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Sensory
Design, by Joy Monice Malnar and Frank
Vodvarka.
It can be argued that since the Renaissance architects
have been wearing visual blinders. They value form, formal
novelty, and other visual considerations over those of the
other human senses: sound, touch, and smell/taste. It seems
that when architects do give (almost) equal value
to these other senses, it's only with projects that require
a particular environmental sensibility, such as medical
treatment facilities. But don't the day-to-day activities,
the spaces where we live, work, and play deserve the same
consideration? Joy Monice Malnar and Frank Vodvarka think
so.
They start their book in the realm of architectural theory,
specifically in type as a reflection of the collective unconscious.
This gives way to an analysis of historical research on
perception and the authors' formula that combines perception
with cultural context, an important relationship to which
the authors constantly return. This analysis also defines
the perceptual realm to include eight "senses":
visual, auditory, taste-smell, orientation, and four haptic
types (texture, kinesthesia, plasticity, temperature). Near
the end of the book these eight senses are used by the authors
in a system that designers can use to rate degrees of intensity
for each. This system allows designers and non-designers
alike to see how existing buildings fare, but primarily
it's intended to influence the former's design decisions
towards a consideration of all the senses.
In between the theoretical beginning and the practical
ending, the authors argue their case by looking at the histories
of architecture, science and art. They see a movement towards
holistic thinking in the various disciplines, illustrated
by key figures like Juhani Pallasmaa, Edward T. Hall, and
James Turrell, respectively. In this regard the authors,
refreshingly, don't dwell on the mediocrity around us and
rail against it, but rather take an optimistic tone as they
present projects that embody their principles, such as Peter
Zumthor's Thermal Baths.
While it's hard to deny their argument, it's also hard
to determine if their sensory system will have an effect
on the architectural profession or academia. The former
is a stubborn bunch focused on getting jobs, keeping jobs,
and presenting sexy photographs of their buildings. The
latter is characterized by a lack of interaction between
environment and behavior classes and design studios, the
studios where schools give the most attention. But the authors
are probably aware that change is slow and this book is
but one step towards a "sensory-oriented design paradigm."
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