Membrane

Membrane : ''A membrane is a very fine envelope which surrounds and protects the cell. It controls the exchanges of the cell with outside : it lets to pass certain substances and bars the passage to others. The small structures which are inside the cell are also surrounded by a membrane.'' (from biological dictionnary)

If we think at chinatown as chinaplace we can say that Rotterdam hasn't any chinatown. But if we think at city like a living body where each district will be cell which is composed of subcells, we can talk about chinasubcell.

In fact in a cell like Westruiskade, we can observed a lot of different subcells, some publics, some privates. And this subcells are protected by a membran which create a selection between the two (too) different scales of cells.

For stores this membran is the storewindows, which create the visual links between the exterior and the interior and at the same time it make the selection between this two spaces.

This zoom from the body of the town to the microcosm of a subcell (here a store) create some of in between spaces which are like some interactiv part of the social urban structure.