The
term Spandrel is most
commonly used as an architectural term describing the
triangular space between the outer curve of an arch and the rectangle
formed by the mouldings enclosing it, or between the shoulders of two
contiguous arches and the string-course above them[1]. The
word is thought to come from the Anglo-French word spaundre, which
means to expand or extend.[2].
There
are several accepted meanings of spandrel in and out of architecture,
including the space between the central field and border in oriental
rug patterns, but more generally it is the creating of an
unintentional but unavoidable space with the addition of
structures[1]. These spaces don't serve any structural
purpose and are merely adapted for aesthetics, for lack of anything
else, and are painted or sculpted within.
Interestingly
enough, there are many terms that co-exist within biology and
architecture and spandrel is one of them. Spandrel became a term
borrowed from architecture, by biologists (The term was borrowed by
the biologist Stephen Jay Gould in the influential paper :The
Spandrels of San Marco and the Panglossian Paradigm: A Critique of
the Adaptationist Programme,” in 1979), to describe a
characteristic that is a by-product of the evolution of another
characteristic, rather than a direct product of natural selection.
Not all existing behaviours or phenotypes evolved by natural
selection, there are instances where evolution has directly selected
for an adaptive trait, while indirectly selecting another development
that has an unrelated (or no) purpose. An example of this is the
Silver Fox in Russia. It became a domesticated animal meaning the
only characteristic that was chosen to change was the fox's tameness.
The fox, however, went through the physical changes of becoming
spotted and behaving more dog-like, these traits were spandrels[3].
Another, more relatable example is in human beings. Our belly
buttons are spandrels – development of the umbilical cord was
adaptive because it allowed for the sharing of nutrients between
mother and baby, but the bellybutton is just a useless by-product of
this selection[4].
Therefore,
while term originally belonged to architecture, like many other words
it has begun to develop in other subjects and can now be interpreted
as a by-product, changes, that were not intended in the design, but
are unavoidable.
[1]
Online.
September 2012. Oxford University Press.
www.oed.com/view/Entry/185543?redirectedFrom=spandrel#eid
(accessed
November 21, 2012)
[2]
Online. February 2012. Dictionary.com.
www.dictionary.reference.com/browse/spandrel?s=t
(accessed
November 21, 2012)
[3]
Online. February 2012. Blogspot.
www.themoralskeptic.blogspot.ca/2012/02/biological-spandrel.html
(accessed
November 21, 2012)
[4]
Online. November 2003. University of Texas Research.
(accessed
November 21, 2012)
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