Extended Thresholds I: Nomadism, Settlements and the Defiance of Figure-Ground

Abstract

Since the onset of cartography in the 18th century, the fixed datum line and the figure-ground have become the predominant means of measuring and planning the built environment. In the first of three articles on the subject of extended thresholds, Michael Hensel and Defne Sunguroğlu Hensel challenge this reductionist convention. By taking Deleuze and his reading of nomadic ‘smooth’ space as a starting point, they look at alternative models provided by historic settlements in Turkey. These include: the neolithic settlement at Çatalhöyük in southern Anatolia; the medieval hillside town of Mardin in southern Turkey on the Syrian border; the carved spaces and cities of Cappadocia, such as Göreme; and underground cities such as Derinkuyu, also in central Turkey. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.