Patterns & Metaphors
Symbols of integration
Template:
Symbols of integration may be used to emphasize the boundaries of a space. At significant transitions between parts of the space, when the connectivity between patterns is weak, they are a means of binding them together to emphasize the larger whole. They function mainly by creating surfaces in which each part is simultaneously figure and boundary and in which the design acts a boundary and figure at several different levels simultaneously.
Physical:
Use of ornamental designs as decoration on buildings where materials meet as a means of providing a seam to knit together such edges to emphasize the space as a whole rather than its constituent parts. Ornamentation is frivolous when there is in fact no lack of connectivity.
Social:
Use of logos, banners, totems, rituals, mottoes, or other devices to reinforce recognition of the group as a whole, particularly in contexts in which it is liable to split into factions.
Conceptual:
Use of symbols whose structure or profound significance is congruent with the organization of the conceptual space and therefore serves to bind together the different aspects or dimensions of it.
Psychic:
Reflection on symbols which are felt to be keys to the integration of the psyche and the sense of identity. These may emerge from the unconscious in the form of dreams or in certain forms of artistic creation (e.g. sand printing).
