place of the shabono is of importance: it is a vast open ground sloping down on the sides to allow waters to drain off quickly after the heavy rain falls which are quite common in this region. The area in the centre is significantly large and provides some 33 m² for each member, compared to just 16 m² of individual space in his or her private homes.

The space appears to be quite impressive just by its enormous dimensions. Although no artefacts or any other ceremonial structures are put up here,³ the Yanoama refer to this central inner clearing as their sacred temple and ceremonial ground. It is the place for mortaring, general prayers, hunting ceremonies, rites to tie the group together and other celebrations (Zerries and Schuster, 1974). The vast open plaza is seen as a sacred temple of ancestors and the group itself, which indicates that for the Yanoama this clearing is more than just a big, open space; it is Topos, the meaningful place creating place-bound identity and a sense of belonging together.

Genotypic patterns

Place identity seems to be a very fundamental property of human settlements and, therefore, is a generic relationship between socio-cultural demands and design in the planning of settlements.

While solutions in details vary, the principal relationships appear to be ubiquitous. The link between the central structure, termed Topos, and the ceremonies will be highlighted in the following.

Münster and Siena were chosen as the more familiar examples from the set of traditional European towns. From investigating history and design of the Topoi, the Prinzipalmarkt and the Piazza del Campo, the social structure of the inhabitants in medieval times can be clearly and unambiguously understood. Both Topoi show similar patterns, namely the palazzi or town houses of the ruling families surrounding the central square. Together with the town hall, they are built in as if there was a 'round table' built in stone. The outlook of the whole area is splendid in design and highlights the importance of the space. Besides, the major events or celebrations happen on this very place and are deemed to deepen civic pride. Plaza and ceremony are deeply engrailed in everyone's mind and strengthen the ties between the citizens. This interplay has been so effective that even today, some 800 years later, Münster's inhabitants are still very active in organising, preparing and celebrating the Karneval, and Sienese people gather to discuss the choice of the right jockeys and horses and maintain the banners, or Contradas, before the Palio begins (Ceccini, 1958). Particularly, the Piazza del Campo is nowadays taken over by tourists and it is sometimes stated that the Campo is a monument of public open space where tourists believe that democratic practice is taking place (Herczog and Hubeli, 1995, p. 21), at times of the Palio Sienese people regain their Campo and use it as they ever did since it once was inaugurated (Crowhurst-Lennard and Lennard, 1995).

Although built as a permanent city, Shrirangam, too, has a place, which can be clearly defined as Topos, the city centre's temple district. A wall with doorways, which connect the temple with the adjacent city, surrounds the sacred place. In analogy to the previously mentioned examples, the city layout – its streets, doorways and walls – is built to serve the major celebrations and processions. These processions and celebrations deepen civic pride, the belief of the Hindu society. Topos is built to support the people's rituals and in turn reminds them of their meaning, even in the absence of ceremonies.

In the ancient city of Huanuco Pampa, it is very well demonstrated that a space combined with ceremonies can represent and symbolise a society. Being a planned city, it reveals how Inca emperors aimed to structure inferiors and claim power by implementing a spatial system and layout for towns. Central and focal point is the vast rectangular plaza in the centre of the town with the usnu, the throne, in the focus. The usnu not only is meant to symbolise the society itself, but also demonstrates the claim to power of the Inca. The Inca emperor himself is therefore the symbol of Huanuco Pampa's inhabitants. In the case of Nias villages, a similar phenomenon can be observed, however, in the latter not a living person is symbolising and representing a society but ancient founders of the village. Nevertheless, the chief demonstrates his affiliation to ancestors by displaying megaliths representing ancestors outside his house on the central ceremonial ground. Thus, not only Topos, but also the whole village is the perfect projection of the social structure, culture and religious beliefs.

The final case study of the Yanoama shabono arguably shows the most basic structure of Topos in its essence. Yanoama are semi-nomads, foraging in relatively small groups of only up to 100–200 individuals. Both their flexibility (villages are updated frequently and can pay respect to changes in group members) and the relative small number of individuals allow creating villages of low complexity. The private homes of the nuclear families surrounded the inner clearing. From the private homes, where most of the time is spent when being in the shabono a perfect overview of the central clearing is provided for all members (Zerries and Schuster, 1974). As was discussed above, this space is Topos, which is expressed by its vastness, since this is the only medium to express the importance of a location in a society where everything – from personal belongings to materials for houses as well as other structures – must be easily transported to not render them inflexible. Furthermore, this place also marks the very centre of the compound and can be overlooked by all members at all times. To tie the community together, certain rites and ceremonies take place at regular intervals. They underpin the importance of the temple-like clearing which, during the year, will itself be a reminder for culture, beliefs and the way of life of the Yanoama. Or, using Smole's definition: 'The shabono provides for their social organisation, demonstrates their technology, and reflects their ecological stability' (Smole, 1976, p. 61).

The examples were taken from various places, various cultures and epochs. They represent just a few places that have been studied in a broader research (Bornberg, 2003). Interestingly, similarities could be observed among all examples and – more importantly – some elements could be delineated. These elements have to be understood as generic patterns rather than morphological structures. The Topos in each settlement, village or city has its unique outlook, which is important to create place identity. Nevertheless, for urban designers it is important to understand the generic elements that underlie these spaces to create Topos in the context of contemporary cities and towns as follows:

• The ceremonial area is normally sized to allow all inhabitants to join the major celebrations. Besides, it is often much bigger than that. Especially in nomadic and semi-nomadic cultures, size of the space is vast because of the lack of other artefacts or buildings that can be permanently exhibited throughout the year. The vastness of the central clearing is referring to the importance of the space. In permanent settlements, the plaza is large enough to allow ideally all inhabitants to participate the celebrations and to allow the major symbols enough space to be widely seen.
• Topos should be located in the centre of the settlement. This is clearly to be seen in nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes, simply because they can update their camp according to size and needs of inhabitants. In permanent settlements, updates cannot be done so easily. Firstly, population may change, and new dwellings are built only in one area, but also geographic concerns may force people to create the main plaza elsewhere. Therefore, the central plaza may lie not exactly in the very centre of the city. Nevertheless, most of the observed historic places showed that firstly people did try locate the main plaza in the centre, at least as much as landscape and other factors made this possible.
• Topos is designed to create civic pride and place identity. Therefore, a symbol of the society is placed here. This symbol can be a town hall, a temple and a ceremonial structure or seen in nomadic cultures the space itself. The symbol must be an artefact that represents all members of a settlement, village or town. It must be something that all inhabitants associate with their particular way of life, their social relations, and their culture and beliefs.
• Equally important as the plaza itself, including all its elements, is the ceremony that takes place on the square. This ceremony ties groups together and creates civic pride. The rites and celebrations underpin the importance of Topos. In many cases, Topos is formed and designed according to the major events. Without knowing the major celebrations, it is impossible to design Topos that can create place identity.

Concluding, Topos deals with a very fundamental human behavioural concept. As argued above, Topos cannot be fully understood if not relating it to a particular action plus a special design of space. Although widely accepted and discussed in social sciences, this correspondence is hardly recognised in urban design and town planning. Therefore, a short overview of the related debate follows next.

Human relationships and space

Human beings can be characterised as intentionally acting individuals who have the ability to organise both, their own lives as well as the way of living together in a group. Of particular interest here is the fact that each society will define a set of rules in order to organise them, containing the dos and don'ts. The built environment of a settlement, town or village is the three-dimensional image and manifestation of this cultural programme (Weiske, 2008). The structure of the built environment determines the places where certain activities take place, which areas are to be used by whom and what for; it determines movement patterns, patterns of social interaction and human behaviour in general. Human societies exist in and through communication, and the built environment is part of the communication system. A market place, a school or a hospital can be seen as settings within which users can and will act, since the structures contain information for the way of using them (Park, 1952). These structures contain information that mediates between user and planner. As a simple example, consider how a door or a chair transport, by design, the information how to use it (Ertekin, 1981). The urban fabric conveys a more complex message than single objects, but it is important to note that the urban environment with all its various elements is part of communication system of human beings (Weiske, 2008). Robert Park describes the local community as the author of its city town or village (Park, 1952). In this respect, it is important to understand that the layout and design of public open spaces acts as a medium for various messages. Each setting within the public realm will communicate its own and main message.

Topos, the here discussed category deals with the identity of a group in order to tie them together. As seen in the examples from around the world, it seems that the combination of space and celebration is very sufficient in creating collective memory. If there is a setting with an undifferentiated space, a community will incorporate it according to its social system. The various layers of space will be filled with sympathetic values (Durkheim, 1965). 'Mémoire collective' (Halbwachs, 1980) is embedded in space and thus has social meaning. In memory, space is the longer-lasting association than an event, since space prevails. Particularly where intense inter-relations between social actions like celebrations or rites take place on a certain space, rites will become inseparably linked with it and add to the collective memory. A social situation such as a representation of a community will be symbolised, if this situation is constantly linked with a certain space. However, this interplay does not apply to any space, since the chosen space must have qualities to represent the particular social situation (Simmel, 1970, 1992). Stability and permanence of space as well as its uniqueness is important since each community intends to certify its own status and identity (Halbwachs, 1980). By using space as one part of communication, individuals experience their space and collective social behaviour will be established (Park, 1952).

This short elaboration of space combined with a social act reveals that space will be memorised particularly when combined with a certain celebration, feast or rite. However, this only works if on the one hand the chosen space has certain qualities that support the main ceremony. On the other hand, the rite, celebration or social act must be repeated frequently such that individuals will include it to their collective memory. From this point of view, it is clear why Topos spaces have outstanding beauty, splendid features, but also host regular celebrations or rites that all deal with place-bound identity and civic collective pride.

Conclusions

I propose that Topos, the 'meaningful place' with the ability to create place-bound identity and collective memory, should still be an important element in contemporary urban design. Throughout the broader research (Bornberg, 2003), it was clearly to be found in all observed cultures, no matter of economic development, cultural background or environmental circumstances. This means that the concept of Topos is so successful that it was used and developed over a significant period of human social development simultaneously in different cultures and different regions around the world. As shown above, Topos creates civic pride and a sense of belonging to as well as group identity. Topos represents the community and is the ever-remaining symbol of it. Looking at the historic development of European towns, this factor seems to be more important than maybe elsewhere. In many other regions around the world, communities identify themselves by ancestors and clan members. This is different in Europe since, in European towns, it was mainly individuals that moved to a city (Weber, 1958; Hauptmeyer, 1981, 1994, 1996). They came here because of an affiliation to an artisan guild or were merchants settling down, but never came in whole clans or families. The European town is more than elsewhere a system of individuals that have little in common, but share the same interests, the same way of life and live in the same city (Weber, 1958). In the absence of any other unifying feature, one can speculate that Topos is of particular importance here in order to tie residence together and to strengthen a sense of belonging to and to create collective memory. Therefore, the space itself clearly should be integrated in newer towns and cities combined with ceremonies or rites that conversely shape the space. If space design and ceremony are successful they will contribute to the collective memory of its users.

It was the aim of this contribution to highlight that the features of Topos can clearly not apply to any space within a city or town. Topos must be a unique and highly memorable space, outstanding in its design and worth being a symbol. It clearly must stand out of other spaces, such as transport plazas, spaces for mourning, spaces for leisure, shopping or spending spare time in a park, or as Kate Fox (2004) terms it, social grooming talk, and so on.

The here discussed Topos is just one example of categories of public open space within a settlement. Other space categories should, too, be designed according to their main function and should as well be outstanding from any other space within a settlement. Some other categories have been delineated already elsewhere (Gehl and Gemzoe, 2001; Bornberg, 2007), although by no means complete. This contribution aimed to highlight the importance of categories in public open space and not to discuss it only in terms of the grade of publicity gradually sloping down to privacy. Very much like in architecture, where it would be insufficient to just talk about buildings and not about categories in terms of their main function, such as schools, private homes, office buildings or railway stations, it is imperative to consider the design of public open space in terms of social use. This paper showed how to use and integrate just one of these categories, Topos. However, town planners, architects and urban designers should integrate such well-defined categories in the process of building well-accepted and well-used public open spaces.

Notes

¹ This term has been agreed upon with a native Greek-speaking linguist and a native Greek town planner and urban designer.

² The examples were chosen from a larger set that were observed and analysed in a broader study (Bornberg, 2003).

³ Artefacts, ritual stones or other ceremonial structures are not common in nomadic cultures, since this would be extra burden and would make them inflexible when moving on.

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