Vital importance of the “right” sequence

In architecture, as in other things, the importance of sequence is both simple, and potentially shocking. Even when there are only two steps to be taken, the order in which they are done may be all-important. And it may be highly surprising.

If you place the house first, you are stuck with the leftovers as places for the garden. In all likelihood the garden will not become a pleasant place. Positive space will almost certainly be violated. So will view, smell, noise. But if you locate the garden first and then place the house volume in a way which supports the wholeness of the garden, the garden will come out better and so will the house.

If the sequence — the order of steps — is significant when dealing with only two operations, how much more significant it will be when dealing with ten, or twenty, or fifty steps. There the chance of getting the sequence right by accident, is extremely small.

#book/The Nature of Order/2 The process of creating life/11 The sequence of unfolding#