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Description:
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This dissertation counters the visual bias , and the simplistic approach to the
senses , in architectural thought , by investigating the connections among different sense
modalities (sight , sound , smell , taste and touch ) . Literature from the cognitive sciences
shows that sensory modalities are connected perceptually ; what we see affects what we
hear , what we smell affects what we taste , and so on . This has a direct impact on the
perceptual choices we make in our day -to -day lives .
A case study conducted in an urban plaza investigates the perceptual choices
people make (or what they attend to ) as they explore their physical environment .
Results show that people construct subjective and embodied mental maps of their
environments where sensory impressions are integrated with cognitive concepts such as
emotions or object recognition . Furthermore , when one sense is muted (such as closing
the eyes ) other senses are prioritized . A theoretical framework termed as the "Sensthetic Model" is developed illustrating the interdependence of sensory , kinesthetic and cognitive factors , and the hierarchical and lateral relationship between sense -modalities .
The latter is the focus of studies with architecture students in abstract thinking exercises :
a ) Hierarchical : Students perceive a hierarchy of senses (sensory order ) when
they think about different places . Vision is primary , but not always . Touch , classically
relegated to the bottom of the hierarchy , is often higher in the hierarchy and coupled
with sound .
b ) Lateral : Students associate colors with different sounds , smells , textures ,
temperatures , emotions and objects and cross over modalities conceptually , with a
degree of consistency . There are more associations with emotions and objects (which are
not constrained to a single sense -modality ) , than with purely sensory images .
Finally , the theoretical model is further developed as a tool to think
"across" modalities (crossmodally ) based on the identification of sensory orders and
sensory correspondences . By focusing on the sensory modalities (nodes ) and the
relationships among them (connections ) , the model serves as a conceptual tool for
professionals to create sensory environments . This dissertation is an initial step beyond
the aesthetics of appearance , towards the Sensthetics of experience . |