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RETINALARCHlTECTURE AND LOSS OF PL1\ STICITY
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The: ;uchi(.'«ure of our (lme is rurning inro the retin:1l a(( of the eye.
Architecture at large has bc'Come ·. n arr of ,he printed image fixed by the
hurried eye of the camera. The gaze irself tends to flatten into a pictUre
and lose its plasticity; instead of expetiencing our being in tb e world, we
behold it fcom ours ide as spen"rors of images proiecced on the surface of
(he retina.

As buildings lose the-ir pla.c;(jcLt)' and tht·\t cunnecrion with rhe bngnage
and wisdom of the body, they become i,olared in the cool and disrant tcalm
of vision. Wirh the loss of taccility and the sca le and details crafted fo r the
human body and hand , our suuctures become repulsively fl a t , sharp-edI;cd,
lmmatt"riai and lInre-a!. The detac hmenr of consrruction from the realities
1

of marrer and ctaft turns archir(:Cl'u[e inw stage sets I'o r che eye, devoid of
rhe authenticicy of material and (ectonic logic.

Narural materi als - srone, brick and wood - allo\.\' thlt l.~azc to penerratt
their suefaces and rh ey enable us to become convinced of the vernciry of
matter. Natural materLal expresses its age and history as well as the tale of
The itZJ1e ({ ihr uJ"},o1e... Lies in the OjT1faCl of the truit wiTh Tbe palot( not ill ;he irs birrh and human UM:. The parina of we:1r ~dds the enriching experience
jrU;! il.it'!/: 'T! ~ JimHnr u 'o)'.. .poclry lit's in the ntteJ;ng o/tbf potm and reader, not o( rime; mar(er exists in rhe conti nuum of rime. But rhe malerials of roda~'
in the /1'1eJ ,if JJ7IlbrllJ primed un ,he page.r of a bool:. V/'h('~t 15 eSJwliaJ ;1 ,he au­ - sheers o( glass. enamded menu and synrhetic marerials ~ p rese nt the.it
rhill( rler. {hi rhnl/, fhi: almos; p/;YJiral ef1Wlion thai cumes u,;rh &1J.:h nxuiiJ]g. unyielding surfaces LO rhe eye wirhnur conveying any thi ng of their material
essence or age .
:/'ffgc L"is Fh;rge.J, Forward to Obro Poiric(J
Beyond archictcrure, Ollr cultute at large seem' to dri/i: towards a distanc­
ing, a bnd of <-hilling, de-sensualization and de-ero[ici z:ltion of the human
relarion to reality. Pltinling and sculprute havt:' )llso lost dlcir ~t:nsualjty.
Pe,.j)(l/IJ lhir.kil!.';. [fJO, iJ jm! l/}nterhing Irke building a (ahilJt~t. Al all)' ra le, if is d and ins read of inviting sensory intimacy, contempot:uy work~ of arc fre­
;:raj!. ;J "h,.mdicrajt.: dud /.here./M~ hu.l :i Ipecia! YI!!atif)n.rbJ"p ftJ tbe JJn,nd. ITt Ihe quently signal a distancing rej(·nion of ~nsuous curiosity.
(Onl!'1Ion r;;tu:. tte halhl i s {I.:J"! uj Ollr hodify orgar.;JnI. Bu; tbe haJl,l'J f!J.fen{(' ('rm

n(' f.'{'r b~ dt/!'rmir"tcd. (W t~xF!/1.;"t'd. ;1)' iff br.~in an. orf.!,an u·hicb ~'an grasp. (.. .) The ThL' rurrt nt u'l,;(T-em ph<t.~ is on the inrdl eC lll:1i and conceptual dimensio ns
f'(l1!d i.t il![ir./lcly drffryem /YfJm J!i the grrHping b1~~rmJ ... d;J)t.rt·1/t b), !.Ill a/J)'h (;/ t)f architecrure (uHhtT conrribures to a Jisappeatance o( the:: physical, sensu­
f.f.i~'7 ...:". f. .. i {>;If I.ht craft of ,he band 15 rni)!!y than u;~ cllf1Jfll/lnty imagine. ( .. ) Thr al Jnd ('"mi>odicd ('sse-O Ct of .."rchirt([lln:,
ba,r;d rt'!.I r/;(J ar,(j (:;-,'!fnJJ. reuivr:J (nui 1t'e/aml.eJ - {,mu nol jUJi Ihir::~5: the.' hdrJd
c.'c:?r;;f; ;/Jl1f an,i rfccit1t1.( il.l (/U "n :tJe/fX!1n!l lIJ the hal1d, of (,then. ( ... J 8u: the ARCI-IlTECTUR Ii OF THE SENSES
b:J1(.{\ ':'CHUf'd run :7..1" JUJbt.>re thrQu,r;b i!.ll!gu(Zg,t', in their fJlO.f( pt...,-fi-a pun!)' pr!:ose­
!v u.lxlI mar. JPe.ak,r I.:r bring Jitc:m. (.. . j Evtry nIl}ti(n! of the haul/ in £".Je'J' une of ;;.r In Rcnaissance: rimes, the five senses \v(.'r(' un dt:rs tood ro fo rm a bil"C"'J rchical
uJtJyk., (u,..,..;c.r ilJd( through the tfmlolt v/ thinking, C"Kr)' bee ring II che band /Jf.P.rj system from thc- hig ht."s l sc: nse of vision down ro the iowl"st se nse, touc h .
i.'.H·:~f ;1/ ,hal d f'Tl!l!l !1 All Ji.u: IW"'J:. 0/ r/J[ hand. ;j moted m ;iJi"king. The sysrem of the Sl: nscs w~s related ro lilt: image uf rhe (osmic body;

.' ir,::-
vision was (or(f: l a(t~d
" ~. .",--'
(0 fire :lnd lig hc. hearing r,o :tir, s.mel l ro vH.por, [:1$[('
-t\.1(;.r!;n N ritit:!!.J!.o-, CIlIl, /rJr Th;'li~i1/S '"; "
"~. 4 ~'
': 'XIh.).! to wa n:[, touch lO earTh .
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Man h ~ls n(H :1lwdYS b,x'n isnl afC"d in rhe re~ Jm of vl~ i on:;J primotd ial dorn i­ \'(! t ran recall th(," <'::l'(lu<.; ri< harshness of all uoinhahitt:d tl lld Un fl!rnish(,.d
n::ncC' OJ he;1tin,t>: h~~_, ,gradU~ll1y h,·ot'll rep1:t ced hy rh:lr df .... ision. In his book house as co m pa red ~o rhe affa bilicy of a lived home in wh ic h sou nd is
Or.lir}' & LJ(C(3(}, \"Yal rer J. O ng poines all! ,hot "Th" shifr from or.1 <0 refracred and softened by (he sUf hl(:es cl nUr1ltTOUS (lh.lt:crS o( prrso rIJ.l lift.
wrltte ll spl,t'c h is 1:.ssenrjaUy ,1 shi{e (rom sound LI) vLsual $pace prir,e E.. .ery budding or sp<'tce has HS ch.lracrc:risrj( sou nd of in rimac)' or mono­
rc'p J<lce:d rhe 11Ogerin,4 h t:~,!rin f; ~ dominaon- in th e ~·orid of cho ughr and menta! 'iry, rt~Jecool1 or in viration, hospicality or hosrility ,
exrressio n with che sit..:ht - dominAn ce w hich had ir.s beginn ing in wrir ing
. T his 1S an insl sttnt worid of (oIJ. n on~human f-acrs." Sight makes us solirary ) whereas heariJl~ ('[(>-ares a sense.' of con n("({ion and
solidarj(y; rhe gaze wanders lonesom ely in rhe dark d el',hs of a (a rhedml,
Every touc h ing exptfl.<'nct' of ;l(chitec cute is mu lti-sensory: qllitiiries of bur che sound of the orgiln m akes LIS reali ze our afffn:r y wich rhe space.
ma[[eL :;' P:1t:t:, and SCi:lJe <lre fneasor<-d equally by rh e eye, ear. !lOSt', sk in, We srOfe alone a( rhe s uspense of the (irw s, hur (he burst o f app laus e after
Longue, skeJ<."ton and m usclt, Arc hirecr ure invol ve:; seven realms of sensory rhe rt'laxJrion of s uspense unires LIS co rbe crowd. The sound of dH.'<R h
l'xpcrit'I1( ' which inn: racr Jnd infust each orher. bells (hrough (he s (teets lna"es us aware of OU( (i riztilShip. The <,( ho of
sreps on :l paved su eec has an emotional charge b(~c:luse rhe so und bollncing
(n r.he words of Merkau - Poney, "'I(:e SCe (be dtp.rh, sp"cd, ",fmess and off rhe s u r ro undin.g walls pucs LIS in direcr Jnce rac r ion '1;""ir.h sJ'l3Ce; rht
hardnt~s or ob jeus - Cezan ne S:lYS \$,'C Set.' even tbeir ooor. If:l paincer wi~h­ sound measures space anJ makes ies sca k com prehensibl~. \Ve stroke rh ~
es ro txp ress rhe wocld, his system of color must g enerate (his indiv is ible edges of rhe- SP3Cl!' 'tv j[h o ur eus. Bu r. rht contemporary ci cy has losr irs
complex of imrressions, othc(wi:,;c his p.ainring only hine s at possibilities echn.
WHhotlt p roduc ing rhe unir y, pres ence and uos urpassable diversiry r hac
&()yt rns rhe t>.pc:rie nce 3nd which is t he dellnirjon of (taliry [or us."
SILENCE, T1ME , (\ND SOUTIiDE
A walk Lh rouc; h a foresr or a Japanese g... rden AS invigorati ng -and healing
tX.:.'calls(" of che essential inrtTJcc ion of all sense modaliries reinforcing each However, che mos r essenrial awJjtory expl'" rienct neared by 3.rchitecrure is
orher ~ our sense of ccality' is rhus sctc-ngrhen td and a ni cuJ ared. •: 1 \'ranquilli[y. Archjrec rure prest'ors [he drama of consrrllccion si lenced inro

Images of Oflt~ sensory realm ft.'tel fucth er lmagery in ano rher modaliry. [n f rrut[[('r and span:: archireccure is (he an of pe-r.rified silence. Afrer {he c1uc­
ter 01 building has ceased an d th e s houting of workers has died away, (he
The Bon k o f Tea Ki1ku zo Okaku ra gives a fIne description of rhe muJti -sen­ building beco mes a museum of a w3icing. parienr silen ce . In Egyprian
so ry im agt'f)' evoked hy the extre m ely simp le siru3ri ol1 of the rea l-e remony, !: rempk""S we enCO'.1nct.r rhe s iJ5nce or (be pharaohs. in the silence of a Go rhic
"."quiec re lf:rlS with norhing ro break tht: sj lence savl" rhe ooee of rhe- boiJ ­ r
!.. carhectrnJ we 3rt: rcminded of th ~ last' dyi ng no re of a G regori an c. hJnr, a nd
iu_~ Wartr in rhe iron ke rrl e, The kerr\(· sign$ well. for pie("es of iron art so f
a£j~~ng<:d in che borroro 3S ro p rodoce it peculiar melod y ill which one m3Y r rhe (:(110 of RomllJl footste ps has JUSt faded on the wall s of the Pantheon.

heAr rh.(· {'cho(~s ()f it
<lmong the roc ks. a ra mscorm
soughing of piot:s 011
GHa raer muffled by doud s, of a disranr '\t'a btc".iking
f An archirc-cr ural expe ritnct· sjle nces aJl ex remal noise: ii: focLLS€s ti((e n(ion
~()mc
$t...·etpjng

farawa y hjlt·,
ch roug h a bamhoo foresr, Or of rhe
!
on ont's very exisrenct'. ArchlrC'ccure, as alJ art , makes us aware of our (un­
dament31 solirude. At crw same cime, ;.uchl rc·crun: Jct<lches us frorTl rh ~.
present and a llow~ us ro experie nct." che slc)'w) firm !l(l\V or rime and rradi ­
The SUlses do not only m ed iate infoc013tion fo r rhe judgment of the incei ­ (Ion. Buildings and clries are insrrumc nf!) and museums· of rime. They
k <r; rhty ~lrc also a !))(:'ans of arricularmg sensory chouglH. enable us co see a nd u nd ersrand r h<: passi n!! of hisrory,

.,,"ichir <."(tu n- conne<rs us wi d 1 ch<: dead; rhto u~ h build ings ~' e a r(' abit' (0
ACOU STIC JNTIl\L"CY imagillt the bustle of rh t' mtd lt'val srrt'C"( a nd t~ncy a snlemn PCOCt'SsiOll
appro:lching the Ci!i: hedr-Jl. Th e- cime of ~ r ch i r("cturc i.<.; a dt:ra in<::d cirnt'; in
() f H; who h as hal(~ ris,;, n [ 0 ch e sound 0 1 .1 distan! cra in . u nIght and_ [\1(' grC:l tt"S ( of huiJdH)g~ .cirn(-' sta nds ti rm!y snll. Tim {' in (b e G' rear
rIHf) u.£.:h hi s , Ict'p. t'xptne nced the SpJ.O: of dw city tvir b ics counrless Periscyie;.ir Karnak has perrifit-d into a ri ml'less presc nt .
inhanir3nr... scanercJ arou.nd irs StrU((Utt:S, kucJ\vs chI: power of <;ou nJ to
the: im.lg inarion; the noctl1fnal wh iscJ e of 3 crain mak('$ o nl.~ (of]s(io us (If
Expcritllcing 3. work o f an IS a pr,iv3cc di,dog tlc benv('en rh <:' wor k anJ rhe
rhe t lHlt(; sk(' pin.g c.ity. Anyone who has h(>(ome c: nrranced hy rbt sound "iewer cha( excludes. othe r inceraujons . ·'A rt is made by rh e alo ne fo r rhe
of waler drops in the <bckness of a tuin t:Jn ·... lH·st ro {he cXLrao rdinar.y !. alone," 3S Cy riUe Conno lly wrices in The U nqulC:c Grave. ~{~· I a n c h o ly lic's
G1r'<lCity nf (he: (:':J( n) t~lrvt ;l vo llirIll' inro rhl' ....o id qf darknc.l\s. The sp ace be-ne;.1rh mov; ng ('x perien c(:~ nt'an; rhis is tht rrage-ely ()( beaufy '$ immau::ri­
u ;il vd by rhe <;llr h<'·lO rTll'S.l cavj[ y <:.(uipred Jll fhe inrerior of dlt· Jnind. a\ rem}>ora lity. Arc pro.iens an unattainable id ed .
 ))

...,. SPACE OF SCENT THE SHAPE OF TOU CH

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Till: s[[ongesr memory ot a space is often ics: odor; [ can nor remember til(' The skin reads rhe ttX'turc:, weight} densiry and tt'ITlp!:nHUft' of man·er.
~~'.'. .. appearance of ,he door (() my grandfarhe [s f"m-Iwuse from my early Tbt surface of an old ohi([, poli ' hed co pcrfecrion by ,he (001 of th e craf(S­
....
-to ehiLdh(x)d. but I do remember ,he resis"ncl of irs wcigh" the parina nf ,tS man and rhe assiJuoHs hands of its users. sed uces rhe srroking of our hand .
~
wood surface scarred by a half ctnruc), of use, and I recall especially rhe I, is pleasLlrabl~ '0 press a d(x)[ handle sh ining from ,he ,housand hallds
b­
t~·' scen' of home thar hi, my fac~ as an invisible wall behind ,he door. ,ha, have enrered ,he door befo re lL<; rhe clean shimmer of ageless wegr has
~.';:;'-
(IJrned into an image of welco me and hospit:iii[y. The door handle is the

A particular smell m.:!.y make uS !il"( rc~ d}' re-enter a space that ha..o;; been com ­ handshake of [he building . The [:J([ile sense connccrs us wirh rime and
pletely erased from the "' rinal memor}· ; the nostrils projeCt a forgotten ([adi,ion; [hmllgh marks of [Quch we sbake ,he hands of wunrless genera­
image and We aie cnt icnj t (> ent(:'t a vivid d~lydreaJ11. [Ions.

.. i\1t"1ll0fY and imagio3[jon [('l11tt in 'L->s()(: iared,·> GJ5tOn Bachdard wrires. The skin tr3Ce~ sp.Kes of t (~mpt-:.f:lrure with unerdog preci$ion~ the cool and

"r alone in m y memories of an()[hc-r cent ury ran open tbe drcp Clipboard invigorating shado\'\' under a trtt' or the caressing sphert' of warmth in a
,hat scill retains for me aLone ,hat untque odor. ,he odo, of raisins, drying spo' of sun. In my cbiLdho(}u-images of the counrryside. I can vividLy
on a wicker eray . The odor of raisins! Ir is an odor tha.t is beyond descrip­ recall walls aga ins, ,he angle of ,he sun, walls which inrensified 'he hea' of
tion, one rha[ i[ rakes a lot of imag ination to smelL" radiacion and melted ,he SClOW, alLowing ,he firs( smell of pregnant soil to

:\nd whac a del.ight «) move from one realm of odo, «)
row sneets of an o ld town: tht" sce nt sphere of a candy stote m alt's one
think of the ;nnoccn(c and curiosiry of chiLdhood ; ,he dense smell of a
shoemaker' s works ho p m akes Orlt" iIlla.g io{: horses and saJJ les, harness
~ traps and lhe excirement of ridjng ~ (he fragrance of a
Imoges of healrh . ,,,S(enance and physical s([eng, h. whereas rhe perfume of
a pas<tj' shop makes one ,hink ofbourg.oi, feliciry.
announce ,he approach of slimmer. These pocke" of spring were idenr ified
the next in , he nar­ by ,he skin and ,he nost as milch as by the eye.
\tie ([ace the d,>ns iry and 'c"'u[e of th e ground ' hrough o ur sal es.
Scanciing barefoo, on a smoo,h gLacial rock by (he sea a( sunsee and s~nsin&
bread shop projeccs through one's soles the watmth of the ston e hearc.J. by the sun is a healing
expetience; ;, makes one parr of the c(ernal cycle of nat me. One senses (he
slow breaching of the tanh.

W hy do abandoned houses always have the same hollow smell; is i, because Thtre is a strong identity between the skin Jnd the sen~atlOn o f home , Tht'
the particular smell is caused by ,he visual emptiness observed by ,he eye' t..xpcti(;nce of home is ess<:ntially an experience of warmrh, Tht space of
warmth around a firl!'piace is the spact' of ultimate inrimacy and comforr.
In his N ocebook of Malta Lautids Bfigge, Rainer Maria Rilke g ives a dra ­ A sen~e of homecoming: is never stronger than seeing a light in rhe window
marie dcscrip,ion of imagts of pasr life In an alteady demoli shed ho use con­ of a house in a snow-co,,·erc..,J landscape ar dLLSk: rht reo1embrrtnu' of irs
veyed b~.' ::ran's imprintt:d on tht wa ll of its neighboring ho use: . "ThNe
'I.\'t;re lhe rnidday meals a~ld s ickne~scs :md the exhalalions and rhe smoke of
y(';.l t~. and the S\\'(':1f [hat brea ks lJUt under rhe armpits anJ makes the g ar­
met1cs hc::tvr. J.nd rhe swk brea th ()f mo uths. anJ [he oily odou r of i-it:,spir­
Ing tel't. There wen: rhe pungc-rlt tang of uri:lt' and the sten ch of burning
sout and th" sre)' reek of I")ta[o,,,. ond the heovy, sickly fumes of rancid
gr(~a~{:. The 5wct'tish , ling t'ring sme ll of Deglc:nt'd infants was rhnc, and
the smc il of fr igh,cn,·d children who go to school and ,he S(utfine" I)f ,he
twels of nubile youths .

ContC!1')porary ilnages of Jrc hitC'(lllr<: (lpP(.. .H s[erile and lifeless as compared

(0 the c.'mo[ional and as.s(lcitH iv(" power of R dh"~ olfacrory Ima~ery
 f~'

~,
\V,lrm In re rio r gcn rly warms. (lne- 's frozen limbs. H om!: a nd skin rurn inro a
t
',ing lt sensarion
r "The: wotd habi t is t{X) WOfn an word [0 express this passiOmH t li ai50n of
our bodies , which do n ot fotge r, with an unforgettable house," wtites
Bur ch<:: <>ye a lso rou<. h c~~ th<:· Eil1.-C implies an unconsciow; hodily mimesis,
idenei tlcation. Perhaps, we shuuld rhink of (ouch as the un(onscj ()u~ of i Bachelard of th e stre ngr h of bodily memory.

vision , Our ,s;.aze s rr okc:s d is rt1 nt ~ ur filccs, conrours and ed.~esJ a nd rh e

There is an inhcrene s u ggesrio n of action in images of arcnit('([urt) (he
un("()n~ci(Jus cauile sensarion derermine~ tht :dgrecab 1cnt'ss o r unpleasanr­
momenr of ac rive e nco unrtr or a promise of use and pu rpooe. A bodily
nes> of th~ experience. The d'SC<lnt and rhe Ilear a re expe rie nced wi rh the (
reacrion is an inseparab le asp ec t of the experience of arc hitectu.re as a conSL'­
same inte n sity,
quence of chis impl ied action. A real archirecmral experience is nor si mply
a series of re tin;11 images; a building is encountered - ir js approached, (00­
Gre;}t. :tt<.... hi n:ct ure offers sh3.pt·.o; and surfaces m o ld ed fOf the. ple,LSurablt:
framed. encountered , rtl ared ro oo,:s body, moved about, utiiized as a con­
(ouch o( the" CY('.
dition for other things, etc.

T he t'y<: is the S<.'"flS(" or" separation and disrance::, whe reas [ou c h is rhe s(:nse
of nea rness, inr im acy ;{nd affe-ction . During o\:erpowtring (;mot ional stares
w~ lend clost' o ~T the dl srancin g: se nse of vlsion; we clost' o ur eyes ,\·hen
, Stepping scones set in the grass o f" guden are images and im pri nrs of
hllman steps.

l
(0

c3 n.:ssing o ur lO\'l'"d ones . D:.:·tp shadows a nd darkness a n: tssen(ial. be{";1U~e

As we open a door , OUt body. weight meets the weight of rhe doo r ; Oll t legs
the y dim rhe s harpn ess of vis ion and invire unconscious periphtraJ vision
:lOd tacrile fantasy. Homoge neolls lig ht paraJyze5 rhe imaginarion in th e
same way rbat h omogenjzation eliminates the t:xp('rit~ n ce of place .
i r
measure the step s as we ascend a srait, our hand strokes rhe h andrai l a nd
our entire body mOVes diagonally and dramatically through space.

A building is not an t nd (0 itself; it fram es , 3nicula{cs) restrucrures, gives

In hi s In Praise of Shadows. Jun'ichiro Tanizaki r o inrs o ur tbat eve n
s ignifi ca nc e, relar es, sepa ra te s and unires, fac ilira[e s a nd prohibi[s.
J"p".nese COOk Jllg depends upon shadows and is inse parable ftom da tkness.
Consequtnrly, elemenes o ( an architecrural ~xptrjence see m to have a ve rb
"And w he n yokan is served in a lacquer dish, it is ;1.S if rh e darkness of rhe
form rathe r (han being nou ns, Auehenejc architectural experien ces consis[
room Wl'"re melting tm your tongue," In olden. rimes (he- blackcm.xi teeth of
rhen of appmach ing, at confrunring a building carher th a n the facade ; of
rho' ge is h<l and her gteen-black lips a.nd whire face wcce also lOrended '0
rhe acr of ente ring and nor sim ply rhe f["dme o f the door, of looking in or
emphasm· rhe darkness and shadows of the toom. In Luis f\acraga.n's vie",
our of a window, rarher rhan the window itself.
Inos r 0; conrt'rnporar y hOl1st:-s woul d be m ore p l easant w irh only h::df of
thc lr w indow surfdu'.
In rhe analysis of Fra Angelico's Annunci.rion in his essay "'From rhe
Doorstep", the Common Room: (1926) Alvar Aa!ro recog nizes rhe verb
1n cmorl l>nal s tan's, Sl'nse s tim u li stem ro sh ift (rom thL~ mort:" ret"int:d $t:ns­
essence: of arch itf:ccU ral expe tience; he speaks of en(ering n room) o o r of [he
(:s towards (h e more archaic. From vision down (0 (ouc h :lnd smelt. A cul­
porch o r t he door, fo r insrance.
tu re rh,ll' steks (0 conrrol irs cirizens i~ liktly to vaJue ehe o pposite d irec­
(ion of Interfac.e ; a,vay rrom rhe- intimate ide.nritlcat i(-.n rowards rh e p ub­
The allthem ic ir, of architectural expe rien ce is gro und ed in the tecrn ni c
lJ (' ly distant derachment. A socitty of t;urveilLtnc:c: is nc:cess:l rily ~ sociu:y of
lang oage of b u ilding a nd the comprehensibility o f rhe aCt o f co nst ruCti on
~ V"o}'e uri st t'Y('.
co (he seosts. \'lie beh(lld, (ouc h , l is ren a nd measure th e wo rld wi rh o ur
entire bodily cx is«.:nce and the e"Xperj~ntial world is o tganized 2nd anicu­
l.red around d,,· centet of rhe body. Our domi ci le is the refuge of our
IM,\GES OF MUSCLE AND BONE
body, memory a n d ideneiey. We are in constanr dialogue and in(cracrion

Primiriv{:' ma n u sed his ~()d y as rhe d im ensJOning and proportioning s)'s­

i!,--.i wi(h the envirollmenc, to [he d(~grt'e thm i[ is impossible to dcwc h the:::
image of th e Se lf Fro m irs spatial and situational existencc. "I am (he space,
r~ m of h is cn ns[f uui o n s. The builders or [ radi rioual s(X" ie:: ries sh.1pc:d rheir
bUIldings wj[ h rheir own bodlt~ In rhe samc way rh ar ;. bird molds irs nesr t­ where J a m," as the poer Noel Arnaud established.

I
hy !ts I:-,/I(:\Y. T h(' f'Ssenct' or a rradirlon is (he wisdom or th e b'ody scored tn
rht' h,LPliL Jl'ltmory . 11H: essemial knowlc-dge of r he: ;\lIcielH hunt e-f , fi~her . .
BODILY IDENTIFfCATION
man and LlrlTl(,:r. as we!! a~ of (he m,l~on ;.Ind ~tO lle ("utter , wa.'i. a n imiearlon

~
of an crnbotii(,d rmdition (If the I.r;ld{·, SlO r l"(] ill rh e J!l u ~( ular <UHJ rat.. . tile
Hen ry Moort' wrOlt:: p<=rcertivdy o f the- nece::ss-i{y Or;{ bodily irh'n(iricarion
·~,.: n$<':'<".
in aeL " Thi ~ is w h at I he ~c ll!nf t) r mll !' r rtf) Hr- rn .. ,,. <:" ri V/' rnn r ;nll ·... II" rf"'J
 '"\1 ~,

The se nse' of g mvlry is the e':i~(~nce of .111 :lfchitenonic srrUL"( urf'S Jnd g rea r
archit ecture m nkc!. u s co nsc ious of gr3 \' i ~)' an d ea rth . ArchiteCture
st rt'ogther. s ver(ica.l ity or our expetitnce of rh e wodd. At tht" same ti:ut·
that arcillrecrnre m Jk cs llS aware of [he depth of t anh, ir makes us dre-Am
of kviration ana fl ig ht.

TASTE OF ARCHITEC TURE

,hink 0(, "nd U SC, form in Its full sparial com piereness. He gelS rhe solid Adrjan Stokes w rit es abollt th~ "o ml tnvi tarion o fVewn ose mar ble." Th ere
shape. as it were, inside hi s he2d ~ he thinks or it , wha tever its s ize, as if he­ is a sub rl e tra ns feren ce betwee n rac ri le 7I nd ras t e L·xptr!ence~. Visio n also
were ho lding ir mmplerely encl osed in the hollow of his hand. He memal­ becomes transfe rred to tasre; certain colors as well as ddicare derails evoke
Iy vi sual ize, a com plex form from a ll round itself: he know s while he looks oral sens;trions. A d e licarely colored p ol ished sco ne surface is subliminally
at one side what the- ocher side is IJke~ he ide ntifies hi m self with irs cenc er sensed by. t he tongue. Many years ago 1 felt com pelied t o k neel and couch
of ~~r:{vl (y, Its mass.. its weight; he reali zes irs volume, an d the space rh.{( the white m arble rhresho ld of th e J3 mes res idence in Carmel, Californ ia
the sbape displaces in rhe aiL" designed br Charl es a nd Henry· Greene. Carlo Scarp"s .rchitecrure 31so
frequently prese nes similar experience~ of t asce.
The c' ncou nter of any work of an i!'nplj<.~:; a bod ily lIltttlluion. A work of
arc (uncrlo ns as ano ther person, wir.h whom we con verst'. J\..te1anie Klein's Tanlzaki gives an impressive descriprion of the subtle intcracrJon of the
norion of projecrivc iJeoc i.flcar ion suggescs tbar, in fact, all hum_a n lnce["dC­ senses,
rion implies projection of frag ments of the Stlf to rhe other p erso n . The
painrer Graham Su rherl and expresses the sa me view i:1 regards (0 hi s own "\"(fi(h lacquenvare rhere js a x aut y ill that momenr b et ween removing the
wo rk. "1n a sense rhe landscape paintc.:·r muSt al m ost look a t {h e land scape lid and li ftin,'r the bowl to the mouth wh en one gal~s at ehe $tili, s ilene liq­

I as if it were himself - himself as a h u m a n bei ng." I n Pau l Cezanne 's vi ew uid in rhe da rk depths of rhe bowl, its colour h...rdly differing fr om the

t rhe b ndsca pe rhinks through him and he is rhe consciousness of the land­
scape .
bowl itSe lf. W har lies within the dark ness On e can not disting u is h, b ut the
palm senses the geode movements of the liqu id , vapo t rises from within
formillg dtople ts on tht tim, and a frag r"nc c carried upon rhe vapor brings

ii! I
Similarly, an architect mternal izes a bu ilding in bi s body; mOVel."tn.t , bal ~
;mcC', d i<; rJJKe and scalt:: art' fe lt uoconsclously thto ug h the body as te nsion
in the muscular sysrem and in th e: positions of thc skeleton a.nd inner
a dtlicat (" <-tnricjpation."

(Jrg a l1s . As tlw work interact s with rhe hod)' of the obst.>r.-'er the expe tien ce THE TASK OF ARCHlTECrURE
mirrors rhe-se bodil y sensations of the maker. Consequently , architecture is
co mmun ICa rion from rh e- body of the arch lten Jirec tl y co rh t body of the Th~' timel ess task of archirecrure is to c re . l tc embodied eXiHf'nrinl
i.111wbit<lor. m erapho rs rhar concretize and srructure m an 's b(:i ng in rhe world. Irnages
of arch itl'cru re refl~cr a~d externalize id.tas and inlages of lire : a rchitec t u re
(Jndr:rstanJing: ar<: hitccrural scale lmplic""S th e unc o nsc ious mc·asurin.g of an mattLializes our images of ideel life. Bu i ld ings and tow ns enable us to
'"
' II
I objecr (I( a buiiding with o ne's body, and projoc ring one's bodily "h.·me
structure. un dtrsrand, a nd remenl~r (he shapel ess flow or realiry an d, ulti ­
on th e:- space in g ut-s t io n. \\<./e fe'e! pJt't'.s Llre and prott"crion w hen th e body
marel y, to recogni ze anJ remembcr w ho \\i(' a re, ArchiteCture t' nab lL's lLS to
discovets its teSona nce- in space.

~}: pla(e ourselves in th<:: continuum of cut cure,

When cxperiC"nciog a structure. we unconsciolls ly mimi c its confi gu ration idl expe rience implies the acrs of re-coll ec ti ng , reI11embering and c01l1par­
with bones J nd mlls.clC:'s ~ [he pl eas urably a nimal'e-d flow of a p iece of musj( ill,'::, l\n embodit.>d memmy has an essential role as rh e basi s of re mem he r­

I is subcon~ ( iollsly trans fo rm ed into bodjly !-ensarion s, the composition of ;om

f ing a space or a place. Our home 3ncl domicile are integ ra ted with ou r self­
abstract pain ring is experienced as (cnsions to che muscular srsccm The f: identity: rhey b<'come parr of our ow n b ody and be ing .
srrunur<:$ of:l huildin g art' u nconscim.lsly imiruted and corn pre- h ended ~:
iii
I [hrou,c h the skeleral sys[cm unknowingJ,.. as we p<" rform the task of the
In memorable expe riences of a rchirecture, space Inaner and tlmc: fuse in ca
coh HTln o r che vault widl ou r b(ldy . The- bri ck wants
L OlliS
[0 beco m e
Kahn ln~ Selic!. bur rhis met~ rno rp h()s i s takes p lace thr oug h tbe
it vault. ,l$

r ant: singJe dimension: imo the basic sl1h~c:l ncC' of b ei ng, rh 'tl.t penetr!1res rhe
c ons cio us n~~ss. We id tnt ify ourselves ~.. i th (his space. rhis pl<l(c , r his
mJmc:\i::. nC 0 1: r (;\l,I n ["xx1),. momenr <tnJ these di mcn sioll$ 3S th e ~' hl"(.omt~ ingr~di~:nts or o tlr ver y (:xis ­

II• 1 ( ('iKt'. i\r( hir(.:'C lllfc :S rhe J.rt. of med i:lcil'll and rt"(oncililltion .