At a time when we have forgotten our primordial connection to our ecosystem, the planet and therefore with the very basis of our experience. It seems to me essential to bring back to this second group of posts the question of the origins of territorial morphogenesis.
Reading space is a primordial activity. The first men observed the signs of the surrounding environment so he could feed himself, independently if it was for tracking animals to hunt, spotting places to fish, or to find berries and other fruits.
Restoring meaning to the place is also an essential activity. At the bottom of the cave, we’ve drawn scenes of hunting, fishing or daily activities. At the entrance of the cave, we would sleep in front of a fire to protect us from predators. It was the imperative search for better living conditions that increased our chances for survival.
Thus, the act of giving back meaning to places is one that responds to a primordial need of protecting oneself from external dangers, but also of bringing together the conditions allowing to organize life, prepare for hunting, protect the children and the elder as more vulnerable members of the community.
The archetype of architecture, "the cave", arises from our primary connection to the environment, for a life less dependent on the unpredictability of the elements and of the attack of predators.
The observation of its environment enabled the first men to invest differently and to create the conditions for the first sedentary settlements. The fishing grounds, the places where you can collect fruit (in the immediate surroundings of the protective cave), the hunting routes, the routes to the sacred places erected at a certain distance from the place of residence, gradually built the ecosystem of life of the first men, the ground of their experience on earth.
Thus, the act of building, of investing in one's environment, is inextricably linked to its ecosystem and to the attribution of meanings to the various places of this living environment.