> but the computer itself is place-oriented

You could similarly argue that the computer is in fact fundamentally functional, since the core instruction cycle (Fetch Decode Execute) does not modify any memory.

The key insight into that system is that we've embedded a functional system within a mechanism that makes it imperative. The functional cycle can output commands to fetch it more data, that it can then use in the next cycle. It becomes imperative by the addition of time, which it needs because it's limited in the amount of input and output.