Spatial Narration

Since the 1960 s,the study of "spatial narration" has become one of the main focuses of architects and architectural theorists.Its core concern is the meaning of space to people,including how the meaning is constructed in space and how it is conveyed to users.The study of "spatial narration" can help architects understand the mechanism through which space generates meaning for people,and summarize the design strategies help create spatial meanings from the perspective of "spatial narration".In recent decades,the neglect of regional cultural information in the rapid development of Chinese cities has led to the gap within urban context,the separation of urban physical space and cultural significance.Regarding these phenomena,this paper aims to combine the existing theories of "spatial narrative" and the research results of urban design theory to explore how the intangible factors of a city can convey spatial meaning and construct urban image to people through the physical translation of the built environment within the scope of urban public space.This article,highlighting the important role played by intangible elements in the process of meaning construction,from the perspective of urban space users,proposes the theoretical framework of spatial narrative mechanism,including the physical setting of spatial narration,the sense making through participating in urban activities,also city image construction and dissemination.This paper,based on the theoretical framework of spatial narrative mechanism,selects representative cases in three cities to analyze,and summarizes a series of design strategies translating intangible factors based on the cases,as well as strategies of city branding.The main contributions of this paper include the following three points:1)It attempts to study the formation,structure and significance of urban space from the perspective of intangible factors,expanding the research horizon of the connection between the meaning and urban context,expounding the significance of intangible factors in the spatial narration.2)Spatial narration is a process,during which people are involved in a series of events in the built environment,experiencing and perceiving the emotions associated with the built environment,establishing the cognition of the spatial significance and establishing the uniqueness of the place in their minds.From people's perspective,this paper proposes the theoretical framework of spatial narration,revealing the important roles played by the quality of urban public space,events,behaviors,and mass media in the perception of urban culture.3)It summarizes the design strategies translating intangible elements to create spatial meanings from the perspective of "spatial narration",by extending the notion of "collage","representation","icon","metaphor" and other classical narrative structures and methods in the fields of literature and art into the field of architecture.Also,based on the characteristics of today's digital technology and information dissemination,it puts forward a series of strategies for city branding.