Stortorget | Stockholm (Sweden)
“Generally speaking, the more open the corners of the square, the less the sense of enclosure, the more build up or complete they are, the greater the feeling of being enclosed”.
Cliff Moughtin (1992)
Earlier we discussed the need of enclosure. I posed that every pleasant square has a high degree of enclosure.
Consider contemporary squares where roads often intersect at corners, diluting the enclosure effect. However, when the roads enter the square slightly off the corners and when these corners are prominently defined by robust buildings, the feeling of enclosure intensifies.
Take, for instance, Stockholm’s Stortorget (‘Main Square’). Here, the clear definition of corners by substantial structures significantly enhances the square’s sense of enclosure.
Do you have any favorite examples of squares that effectively use this concept of enclosure by shaping their corner spaces?