Analytical space theories and Gyula Hajnóczi's spatiology

Abstract

Gyula Hajnóczi's scientific career is characterized by the intertwined cultivation of ancient architectural history of the Antiquity, architectural theory, and the preservation of monuments of the Antique world. From the late 1960s onwards, the need to develop a new theory of architecture became more and more pronounced in his researches, which was completed in the 1980s with the creation of the analytical space theory called Spatiology. This paper aims to analyse his complex analytical research methodology in the international research context. Hajnóczi's research method of analysing the architectural space includes also the socially and psychologically determined factors of spatial perception. According to his analytical theory, the constructive-initiative medium can initiate spatial relations called vallum and intervallum, and by referring their quantitative survey, the definition of spatial qualities can be interpreted in relation to building, man and space in a wholistic approach. Architectural creation is theoretically approached in this duality, from the point of view of quantitative and qualitative characteristics. Hajnóczi's work is little known internationally, however, by comparing and analysing it with the researches of his contemporaries, it can play an important role in the international research context. It is considered as one of the relevant theoretical architectural achievements in Hungary in the second half of the 20th century.