Coming to Our Senses

1
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Aichitectuie anu the Non-visual

by

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This ieview appeaieu in !"#$"#% '()*+, -"+".*,(,
Numbei 26, SpiingSummei 2uu7.




Books uiscusseu:

- /0%1 ",% /2*3%*,+4 5))"1) 0, 67( 87",+*,+ 9(3"6*0, 0: /0%1 ",% ;#<7*6(<62#(, ueoige Bouus
anu Robeit Taveinoi, Eus. (Cambiiuge, NA: NIT Piess 2uu2) - =(,)0#1 '()*+,, }oy Nonice
Nolnai anu Fiank vouvaika (Ninneapolis: 0niveisity of Ninnesota Piess, 2uu4) - =>"<()
=>("?@ ;#( A02 B*)6(,*,+C 5D>(#*(,<*,+ ;2#"3 ;#<7*6(<62#(, Baiiy Blessei anu Linua-Ruth
Saltei (Cambiiuge, NA: NIT Piess, 2uu7) - 5,<02,6(#)4 ;#<7*6(<62#"3 5))"1), }uhani
Pallasmaa (Belsinki: Rakkennustiet 0y, 2uu7) - =(,)( 0: 67( 8*614 ;, ;36(#,"6( ;>>#0"<7 60
E#F",*)G, Niiko Zaiuini, eu. (Nontieal: Canauian Centei foi Aichitectuie anu Lais Nullei
Publisheis, 2uuS)


The five books unuei consiueiation heieall phenomenologieshave this in common:
they aim to biing aichitects to theii senses. All aigue that a builuing's meaning, beauty,
function, anu value lie not just in how it appeaishow it looksbut in how it auuiesses
anu affects the othei senses: heaiing, touch, kinesthesia, tempeiatuie, balance, anu even
smell. The aichitect's palette as an aitist, the aichitect's conceins as a social agent, anu the
aichitect's inteiests as a piofessional, these books imply, ought to be much bioauei than
puiely visualthe unuue bias towaius which is peipetuateu by aichitectuie magazines
thiough photogiaphy anu by stuuio euucation thiough uaily emphasis on scieens, uiawings,
anu mouels. The "expeiiencing subject"the one who lives in anu among builuingsis
(GF0%*(%, anu the bouy cannot be ieuuceu to its eyes.
It's useful to begin by iecalling that "phenomenology" iefeiieu oiiginally to school
of philosophy initiateu by Eumunu Busseil aiounu 1911 anu peihaps best summeu up by
the injunction to take appeaiances seiiously. Theie's nothing G(#( about the textuie of
eveiyuay expeiience, about oui moous anu how they affect the look anu feel of things. Such
matteis ought to be cential to philosophy, saiu Busseil. 0nueistanuing the woilu
Coming to Our Senses
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phenomenologically is no less uelicate oi uemanuing a task than, say, unueistanuing Time,
Space, oi Causation. 0ui sensoiy peiceptions, oui moous anu intentions, anu inueeu
consciousness itself aie integial paits of one Realityanu hence peifectly objective anu
stuuy-able.
In latei life, Busseil took up the quest to theoiize the natuie of consciousness
itselfbefoie it becomes filleu, so to speak, with content (sensations, intentions, meanings,
etc.).
1
Nany piominent followeis of Busseil, howevei (piimaiily Nauiice Neileau-Ponty
anu uaston Bachelaiu, not to mention Naitin Beiueggei anu all thiee wiuely ieau at
aichitectuie giauuate schools in the '8us anu '9us) kept to Busseil's oiiginal piogiam.
Neileau-Ponty examineu consciousness's uepenuence on oui F(*,+ weighty anu limbeu
bouies iathei than on just having them. Foi Neileau-Ponty, oui bouies aie paiauigmatically
both "in heiesubjective" ",% "out theieobjective," anu it's haiu to uisagiee. Bachelaiu
concentiateu on the status of uayuieams anu the powei of poetiy to uncovei anu intensify
the latent anu all-but-univeisal meanings of eveiyuay places, while Beiueggei uwelt on the
feeling all moueins have of living with uiffuse intentionalities anu yet nostalgic foi ultimate
puipose, oui wanting to feel fiee of the olu ways.anu yet at home.
Within aichitectuie itself, the stieam of phenomenological wiiting iuns not quite as
ueep. It woulu incluue Steen Eilei Rasmussen's classic 5D>(#*(,<*,+ ;#<7*6(<62#( anu Ruuolf
Ainheim's H7( '1,"G*<) 0: ;#<7*6(<62#"3 I0#G@ as well as Chiistian Noibeig-Schulz's J(,*2)
B0<*@ }uhani Pallasmaa's H7( 51() 0: 67( =?*,, Baviu Seamon anu Robeit Nugeiauei's
!"#$$%&'( *$+,# +&- .&/%01&2#&3!
2
!"-!" $"%&'( !"#"#$%&%'! !"#$%&$'( *+#$,+-$./ !! #$%&'( )*
!"#$%&'! !"#$ !"#$%&'()# !"#$%&' )#'*+", *- .$/"*,#/,0$#! #$%$& '()%*+&,- !"#$%#$& ()*"#+,*+-),
!"#$ !"#$%&'()(%!" $%& '()*$'+ ,- ./% !"# %& '#()*+,(+-#, ". /,%0*+1! Siegfiieu uieuion's
=>"<(@ H*G( ",% ;#<7*6(<62#( anu Biuno Zevi's ;#<7*6(<62#( ") =>"<( weie woiks of
phenomenology too it coulu be aigueu, as was ventuii, Rauch, anu Scott Biown's B("#,*,+
I#0G B") K(+"). All take the enhanceu (D>(#*(,<( 0: builuings, lanuscapes, anuoi the city to
be theii staiting point, theii touchstone, anu theii enu. All offei the inteipietations,
naiiatives, anu explanations they offei (say of constiuction methous oi social histoiy) in
oiuei to iaise consciousness of the sensoiy anu emotional qualities of F(*,+ in ceitain
physical enviionments, anu most especially the ones aichitects uesign.
Foi example, whethei oi not you aie peisuaueu by uieuion's naiiative of histoiical
successionuieek space to Roman space to Nouein spaceyou ieally have to (D>(#*(,<(
these thiee kinus of "epochal" spaces to get his aigument at all.
S
Take Las vegas's glittei,
Coming to Our Senses
3
signage, iefeientiality, anu stiip-layout seiiously, anu you will begin to ponuei
aichitectuie's possible (u)evolution to supei-efficient climate-contiolleu volumes coveieu
ovei anu lineu by aibitiaiily foimeu anuoi electiifieu skins. You might begin to feel
excitement at the plausibility of the notion that builuings of the futuie will float like ciuise
ships in oceans of cais, anu shoulu. Eithei way, aftei ieauing B("#,*,+ I#0G B") K(+"), you
cannot see signage, tiaffic, oi the stiip the same way.
Reau Tanizaki anu you will have new eyes foi the uaikness that accumulates fai
fiom winuows. Reau Beschong anu you will suuuenly become awaie of the aii.


Now, in phenomenologies like these, as well as in populai ciiticism of aichitectuie, one
fiequently heais the plea to aichitects to "move beyonu the visual." What shoulu we make
of that. If aichitectuie *) uetiimentally miieu in the visual, we might ask: how uiu that come
to be. Anu we might ask in coiollaiy: woulu the chaige that some builuing is "eye-wash" (a
metaphoi foi )7"330L) have been avoiueu oi iemeuieu if the aichitect hau hau concein foi
the othei senses (say heaiing anu smell). In othei woius, can a builuing be multi-sensoiy
",% shallow in meaning, oi puiely visual ",% ueep in meaning. I think the answei must be
yes.
Beie is the ciux of it. Builuings have a look anu a feel, to be suie, F26 67( :((3 G2)6
<0G( :#0G 67( 300? if aichitectuie is to be one of the :*,( aits. Scanning a fine colonnaue
beats a quiet uium in the minu; anu an aicaue seen is an aicaue L"6<7(% if it evokes the
sounu of a iolling hoop oi makes you feel like walking on stones acioss a ponu. "Space" is a
sensation poweieu mainly by the sight of suifaces, anu involves the whole bouy alieauy,
which is why too uiiect a concein with sonic, haptic, oi ouoi expeiiences iisks making
aichitectuie a faiigiounu enteitainment iathei than a fine ait. As a iesult, no aichitectuial
phenomenology I know of makes a big ueal of what it's like to open anu close uoois: that
satisfying (oi not) twist of the hanule, movement on the hinges, thuu anu click of a ieseating
latchthe change in acoustics, those possible feelings of piotection oi exposuie, of finality,
exclusion, oi entombment on closing a uooi, anu of iisk, anticipation, oi fieeuom on
opening it.
4
Few make mention of the quality of the bieeze that comes fiom winuows iathei
than uucts, oi of the uisoiientation causeu by elevatois, oi of the muuuying of speech
causeu by soua machines, oi of the wonueiful, giauual escalation of hubbub as one
uescenus open caipeteu staiiways to a lobby (as one uoes, foi instance, at the ;#*.0,"
Coming to Our Senses
4
/*36G0#(). Somehow these phenomena, because they aie ,06 visual in beginning oi solution
anu cannot be museum-izeu, stanu outsiue the uoois of aichitectuial theoiy. Billei anu
Scofiuio's /32# /2*3%*,+, foi example, ieceiveu the attention it uiu by the uiagiams anu the
photogiaphs of its stunning clouulike piesence on Lake Neuchtelnot by the facts of
moistuie upon the face, the sounu of spiay, oi unsuie footing among iainbows. Bow close it
came to enteitainmentto a iiueiathei than aichitectuie.
It woulu be sau if theie weie no way to theoiize the non-visual phenomena of
aichitectuie in a fine-ait ",% technical way. Theie aie few pieceuents foi tiying to uo so,
anu the effects of these woiks on piactice have been close to zeio. (When has Beschong's
H7(#G"3 '(3*+76 *, ;#<7*6(<62#( evei lain open neai a uiawing boaiu, much less a
computei.) Aichitectuial theoiy iemains iesolutely about the visual. If theie is any blame
to go aiounu foi thisanu I think theie isthen pointing to photogiaphy anuoi the
magazines is not enough. Also impoitant aie the sensibilities of galleiy owneis, museum
cuiatois, anu ait histoiians since aiounu 19Su, anu how that mesheu with the ambition of
unknown aichitects to become known ones via )70L). As aitists uo.

Whence, then, the iemeuy. Bow to holu to the "#6, iathei than the enteitainment value, of
tianscenuing the visual in aichitectuie.
In the case of /0%1 ",% /2*3%*,+ euiteu by ueoige Bouus anu Robeit Taveinoi, the
iemeuy is to come fiom aichitectuial histoiians themselvesoi at least, fiom ceitain of
them. /0%1 ",% /2*3%*,+ consists of twenty essays wiitten by some of aichitectuie's most
uistinguisheu histoiians in honoi of }oseph Rykweit on his seventy-fifth biithuay. All
thiough his caieei, Rykweit maue the case that we shoulu iecognize anu locate the souice
of aichitectuie's emotional powei in myth, politics, ceiemony, the bouy, anu ceitain
seemingly insignificant eveiyuay expeiiences. Rykweit's scholaiship is "wet," selective,
peisonal. Peihaps this is why he hau the effect he uiu on Nichael uiaves anu on all the
Postmoueinists who took seiiously, iathei than iionically, the moualities of aichitectuie's
meaning that he hau uncoveieu. Foi Rykweit, builuings can be seen as peisons: to look at
them openly anu vulneiably is to look also insiue oui cultuie anu ouiselves. In this Rykweit
places himself wheie humanismbeginning in the soul-centeieu city-state of Plato anu
passing on thiough the Renaissance to such thinkeis as the 19th-centuiy ueiman
psychologist Theouoie Lipps anu the English wiitei, aichitect, anu aesthetician Sii ueoffiey
Scottinteisects with the phenomenologies of Nauiice Neileau-Ponty anu the uepth
Coming to Our Senses
5
psychologies of Fieuu anu }ung. "Eveiy moment of peiception," Rykweit wiote in H7(
M(<())*61 0: ;#6*:*<(, "contains a whole peisonal anu collective past; oui bouy is the
incaination of that past; anu with eveiy moment of peiception this past is ieoiueieu anu
ievalueu." (Accept this last clause anu even 300?*,+ can be ievolutionaiy.)
The twenty essays of /0%1 ",% /2*3%*,+ aie meant to exploie vaiious facets of
Rykweit's inteiests. Nany only seem to uo that. In the main, theii stance is acauemic, which
is to say ueteimineuly objectifying, ueciueuly NON6, the love being foi scholaily activity not
being-in-builuings, the uesiie being foi polite applause, not bettei aichitectuie anywheie. I
think that that alone will make them of limiteu chaim to aichitects who love aichitectuie in
a uiiect NOA02 way.
S

We have }ohn 0nians fiom the 0niveisity of East Anglia claiming that "visual
knowleuge is oiganizeu veibally"no aichitect woulu agieeanu then invoking neuial
impiinting fiom uaily ancient uieek life to explain ancient uieek oinamental themes (e.g.,
egg anu uait = shielu anu speai), which may be tiue, -ish, but haiuly neeus "pioving" by
elementaiy neuioscience. We have Naik Wilson }ones fiom the 0niveisity of Bath, in paitial
contiast, nicely challenging the vitiuvian tiiau anu then mounting a convincing uisplay of
eiuuition about the Boiic oiuei anu the multiple meanings of the tiipou theme. Nost
intiiguing.
Next, Lonuon School of Economics Cities Piogiam uiiectoi Robeit Taveinoi pits
science against ieligion (omitting the miuule giounu iepiesenteu by the humanities) anu
launches into an analysis of peispectival constiuction in Pieio uella Fiancesca's H7(
I3"+(33"6*0, 0: 87#*)6, following Wittkowei's, to piove (as fai as I can tell) that the Savioi
was exactly six feet talli.e., iueal in height accoiuing to vitiuviusanu that the iest of the
painting was geometiically ueiiveu fiom that. Yes, I see.
A piece on figuial oinament in the Renaissance by Alina Paine concluues: "Locateu
at the inteisection of liteiaiy theoiy, figuial *G*6"6*0, anu aichitectuie, oinament coulu anu
uiu sliue between the aitificial baiiieis with which scholaiship so often sepaiates the
uisciplines. Yet is it piecisely fiom its location on this euge that oinament facilitateu
uialogue anu exchange between the aits anu tieu Renaissance aichitectuie into the fabiic of
its cultuie" (11S). 0veilooking the mixeu metaphois, what have we leaineu heie that we uo
not alieauy know.
Illinois Institute of Technology piofessoi Baiiy Nalgiave offeis an essay comes to
the iescue with bieathtaking ieconuiteness: uiu you know that in his nevei-built iueal
Coming to Our Senses
6
palace ("Figuie 8.4"), Bayieuth couit aichitect Paul Beckei (1677-171S) combineu "the
uiama of Boiiomini with the gianuiloquence of Fischei von Eilach's fiist uesigns foi
Schonbiunn (c. 1688)". Figuie 8.4 is an insciutably tiny iepiouuction of a copy of an
engiaving of a pioposeu ceiling fiesco that has uozens of heaus yokeu in meuallions anu
figuies uiapeu on biackets calmly in awe of the centei panel, which uepicts fieiy clouus
buisting past a wieath of uaikei clouus ovei a lofty baioque poich seen fiom impossibly fai
below. Figuie 8.4, in othei woius, is an illustiation typical of the histoiy texts that have
maue aichitectuie stuuents keel ovei with boieuom foiI am guessing heiea hunuieu
yeais. Anu oh the oiotunu piose iolling with poitentous aujectives iefeiiing now anu again
to these tiny pictuies as though they weie ($*%(,<(. 0h, the sau wisuom histoiians affect
("alas, it was not to be . . . "), the uoggeu hammeiing on a point, the ieaching, the ieaching . . .
followeu by a few classily off-hanu iemaiks to assuie us that the authoi uoesn't ieally caie
how this woiks out, oi that (thunuei ieceuing, sliue piojectois ciackling as they cool) the
point is ieally quite simple.
I piefei (as Rykweit might) to think of histoiians in the fielu: the winu in theii haii
on Nykonos oi with theii steps iesounuing off the floois of the '0+(P) Q"3"<(; tuining a
foggy coinei to see Plecnik's M"6*0,"3 ",% E,*$(#)*61 B*F#"#1 oi heaiing the bells of B"
H02#(66( on a Sunuay as chiluien on hoises clop by on theii way back to town . . . anu then,
notebooks in hanu ovei lunch, seaiching foi the language that, back home, will make histoiy
live with these expeiiences too. Phenomenal histoiy of liveu phenomena!
You might say my ciiticism is misplaceu. Scholais aie scholais, uou bless 'em. Theii
love of aichitectuie is shy anu a bit fetishistic.
6
By miu-way thiough /0%1 ",% /2*3%*,+,
howevei, things begin to tuin. A bioauei love of aichitectuie begins to bloom. Kaisten
Baiiies' account of the mouein aichitect's giowing inteiest in uefying giavity anu uenying
the look of hanumaue-nessieminueis of the bouyhas ieal giavity. The cential poitions
of Albeito Peiez-uomez's chaptei on Chailes Etienne Biiseux's theoiization of the ielation
of aichitectuie to music is goou enough to foim the founuation of the much laigei stuuy,
one extenuing aichitectuial theoiy touay ueepei into music theoiy anu vice veisa,
embiacing jazz, psychoacoustics, music synthesis anu composition, anu much else.
7

Neal Leach of the 0niveisity of Bath suggests in his essay that Renaissance inteiest
in wiiting human piopoitions into builuings signaleu a uesiie to F(<0G( a builuing, to be
magically investeu with a gieat builuing's composuie, haimony, capaciousness, longevity.
8

This empathy is moie than self-love (wheie one looks at the othei anu sees oneself). It is
Coming to Our Senses
7
one of the hallmaiks of NOA02 love, anu it can happen between oneself anu an inanimate
object.
9
Nakeu anu spieau-eagleu, vitiuvian man is <#2<*:*(%, aigues Leach, anu so stanus foi
a mimetic engagement with the built enviionment wheiein the self is actually saciificeu.
"The subject suiienueis itself to the othei in oiuei that it might live on thiough cieative
engagement with the othei," he obseives, meaning, by "the othei," aichitectuie. Nice. Tiue
of the time. Peihaps.
In the miu '2us at the Bauhaus, abstiact paintei 0skai Schlemmei's inteiest in the
socializing, moving, clau figuie iaises at least two questions foi any mouein aichitectuial
humanism that woulu base itself too univocally on the bouy: fiist, how is one to iegaiu the
non-iueal (anu iecall, in 192S, non-iueal was soon to mean non-Aiyan) bouy that most of us
have, anu seconu, what aichitectuies aie alieauy conjuieu by bouies in clusteis, bouies in
ielative motion to each othei with ciissciossing gazes. I.e. what status puiely )0<*"3 space.
Naicia Feueistein, fiom viiginia Tech, offeis an essay that leaus us to ponuei these points.
Next, Cailo Scaipa's /#*0,OK(+" 8(G(6(#1 neai Tieviso, a paiauigmatic example of
the phenomenological, time- anu expeiience-baseu aichitectuie, comes unuei the
examination of ueoige Bouus of the 0niveisity of Tennessee, who finus theie masteiy not
just of the optical, but also of the eiotic anu the oneiiicspiung stiongly fiom the visual to
be suie, but complementeu by the acoustic vaiiances of passage, vault, pools, anu chapel;
the smell of eaith anu floweis, the pieciousness of watei in a bowl of poicelain anu golu, the
weight of a uooi, the ineitia of a gate. Bouus' own piece enus with what can only be calleu a
paioxysm of poetic scholaiship, inspiieu, cleaily, by a winu-in-the-haii encountei with his
subject.
I wish I coulu say the same foi Baviu Leatheibaiiow's elegant uisquisition on
inteiiois in ielation to uibanism, which skips ovei aichitectuie to finu it, but nevei leaves
the Book. The essay by William Biaham (0. Penn) anu Paul Emmons (viiginia Tech) on }ohn
Russell Pope's Q"1,( R7*6,(1 J1G,")*2G at Yale is a fine example of aichitectuie theoiy-
ciiticism that mistakes finuing homonyms anu making puns (in this case, mainly on the
woius "upiight" anu "flexible") foi actual theoiizing, anu lack-of-specificity (e.g., Bow uiu
the gym's postuie-coiiecting machineiy actually woik. What measuies weie applieu.) foi
intellectual geneiality. Echoes of poststiuctuialism lingei.
With his usual acumen, Kenneth Fiampton looks at Tauao Anuoone of touay's
most "phenomenal" aichitectsanu misses veiy little. (Although I uo wish he hau
commenteu on why the white sofa in the S0)7*,0 !02)( laps ovei the fai winuow.) Bis
Coming to Our Senses
8
Rykweitian inteipietation of the iconic cioss at the 872#<7 0: B*+76 is ueau-on: the cioss's
ieveisal of the physicality of the Passion means moie than iemoving Chiistianity fiom
Catholicism; it means iemoving the bouy fiom aichitectuie as insciiption "out theie" in
favoi of the puie expeiience of one's own bouy, anu of natuie, wheie one stanus.
I have not iemaikeu on all the essays in /0%1 ",% /2*3%*,+. Noi have I uone them full
justice. But vittoiio uiegotti suiely gets it iight in his own concluuing essay: Rykweit is a
histoiian whose focus on "the life in the woik" of aichitectuie anu whose passion foi
oiiginsaichaic oiigins, anthiopological oiigins, uepth-psychological oiiginscieates
passages, tunnels, to the existential situation of uesigneis uown which few of his peeis can
follow with any hope of emeiging, as he uoes, at the uesignei's siue, anu still in love with
aichitectuie as an N with a A02.

=(,)0#1 '()*+, by }oy Nonice Nolnai (0niveisity of Illinois) anu Fiank vouvaika (Loyola
0niveisity) woulu fall into a class of books that might incluue Rasmussen's classic
5D>(#*(,<*,+ ;#<7*6(<62#( weie it not foi its foiensic style, its hanubooktextbook
ambitions. Bitto =>"<() =>("?@ ;#( A02 B*)6(,*,+C by Baiiy Blessei (foimei teachei of
acoustics at NIT anu uevelopei of uigital ieveibeiation systems) anu Linua-Ruth Saltei
(inuepenuent scholai), although the lattei is the bettei book.
Nolnai anu vouvaika's book paiticulaily seems piemiseu on chastising aichitects
even aichitectuiefoi theiiits lack of attention to all the "sensoiy systems," witness the
blanu junkspace of tiavel-ielateu aichitectuie, the uin of malls, oui ueauening office
"lanuscapes," anu aichitectuie magazines with little in them but pictuies of slanting
sunlight thiough tall walls of glass (you cannot piint echoes). Anu what aie oui "sensoiy
systems". They list five: Basic 0iienting, Auuitoiy, Baptic, Taste-Smell, anu visual. These
they uutifully cioss-compaie unuei the categoiies of Noue of Attention, Receptive 0nits,
Anatomy of 0igan, Activity of 0igan, Stimuli Available, anu Exteinal Infoimation 0btaineu,
to iecieate a chait fiom the late gieat peiception psychologist }ames }. uibson,
1u
without,
alas, seeming to giasp uibson's piimaiy poetic-scientific insight (one shaieu with Fiench
psychiatiist Eugene Ninkowski): Theie is no tiuly empty space on eaith oi peihaps
anywheie, since, fiom the spaisest ueseit to the most hectic uowntown, space is thick with
alieauy-stiuctuieu, alieauy-patteineu infoimation caiiieu by light (in "optic aiiays"), aii
piessuies, molecules, anu giavityinfoimation which we soak up just by being immeiseu
*, it (anu of couise, having evolveu in it). "Location" means nothing moie than uniqueness
Coming to Our Senses
9
of infoimation available (just as it uoes on the Web); anu builuings aie moie things to look
L*67pacing, hiuing, ievealing, anu geneially aiianging othei, usually moie salient souices
of infoimationthan things to look "6. These space-as-fielu insights can have piofounu
effects on how aichitects think about space (anu alieauy has),
11
but neithei they, noi the
line of thinking they geneiate, can be founu in =(,)0#1 '()*+,@ foi all its attention to }. }.
uibson.
12

Nolnai anu vouvaika pioceeu, iathei, to toy with ciuue functional mouels of how
we peiceive (you know, woius like "peiception," "intention," anu "woilu" put in little boxes
anu joineu by aiiows), as though this coulu be gotten iight oi matteieu veiy much.
Beployeu faiily eaily (on page S6), foi example, is theii own such foimulation: "Peiceptual
systems 8 Cultuial mouifieis = Contextual peicept"a joke suiely, until you see it again on
page 2S7 ueckeu out with uotteu lines anu aiiows whiiiing between Complexity,
Coheience, Sensoiy Noues, Nemoiy, Legibility, Place, anu Nysteiy. Although aumiiably
filleu with iepoits of stuuies in enviionmental psychology, leaveneu with iich place-
uesciiptions fiom novels, anu iaisineu with some coloi plates, the book offei eainest, vague,
anu unhelpful statements like "We peiceive fiamewoiks of oiuei in teims of paiticulai
chaiacteiistics of foim, mateiial, coloi, anu uiiectional emphasis" (8u) eveiywheie. By the
book's enu, one becomes convinceu that no piogiess has been maue eithei within its coveis
oi in enviionmental uesign ieseaich. If one uieams, as I uo, of the uay that aichitectuie can
simultaneously be theoiizeu scientifically, aitistically, ",% "histoiico-philosophically"a
feat that music theoiy seems to be pulling off on behalf of music compositionthen to ieau
=(,)0#1 '()*+, aftei /0%1 ",% /2*3%*,+ is to couit uespaii.

Bow uoes =>"<() =>("?@ ;#( A02 B*)6(,*,+C faie by this measuie. I openeu the book hoping
foi the auial equivalent of physicist Naicel Ninnaeit's classic (anu so fai unsuipasseu)
phenomenology H7( M"62#( 0: B*+76 ",% 8030# *, 67( T>(, ;*# (19S4).
1S
uou knows, the way
builuings )02,% is a much-neglecteu concein foi uesigneis touay, anu ueafness woulu ouuly
be no hanuicap to an aichitectuie ciitic oi histoiian. =>"<() =>("? goes all out to elevate the
status of sounu uesign to a full-time aichitectuial puisuit, anu this fai beyonu contiolling
noise tiansmission oi fixing conceit halls. "Acoustic aichitect" is a piofession foi the futuie.
To this enu, the book pioposes many fine uistinctions anu useful teims, such as "<02)6*<
"#(," anu "<02)6*< 70#*.0,. But peihaps the most engaging thought the book offeis is the
iuea of "sonic illumination."
Coming to Our Senses
10
Consiuei: both light souices anu sounu souices emit waves that ieveibeiate
thiough anu aiounu a builuing anu which, in so uoing, biing a builuing's suifaces to sensoiy,
phenomenal life. Both can be natuial, aitificial, oi hybiiu. Both have uepth anu blenuable
coloi (timbie). Anu so on. Agiee with Le Coibusiei that aichitectuie is the "coiiect anu
magnificent play of masses biought togethei in light," anu it becomes intoxicating to
imagine oneself sensitive enough to 7("# that magnificence anu coiiectness, since these
masses shape the sounu fielu too. Noie than thatanu this is not in Blessei anu Saltei's
bookone might begin to see that the peiception of uepth yielueu by vision oveilaps in
piovocative ways with the uepth infoimation yielueu natuially by )0,"#: casting the woilu
(anu aichitectuie) phenomenologically not as a sequence of peispectives oi pictuies, but as
a tiansfoiming aiiay of suifaces at vaiying uistances fiom oneself in eveiy uiiection,
suifaces foiming the bounuaiy of a block of space that "moves" as one moves, changing
shape.
14
0ne might even aigue that oui visual sense's piimaiy task is to geneiate this
uynamic ambient uepth expeiience, the capacity foi which has been suppiesseu by mouein
liteiacy, painting, piint meuia, anu viueo scieens.
Be this as it may, the entiie "vibiational pictuie" of aichitectuie given by acoustic
phenomenology coulu oveihaul much of what uesigneis uo with visual foim, which is theii
mtiei. =>"<() =>("? is not the book to uo this single-hanueuly, but in spite of its occasional
iepetitiveness anu NON6 technicality (albeit sciupulously avoiuing mathematics), the love of
the sounu of spaceof seeing with one's eais anu heaiing with one's eyescomes thiough
on almost eveiy page; anu it's a new place to stait. Woulu that the book hau come with an
auuio CB oi BvB so that we might 7("# the uiffeience between a finely tuneu ioom anu a
pooily tuneu one as we lookeu at it.

It's ieasonable to suimise that aichitects leain most natuially fiom books by aichitects-
who-wiite. Anu it's piobably moie impoitant that theythe authoisbe inteiesting ")
"#<7*6(<6) iathei than as wiiteis. This is not to say that aichitects uo ,06 ieau poetiy,
philosophy, liteiatuie, histoiy, science, anu ait ciiticism. It's just that books by aichitects
aie moie likely to be piemiseu on the aichitect's peculiai way of loving aichitectuie, which,
iueally, is in an open, vulneiable NOA02 moue, anu with the pioblem of 70L 60 %()*+, nevei
fai fiom view.
1S
Wiiting by aichitects may contain phenomenologiesuesciiptions of
complex multisensoiy expeiiences, evocations of the textuie of eveiyuay life, anu uelicate,
tiying-not-to-be-ieuuctive cogitations as to how they come about by aichitectuie's hanu (I
Coming to Our Senses
11
am thinking heie of Steven Boll oi Nichael Rotonui). But few piesent themselves ")
"phenomenologies," possibly because of the woiu's stuffy piovenance.
16
0ne exception is
the wiiting of Finnish aichitect anu euucatoi }uhani Pallasmaa.
5,<02,6(#) is a collection of twenty five essays wiitten by Pallasmaa ovei the last
thiity yeais. "Phenomenology" is eveiywheie in this book. The veiy title ieminus one of
Naitin Bubei's language foi the NOA02 ielationship: to (,<02,6(# anothei being is moie than
just to "expeiience" him, hei, oi it; is it to auuiess anu feel auuiesseu by them oi it, foi goou
oi ill but nevei with inuiffeience. Pallasmaa want us to encountei aichitectuie, anu cleaily
to love it in all the ways he uoes. Bis ieaueis aie just as cleaily his peeisuesignei-
aichitects who piactice anu teach, oi enjoy ieflecting upon anu iefining theii unueistanuing
of the phenomenon of aichitectuie. The ambition is to auvance the aitanu heie is a point
of uepaituie foi usnot foi its own sake but foi how it might eniich oui lives anu the lives
of futuie geneiations.
The scholaiship in Pallasmaa's essays is bioau anu eclectic anu thus bounu to
uisplease histoiians. Images aie plentiful anu contempoiaiy, as befits a goou sliue lectuie; if
one wanteu to complain, one might say: a little too lovely, a little too photo-magaziney. This
ieviewei is happy with both featuies. Biagiams aie absent; the wiiting style is cultivateu,
calm, anu systematic (but not too), all of which makes ieauing the book a pleasuie. But
beneath Pallasmaa's uiscouise iuns a lovei's angei at suitois whose offeiings to
aichitectuie he ueems shallow, meie foimal play, too acauemic, anuoi too iemoveu fiom
life as liveu by people he likes. Pallasmaa finus himself wheie many Pioustian aichitect-
wiiteis finu themselves: intoxicateu by aichitectuie's magnituue-in-uelicacy anu thus
unwilling to let hei play the fool, haul capital, oi join the aimy.
Be has my sympathies.
Foi lack of space, I shall engage Pallasmaa on just one of the essays in 5,<02,6(#)
(theie is consiueiable oveilap among them on the themes of "sensoiy thinking," "embouieu
intuition," "authenticity," anu the like)the 1994 essay "Iuentity, Intimacy, anu Bomicile."
17

Theie I was stiuck by a passage as emblematic as it is pioblematic:

|Tjhe aichitect's iesponsibility is to penetiate the suiface of what is most
often commeicially, socially, anu momentaiily conuitioneu uesiie. The authentic
aitist anu aichitect consciously oi unknowingly engages in an iueal woilu. . . .
}. N. Coetzee has saiu that taking the ieauei into consiueiation when wiiting
is a ueauly eiioi foi the wiitei. 0mbeito Eco, foi his pait, has uistinguisheu two
types of wiiteis: the fiist type wiites what he expects the ieauei to want to ieau, the
Coming to Our Senses
12
seconu cieates his iueal ieauei as he wiites. In Eco's view, the fiist wiitei will wiite
meie kiosk liteiatuie, wheieas the seconu wiitei is capable of wiiting liteiatuie that
timelessly touches the human soul.
In my view, only the aichitect who cieates the iueal client as he uesigns can
cieate houses anu homes that give mankinu hope anu uiiection insteau of meie
supeificial satisfaction. Without . . . I"33*,+L"6(# . . . the =<7#U%(# !02)( . . . K*33"
="$01( . . . -"*)0, %( K(##( anu . . . K*33" -"*#(" to concietize the possibilities of
human habitation, oui unueistanuing of moueinity, anu of ouiselves, woulu be
consiueiably weakeneu. . . .
(T)ouay's aichitectuie seems to have abanuoneu life entiiely anu escapeu
into puie aichitectuial fabiication. Authentic aichitectuie iepiesents anu ieflects a
way of life, an image of life. . . . (T)ouay's builuings uo not seem to ieflect any ieal
anu authentic way of life.
18


0ne cannot help but note the sweeping Beiueggeiian cast: the aichitect must withstanu the
blanuishments anu uistiactions of mouein life to ieestablish the authentic anu iueal
ielations we ought to have to oui suiiounuings.
The pioblem is that even if one weie to agiee, theie is some question about what the
aichitect's knowleuge shoulu consist in, phenomenologically. 0ne is in a bit of a jam: a
phenomenology unmixeu with class anu cultuial juugment woulu have to piesume the
NASCAR life-woilu, say, of Ricky Bobby in H"33"%(+" M*+76)all Applebee's anu
auienalineto be as iich anu authentic anu multisensoiy, at least in piinciple, as
Pallasmaa's Bachelaiuian, Rilke-esque woilu of "quiet kitchens wheie someone sits ieauing
with a book pioppeu up against a loaf of bieau," all "snow flakes" anu "homecoming."
19
Anu
how shall we juuge the quality of sitting thiough the night on a thiown-away sofa in the
miuule of an empty stieet in a small Nevaua town, as Bowaiu Spence uoes in Wim Wenueis'
'0,P6 80G( S,0<?*,+. Phenomenology sits uneasily with moial-aesthetic juugement baseu
on anything but V2",6*61 0: 3*:(. Not V2"3*61 of life, note, but V2",6*61 of life, as Albeit Camus
aigueu; foi to juuge quality of life without an extiemely bioau toleiance of cultuial vaiiation
is to beg the question of quality. Let it be pioveu that enviionment A is moie impoveiishing
of lifein quantitythan enviionment B. This is not so uifficult in the case of extiemes:
office builuing coiiiuois on the one hanu, stieet maikets on the othei. It's the vastly moie
numeious in-betweens that aie uifficult.
So if iuealization of the client is to be the viitue Pallasmaa wants it to be, it neeus to
be an iuealization whose notion of the iueal tianscenus the sensibilities become cultuial
authoiity of Euiopean ait anu liteiatuie fiom 17SS to 19SS, say. As tiue aitists know, it is
the uesignei's 0L, life that pioviues the giounus foi his oi hei phenomenological
sensitivities anu piefeiences; anu the impoitant thing is that 67"6 life be as iich as it neeus
Coming to Our Senses
13
to be to ieflect anu embiace life-in-geneial's buigeoning complexity. 0f equal impoitance
aie the tiaining anu techniques to conveit that expeiiential iichness into satisfying anu
inspiiing places foi people to live anu woik. Not fai behinu that in impoitance is the
toleiance to allow some to investigate aichitectuie's fuithei ieachesfoimal, theoietical,
technicalfoi "#<7*6(<62#(P) sake. Foi theiis is the puiei love, puiei foi not wanting to put
theii beloveu to woik foi theii keep.
2u

None of this shoulu uissuaue the ieauei of this ieview fiom spenuing time with the
essays in 5,<02,6(#). Few wiiteis pioviue as iich anu wise an account of what the
phenomenological appioach coulu mean to aichitects. The heavy anu unpainteu table of his
gianufathei's house, Pallasmaa iecalls, "was the stage foi eating, sewing, playing, uoing
homewoik, socializing with neighbois anu stiangeis. The table was the ongoing centei of
the faimei's house, maiking the uiffeience between weekuay anu Sunuay, woiking uay anu
feast" (122). Bow impoitant anu un-abstiact aie 6"F3() still, how woithy of ieal "uesign
within ieach."

I tuin last to =(,)( 0: 67( 8*61, euiteu by Niiko Zaiuini, a book of nine essays accompanying
the exhibition of the same name helu at the Canauian Centie foi Aichitectuie in 2uuS anu
2uu6.
=(,)( 0: 67( 8*61 is anu is not a woik of phenomenology. It *) because, asiue fiom its
uiiect calls foi uesigneis to pay bettei attention to the full sensoiium, its subject mattei is
oiganizeu by qualities of the (D>(#*(,<( of the city: the city at night (its lights anu shauows),
the city in wintei (anu ovei the seasons geneially), the sounus of the city (mainly noise, but
also music, siiens, etc.), the suifaces of the city (consiueieu mostly tactilely anu
acoustically), anu the aii of the city (pollution, peifume, winu). =(,)( 0: 67( 8*61 is not a
phenomenology in as much as its essays mostly pioviue histoiical backgiounu anu technical
insight into matteis like stieet lighting anu asphalt ioau making. In the aiea of sounu, foi
example, the iecoiuing, cataloging, anu map-making life-woik of Canauian composei,
wiitei, music euucatoi, anu enviionmentalist R. Nuiiay Schafei anu his Sounuscape Pioject
looms laige. Cities uo not sounu like they useu to (no hooves on cobblestone). Noi uo they
smell like they use to (no uowntown factoiies oi exposeu sewage). Anu so foith.
Theie is in all this a sense of loss as well as gain. The sensoiium was iichei once
than it is now. Although theii lives weie less $*)2"331 intense (think of Times Squaie), people
liveu moie exposeu to the aii anu all the sounus anu smells that aii caiiieu fiom people,
Coming to Our Senses
14
animals, planting, anu machineiy. Without iPous, cell phones, anu television isolating them
in piivate sensoiia, the city was moie piesent in fiist-hanu way. To appieciate the gain one
has to be giateful foi the fiist-woilu city's ielative cleanliness, anu to appieciate cai
inteiiois, booths in iestauiants, aii-conuitioning on colu anu hot uays, anu so foith.
In foimat anu feel, if not quite giavity, =(,)( 0: 67( 8*61 ieminus one of H7( I"G*31 0:
-",, publisheu by the Nuseum of Nouein Ait in the 19Sus, with an essay by Cail Sanubuig.
Balf book anu half museum-catalog (with just a touch of Biuce Nau), =(,)( 0: 67( 8*61 offeis
photogiaphy heavy on images fiom the miu-2uth centuiy, a global scope, anu the use of
italicizeu quotes fiom uozens of authois floating among the photogiaphs. But above (oi
beneath) it all it is the lovenot of humanity pei se, but of the city as a phenomenon in its
own iightanu that's what ieminus us of H7( I"G*31 0: -",. The cumulative effect is
poweiful, especially if you ieau the essays (which few ieaueis will, alas). The effect is also,
well, phenomenological. 0ne puts uown =(,)( 0: 67( 8*61 anu walks outsiue just a little moie
appieciative that the ioau is not muu, that the lights buin so steauily, that the tiaffic is
husheu anu even comfoiting, that the aii cleai anu . . . wait, is that the smell of bieau.

A book is a book. Reauing is visual, at least in beginning, becoming auial as one "heais" the
woius, anu then becoming multi-sensoiy as the woius stait to vanish into the thoughts they
geneiate. Imagination fills out the sensoiium in uiiect piopoition to the wiitei's skill with
language. Not only uo sensations "appeai" as if by magic, but also the emotional tone that
goes with themthe intentionality of the wiitei, the chaiacteis, the places uesciibeu. All
this is well known. Aichitects woik fuithei uown the foou chain of expeiience, as it weie.
They can make places that aie supposeu to feel a ceitain way at ceitain times, but they
cannot ensuie the iesult oi be confiuent that society has askeu them to uo just that.
But what aichitects lose in the ability to contiol expeiience the way novelists anu
movie-makeis can, they gain in having at least some aitistic contiol ovei appeaiances in
theii oiiginal viviuness: ieal suifaces at ieal uistances, ieal sounus, anu ieal smells, which
have in them a kinu of electiicity, a piesence, salience, mateiiality, anu openness that poetiy
cannot quite ieach, that film can come close to, anu that schematizing uiscouises on the
"natuie of peiception" cannot engage.
So this is the challenge foi aichitectuial phenomenology. The biiuge fiom enhanceu
sensitivity to the moualities of sense anu consciousness that aie engenueieu by aichitectuie
to the piouuction of new places that must function in a hunuieu othei ways too, is a biiuge
Coming to Our Senses
15
that is now ciosseu only by intuition anu by genius fueleu by love of the veiy mysteiy of the
phenomenon. Theie is tiavel; theie is living with open eyes; theie aie books; theie aie
school exeicises; anu theie is woiking with anu foi mastei aichitects. But theie is also
)<*(,<( to all of it, which I think is essential, but which has haiuly begun. When it comes to
unueistanuing the phenomena of aichitectuie with both heait ",% minu, the love of the best
of us is still young.-

!"#$%&' )&*&+",- *) ;8=; '*)6*,+2*)7(% Q#0:())0# 0: ;#<7*6(<62#( ",% !"3 /0D 87"*# *,
E#F",*)G "6 67( E,*$(#)*61 0: H(D") "6 ;2)6*,@ L7(#( 7( 6("<7() %()*+, ",% 67(0#1W


Notes

1. Consciousness studies today tends to reverse the Husserlian/Buddhist/Taoist model, which poses
consciousness as a primal, universal fact. Rather, consciousness emerges from acts of perception,
attention, memory, and so on, the fruit of local neurological density and computational complexity.
2. For an overview of environmental-architectural writing in the Heideggerian tradition of phenomenology,
see David Seamon, Phenomenology, Place, Environment, and Architecture: A Review, at
<www.arch.ksu.edu/seamon/Seamon_reviewEAP.htm>.
3. Before 1750, the concept of space was little used in architecture. Extension is what philosophers were
interested in. Place, together with proportion, was the mtier of architects. The idea that architecture
had to do with space received a huge boost in the 20th century with the popularization of Einsteins
theories.
4. And why does every movie character, about to leave a room, stop at the door and say something more?
5. The profound distinction between I-You and I-It relationships comes from Martin Buber, student of both
Husserl and Heidegger. See Martin Buber, I and Thou, Walter Kaufmann, Trans. (New York: Scribners
and Sons, 1970 [1937; 1923]).
6. Dont just trust me on this. See Bonnie G. Smith, Gender and the Practices of Scientific History: The
Seminar and Archival Research in the Nineteenth Century The American Historical Review, Oct. 1995,
11501176.
7. David Brown, Noise Orders: Jazz, Improvisation, and Architecture (Minneapolis, MN: University of
Minnesota Press, 2006) is a new contribution.
8. These are my epithets, not Leachs.
9. In I and Thou, Buber contemplates the possibility of having an I-You relationship with a tree. Theodore
Lippss notion of einfhlungempathyas a way to appreciate architecture was in the intellectual
atmosphere at the time.
10. Specifically from his groundbreaking The Senses Considered as Perceptual Systems (Boston: Houghton
Mifflin, 1966).
11. See for example the work of Space Syntax, Ltd. for Norman Foster and Partners
(<www.spacesyntax.com>).
12. For examples of the Gibson-influenced line of thinking, see Serge Boutourlines prescient The
Concept of Environmental Management in Environmental Psychology, Harold M. Proshansky,
William H, Ittelson, and Leanne G. Rivlin, eds. (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1970), 496
450; reprinted from Dot Zero IV, September 1967) and Philip Thiels Paths, Places, and Purposes
(Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press, 1998), which, though analytical in format, proceeds
from a deep understanding and love of place-making. For more one might also Google isovist(s),
viewshed(s), optic array(s), and space syntax. Within psychology, Gibsons legacy is the
movement called ecological psychology. Start at <www.trincoll.edu/depts/ecopsyc/isep/journal.html>.
Coming to Our Senses
16

13. Minnaert is not at all concerned with the nature of consciousness per se, which makes his
phenomenology a little different than a philosophers. But as an exercise in paying attention to the
visual world in wonderment and with infinitely keen eyes, it cannot be beat. One comes away from
studying The Nature of Light and Color in the Open Air twice as alive as when one began it. Ditto
Diane Ackermans A Natural History of the Senses (New York: Vintage Books, 1990), Chandler Burrs
The Emperor of Scent (New York: Random House, 2004) and Luca Turins The Secret of Scent:
Adventures in Perfume and the Science of Smell (New York: Ecco, 2006). Turin is the subject of Burrs
book. Linda Heschongs Thermal Delight in Architecture (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1980) and
Junichiro Tanizakis In Praise of Shadows (New Haven, CT: Leetes Island Books, 1977) come closer to
architecture per se.
14. My own work explores this idea, starting with To Take Hold of Space: Isovists and Isovist Fields,
Environment and Planning B, Vol. 6, 1979, 4765.
15. My list would include Kindergarten Chats (Sullivan), Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture
(Venturi), Body, Memory and Architecture (Moore and Bloomer), The Architecture of the City (Rossi),
What Will Be Has Always Been (Kahn/Wurman), Delirious New York (Koolhaas), Thinking
Architecture (Zumthor). I may be showing my age, but it seems to me that with few exceptions
(MVRDV?), the new generation of interesting architectsnow in their 40s, sayare not as drawn to
writing sustained, philosophical essays or books as was the generation before them. This is not to say
that they are not publishing.
16. Two other architect-writers come to mind: Christopher Alexander (especially in The Timeless Way of
Building) and Paul Shepheard (What is Architecture?).
17. See also his The Eyes of the Skin: Architecture and the Senses (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 2005),
and Steven Holl, Juhani Pallasmaa, and Alberto Perez-Gomez, Questions of Perception:
Phenomenology of Architecture (San Francisco: William K. Stout Publishers, 2006).
18. Encounters, 124125.
19. The poet here is Bo Carpelan, quoted by Pallasmaa in Encounters, 126.
20. Unless the beloved wants to work, of course; and then one just helps. Point is: never should they need
to be useful to justify their existence.