[Link]

org/media/phenomenon-of-experiential-space/

BUILT ENVIRONMENT , RESEARCH

Phenomenon of Experiential
Space
By Shruti Gupta
Back to Blog
“Like the spider with its web, so every subject weaves relationship between itself and particular
properties of objects; the many strands are then woven together and finally form the basis of the
subject’s very existence.”                        — Jakob von Uexkull

Man tends to weave relationships with his surroundings; he grasps vital relations to bring order
into his world, adapting physiologically in the process. Human actions have a spatial aspect
attached to them that are related to orientation and existence. Relationships like inside and
outside, near and far away, above and below are spatial qualities that explain orientation. Man
associates these with his daily activities such that space becomes part of his existence, building a
mutually adaptive association with the human body. “Architectural space can be defined as a
concretization of man’s existential space.” (Norberg-Schulz 1971). Man, from the beginning of
time, has built space according to his needs; a space that was formed by what he wanted to see,
hear, smell and touch. The environment became alive by his choice of objects, and thus he could
relate his dwelling in the world with the space around him.

The existence and life of the environment is felt by the senses. Each aspect of the space
influences the mind – the touch of the materials, the sound of the space, the smell of the air; all
these work together to form an experience of space. “A real architectural experience is not
simply a series of retinal images; a building is encountered – it is approached, confronted,
encountered related to one’s body, moved about, utilized as a condition for things” (Pallasma
2006).

The experience starts from the approach to a place. The approach forms the path of preparation
for the user to free the mind of all external noise and concentrate on the space and his
existence. It is like visiting a church. It’s generally a straight path to the altar, however, the high
ceiling of the naïve, the frescoes around and the stained glass windows constitute an
atmosphere of contemplation; such that before a person reaches the altar, all his worldly
worries have mellowed down and he is conscious of himself and his God to have a personal
interaction with Him. The path may alter the experience in various ways.

The path provides the opportunity for interaction between spaces. “…thoughts are
communicated in the silence of phenomenal experiences.” (Holl 1993). Series of experiences
form a path of exploration that draws the user into a world of discovery. Spaces flow into each
other creating a fluid movement sequence of variable perspectives. “Perspectives of
phenomenal flux, overlapping perspective space is the “pure space” of experiential ground.” (Holl
1993).

Space Kinesthetics

The interaction of various spaces between one another forms an important aspect of space-
making. “The visual perception at the human eye-level while moving through the space provides
the only accurate reality of spatial experience.” (Pandya 2005). Objects placed above or below
eye-level may be perceived differently, just like movement in horizontal space is very different
from movement in the vertical
direction. 

Experience based spaces are designed keeping the movement of human eye in mind and are
thus rendered effective. Vistas unfold sequentially forming a process of concealment and
revelation bringing in an element of exploration. This is enhanced by changing perspectives and
shifting visual axes. Buffers may provide places of rest and contemplation. The whole
architecture is thus experienced while moving through the space that is orchestrated by the
perception of the senses. Space becomes alive and the individual has the “sense of presence”.

REFERENCES
Alberto Perez-Gomez, Juhani Pallasmaa, and Steven Holl. 2006. Questions of Perception-
Phenomenology of Architecture. William Stout Publishers, San Francisco, USA .

Christian Norberg-Schulz. 1971.  Existence space & architecture. Praeger Publishers, New York,
USA.
Steven Holl. 1993. Steven Holl. Artemis Verlags AG, Zurich, Switzerland.

Yatin Pandya. 2005. Concepts of Space in Traditional Indian Architecture. Mapin Publishing Pvt.

[Link]
experiential-spaces-in-todays-design-scenario/

[Link]

We argue that today increasing interest in simulation, by society and the profession, is evident.
Maybe, we are witnessing the dawn of a new era of design after postmodernism, post-
postmodernism and the archi-stars season. Society largely recognizes how spatial design affects
human well-being and health; this generates a serious return to people-centred design and,
consequently, increased interest in transparency and participation in the process of decision
making about urban spaces. An answer to transparency can be given by professionals by
anticipating the environmental and energy performance of new spaces and, not least, the
multisensory experience of places. In short, simulation has now a recognized social and
environmental mission as never before.

7Exploring the research on architectural representation and simulation of the ambiance of places
requires us to enlarge the domains of knowledge beyond the horizon of the design discipline.
Hence, we have to invade other fields of research, like the environmental studies, in order to
explore the mechanisms of human interaction with the environment.

8In particular, this special issue investigates the relevance of experiential and sensory aspects in
architectural and urban design and how these manifest themselves in current practice, research
and education. Barbara E. A. Piga and Eugenio Morello seek to provide a comprehensive
framework for introducing experiential simulation into urban design, approaching the topic from an
ecological point of view, which means comparing the relationship and dynamic interaction
occurring between man/environment and man/simulation. This framework allows us to categorize
different types of devices, techniques and applications of simulations in order to orient the
designer in the selection of the appropriate tools to use depending on her/his objective and
resources.

9Studying the mechanisms of perception, action and emotion from the neuroscience perspective is
crucial to overcoming the purely intuitive awareness that architects have of these
mechanisms. Andrea Jelić argues that human experience acts as a pre-reflective process
between the person and the environment, i.e. a kind of precognitive communication. Hence,
architecture should take into account the neurophenomenological approach, in order to generate a
positive loop between architectural design and people experience.

10The theory of architecture is full of references to multi-sensory studies and the conceptualization
of ambiance in practice. Carolina Coelho presents this topic analysing the concept of the multi-
sensory living experience as a design content. Referring to relevant references of design projects
and well-known authors, the research gives a picture of the different outcomes in practice, with a
specific case study on a contemporary school.

11The concept of ambiance is also related to the intangible aspects related to the use of spaces.
Even if promoting places for social encounter is the main aim of urban design, this aspect has
rarely been translated into visuals and mapping methods as argued by Deirdre Greaney in her
contribution. For instance, methods to predict the future conditions of usage of the public space
are mostly expressed as text-based theoretical contributions, whereas representations of predicted
social uses are not simulated at all by designers. In order to bridge the gap between theory and
practice, between guidelines and simulation of design outcomes, eidetic mapping is a possible
answer to help designers to validate the invisible conditions of usage of future public spaces.