Ive been having some thoughts about the dissertation, in particular how we experience architecture. From a time when architecture was multi-sensory to a new era where there it is visually dominant. Juhani Pallasmaa writes that we are losing touch with the world through our senses and as a result losing touch with our inner being.
image reference: http://threecollective.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/520senses.jpg
Interesting starting point, and thank you very much for being the first to break cover!
ReplyDeleteThis is a good place to start, but where would you like to take it? You could go all biological and start looking at the senses and how this links with neurobiology and the brain (Antonio Damasio, Iain McGilchrist)...
...or you could go all philosophical and start looking at phenomenology (Merleau-Ponty, Heidegger, Gadamer). Pallasmaa is a good starting point, perhaps you could also look at Zumthor's books, and Rassmussen's 'Experiencing Architecture.'
A way forward would perhaps be to think about if you agree with Pallasmaa's statement, are we losing touch with our world? If so, what can architects and designers do to remedy this? Is it our place to do this?
Andrew, Thank you for the reply. I am very interested in Pallasmaa and how he thinks we are losing touch with our senses. He blames a new digital era for essentially making everything flat. He writes that we should go back to using our entire bodies to strengthen our embodied wisdom and help reconnect ourselves with the world. It is only when we allow this to happen that we can fully appreciate architecture with all of our senses.
ReplyDelete