From Hall to Mudroom: A Brief Chronology of the English Terminology for the Indoor and Outdoor Space (De)Limitations
From Hall to Mudroom: A Brief Chronology of the English Terminology for the Indoor and Outdoor Space (De)Limitations

Summary/Abstract: As defined by van Gennep in his analysis of the cultural rites of passage (and refined by Victor Turner in his subsequent works), the concept of limen refers to a transitional threshold between two states of development; in the field of architecture, the equivalent of this threshold is a specially designated area placed between two spaces that are completely different, usually one belonging to the outside and the other to the inside. Liminality refers to more than just the distinctive line that separates the two stages or spaces; it defines a vague, uncertain stage (or space) which belongs to neither of the stages for which it acts as a buffer. It is a period of transformation during which characteristics of the previous stage are lost and gradually replaced by new ones, corresponding to a future role.This paper aims to investigate the English terminology that refers to this buffer spaces between the outside and the inside of human dwellings. We try to show that in architecture the concept of liminality acquires a larger meaning, by referring to a progressive, layered transition from the outside space to the inside. Over the centuries, these stages of transition labeled by the various terms seem to be eliminated, according to the utility and trends of the time. Moreover, in other domains, some of the terms analysed acquire new, more encompassing usages ranging from the literal meaning to a metonymic interpretation.

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