Grid as Memory in City and Architecture

The architects had been attracted by grid systems and applied grids into realized architectures. We published Grid on Architecture in 2018 and discussed the relationship between the geometry of the grid and architectural works. In this study, we reckon the meaning of the grid in city and architecture by comparing game and toys with the grid. First, on reconsidering contemporary architectural theories, the grid, regarded as the “sea”, is associated with architectural monumentality, isolated but inside the city, regarded as an “island”, which makes us recognize the city and keep in the memory. We discuss the gameboard of the grid and brick toy. We can say that the game board grid is a “closed grid”, for its isolated world inside from contexts outside. On the other hand, brick toy like Lego is regarded as an “open grid”, for its multiplying square or cube system. Then, we discuss that these two ideas can also be seen in the idea of the city and architecture. In this sense, closed grids are seen in the ideal city of India and China, and open grids in an expansion of urban infrastructure, for example, Cardo and Decumanus, and Barcelona plan of Cerdà. After that, it treats how contemporary architects translated urban grid to their works on the real map.