An architecture of the 7 senses

First of all, it's really a beautiful article to read through. There i explicitly realized, how architecture is not complied of just structure and finishes. There are plenty of external forces to foster an excellent architecture.

It's all about create pleasure of the senses. The eyes, ears, nose, skin and tongue. Having says that, if all of your sense organs had perceived a good impression, u will so likely to remember it. So do the architecture.

The writter judged contemporary architecture had lost the primitive modality, standing its way over-emphasis on the intellectual and conceptual dimensions further contributes to a disappearance of the physical, sensual and essence of the architecture. For me, it's a trend. Besides architecture wise, most of architects design building had being too commercialized. Apart of galleries or buildings for rememblance, most of the architectures tends to bring returns to the owner. Who does care about the authenticity of architecture and venture their time and money on the extra works?

Architects always the crucial, reading and exploring will bring them back to the essence of architecture.

Now talk about the senses of architecture:

We see world through our eyes. Gaze of pleasurable comings, nice scene, right proportion, materials tell the age of the building. Natural material means the veracity of the age of building. The wear of patina adds the enriching experience of time.

We smell the architecture. Odor makes one remember and imply the memory of one place or certain space. Particular scent arouses the memory, good or bad, it's a way to store in mind. "Rainer Maria Rilke gives a dramatic description of images of past life in an already demolished house conveyed by traces imprinted on the wall of its neighbouring house. -There were the midday meals and sicknesses and the exhalations and the smoke of years, and the sweat that breaks out under the armpits and makes the garments heavy, and the stale breath of mouths, and the oily odour of perspirating feet. There were the pangent tang of urine and the strench of burning soot and the grey reek of potatoes, and the heavy, sickly fumes of rancid grease. The sweetish, lingering smell of neglected infants was there, and the smell of frigtened children who go to school and the stuffiness of the beds of nubile youths." Oh so beautiful <3 but somehow nobody will like to move in a house like that. *** I still remember how my boyfriend's home smell like, always filled with the little smoke and incense smell... now wherever there is incense, it triggers my memory of that sweet home.

We hear the surrounding. We have our own judgement of the transmit of the sound, there we determine whether the place is noisy or exhilarating, the volume of the space and realize the activities within the sufficient area one can hear. "One who has half-risen to the sound of a distant train at night and, through his sleep, experienced the space of the city with its countless inhabitants scattered around its structures, knows the power of sound to the imagination; the nocturnal whistle of a train makes one conscious of the entire sleeping city." I love these words badly. It gives infinitely imagination to me. But undoubtedly, the perception of humans are different, some will be so annoyed with the train noise in the night but some find that they love the everyday's happening.

End of the day, it's still the happening between the habitants and the architecture. How they perceive means a lot to the one who create the particular space and building.

And, we touch and sense. The skin reads the texture, weight, density and temperature matter. Tactile surface enriches the journey of stroking, tactile sense connects us with time and tradition; through the marks of touch we shake the hands of countless generations. "It's preasurable to press a door handle shining from the thousand hands that have entered the door before us; the clean shimmer of ageless wear has turned into an image of welcome and hospitality. The door handle is the handshake of the building."

We taste the architecture. Now it sounds a bit abstract. How does it taste? Let's just take an example. Our Petronas Twin Tower, the idea of its appearance is based on our abundant rainforest. But merely look on it, how does it taste like? It tastes like steel because its appearance looks "steely" but actually this massive structure is made of concrete. The idea is of rainforest, the plan is derived from islamic pattern. But it doesn't taste like that from the view of passenger without knowing its origin. It's the option one can indulge the different kind of taste into their building.

Scale and anthropometric. Primitive men build their dwelling refer to their dimensioning of body proportion like what a bird does too. Good scaling of space makes one feel warmth, chilling or etc. High ceiling often applies to a grand entrance, walkway often in smaller width to make one moving on to their destination. The destination should seduce people, make'em comfortable to stay.

The 7th sense in my mind is the movement. Movement brings lively. No matter it's the beautiful ballad of the pine trees, the swaying coconut trees along the beach, the kids jumping hilariously in the garden, the fast pace of people walking along the city, movement makes a place lively! Sunrise and sunset too reflect the movement of shadow. A building brings a lot of movement is exhilarating!

Lastly, architecture has its task to place people in the continuum of culture. Our domicile and home are intergrated with our own identity; they become part of our own body and being.