LECTURE 8 | 5 sesnses of Architecture
- LOW HUI YIH | 1001540522
- Mar 29, 2016
- 6 min read
Question
Pick 1 building in Kuala Lumpur, and study how that building perfectly plays with 1 or more human senses.
Human Brain Responds To Animals through 5 senses
The brain (5 senses)"seems to be specialized in alerting us to things that are emotionally important to us — either positive or because they're scary," a scientist says.
"Science has not and never will have the same ontological sense as the perceived world, for the simple reason that it is a determination or an explanation of that world.” “Truth does not “inhabit” only the “inner man”. Or more accurately, there is no inner man; man is in the world, it is whithin the world that he knows himself.”
MERLEAU-PONTY, Maurice; Phenomenology and Perception, 2006
The human 5 senses which included sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch not only respond to living creature but also contribute towards the perception of space. A building is a machine that able to produce some human reactions predetermined.
DESA HOUSE
by WHBC Architects
I have chosen the project DESA HOUSE by WHBC Architects. WHBC Architects, which is recognised for its work in design, architecture and urban landscapes. The practice has won numerous awards from industry peers and its works are widely published in books and magazines in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Japan, the Netherlands, China and Australia. This project is located at Taman Desa, Kuala Lumpur.
The main idea is to create a
hanging gardens, light filled studio, arts & shadows, light in and out.
The building takes advantage of the insulating properties of the concrete, in a space full of loopholes, skylights and shielding to protect it from overheating risk. Located in a neighborhood of row houses , Desa House is anticipated by averdant terrace , the first anti-hot pad. Inside, the living space is interspersed with a central courtyard with plants, which brings natural light and air, allowing a nice outlet outdoor.
In our memory, a standard terrace-link house starts with a car-porch, a small patch of grass they call 'garden' (if you're lucky), a front door to one side and large sliding doors/windows on the other. You usually step straight into the living area, with the dining area following right after, and stairs leading to the upper level(s) either to your left our right. The kitchen will be at the back, and in the same section you'll find a small bathroom, and either a 'maid's room' or a store room. If you're lucky, there'll be a backyard for your laundry, but most people would have extended the kitchen or add in a 'wet kitchen'. Upstairs there'll be 3 bedrooms and maybe a smaller living area, if space permits. Floorings would usually be terazzo or broken marble for the ground floor, and timber parquet upstairs. Some houses might have an internal courtyard, or the dining and kitchen are on a split level (up or down from the living area, depending on the land), and a balcony attached to the master bedroom upstairs - these are some of the varying in designs to add extra touches of interest and character. Unfortunately, WHBC Architectes had renewing the interaction between the occupants and their environments through the basic of human senses to improve the indoor and outdoor quality.
I would like to choose the sense of SIGHT in this building. Interaction of the senses to create sensory architecture in opposition to the prevailing visual understanding of architecture. Desa house has a rustic, industrial, raw and unfinished appeal to it which gives contrast to the first visual impression between the entire row of houses. For instance, the colour, the material and the temperature. Besides, the decor is contemporary, designed to measure by WHBC Architects to meet the needs of the owner, an artist with a small budget, keen on a 'basic aesthetic', perfect to create without distraction. A series of rugged mobile-monolith concrete defines the spaces, heated by some vintage piece , in a minimalist , neutral gray background. Here and there, prints and photos on the walls and lots of tropical plants. The atmosphere is relaxed and fresh, as if the heat and traffic of the city were distant.
OPEN.SPACE
Open space gives us a sense of freedom and on the other hand it can be quite and calm.
HIGH.CEILING
High ceiling level make the rooms or space more spacious and sound huge .
SMALL.SPACE
Space that is small makes people feel restricted and enclosed. Feeling trapped is the best way I can describe it.
LIGHT
Light is an important parameter for humans to sense and perceive the spaces surrounding them, and the character of the light in a given space can be seen to influence our mood and well being. The light aperture is not merely a communicator of exterior illumination, but probably the single most important element in the planning of a space´s visual environment.
Upstairs, the old roof tiles were replaced by glass, allowing a flow of natural light into the loft-style open studio where Leon's paintings are created. The play of light and shadow cast against the concrete surfaces must be really interesting and seductive.
Light describes the environments and light & shadow tell us about form, materials, texture, rhythm and history. The character of daylight is its intensity, direction, and colour that influences how spaces and objects are accentuated and perceived. These parameters are well know from nature, such as when the sun changes direction, intensity and colour throughout the day. For instance, the moving of sun cast a different angle of shadow that create a lively space. Shadows and darkness are essential for the sense of vision to determine the depth and distance. “In great spaces of architecture, there is a constant, deep breathing of shadow and light; shadow inhales, and illumination exhales, light.”
Likewise, humans sense the dynamic from the changing of light under dynamic weather conditions, and when, for example, a tree canopy filter the sun and skylight to create a fluctuating dappled light. Humans sense these changes foremost via the eyes and the brain – and most often it reminds one of being close to nature and origins.
Lighting is very important when designing for the visually impaired. It depends on the person too much light can hurt and not enough makes it too dark. The house lights up in a very unique way at night is quite a sight too, not something you would find in a typical row of terrace house.
MATERIAL
I like walls with some combination of finishes create a texture and I can feel it and get a sense of what it looks like through that sense. For instance, the surface roughness, different materials have different character.
One of the key features of the house which caught my attention is the concrete-cast built-in furnitures, from bookshelves to TV cabinets, kitchen, wardrobe, basin and tub. This is something we would have in our home. The clean cut and minimum use of materials create the sense of simple and minimalist. There's nothing course or crude about the concrete; all surfaces are smooth and polished, and in the furniture where it had to be thin, the concrete was reduced to the maximum of half and inch, that sort of precision and detailing is impressive, don't you think?
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PERSONAL.PERSPECTIVE
In my opinion, we have to understand the importance of human sense because senses bring space to life. If architects create visual environments without bearing in mind their user friendliness, multi-sensoriality and functionality, this results in places that lack physical or mental accessibility: ‘distorted spaces’.
“Mountain, stone, water, building with stone, built in the mountains: our attempts to give to this words an architectural interpretation, transfer it’s meaning and sensuality guided by our building plan as we were shaping it step by step.”
Peter Zumthor
Sight is the most common sense that we can found in most of the building. This is because it is the most easy way to stimulate human sense. The first impression always come to mind before you stepping in. The difference between sight and touch is that visual space is presented at the same time, while tactile space is presented bit by bit. On the other hand, buildings which combine the use of daylight and artificial light and use the “double dynamic” potential of controlling daylight and artificial light, might stimulate our senses and human needs, as well as enhance the feeling of living in balance with nature. The rhythm of an architecture can be felt by occupants as a result of the architect’s composition or arrangement of all the sensorial qualities of space. By arranging spatial sensorial features, it can lead occupants through the functional and aesthetic rhythms of a created place. Architectural building for all the senses can serve to move occupants by elevating their experience.