The Eyes Of The Skin, Architecture And The Senses - Juhani Pallasmaa

An excellent book, a book that peals away your pre-conceptions as you read and installs on, the most natural way of thinking; it gives you a clearer conscious when considering the environment. 

Pallasmaa explains the importance of architecture's role in stimulating our senses and expresses his concern for the dominance of vision in comparison to our other senses when architecture is taught, critiqued and conceived, resulting in the disappearance of sensory and sensual qualities of architecture. He also explains how and why we could really benefit from designs that are created with not only sight but all of our senses in mind. The book is called 'The eyes of the skin' because, as Pallasmaa explains, 'All the senses, including vision, are extensions of the tactile sense; the senses are specialisation of skin tissue, and all sensory experiences are modes of touching, and thus relate to tactility.' 

He also goes ahead and explains how the skin has the capacity to see and even recognize colours. Pallasmaa takes a very poetic approach to architecture and this type of writing never fails to move me. His words really are sublime. One of my favourite quotes: 'As the settings of our lives are losing their human meaning, it is the task of art and architecture to re-mythicise, re-sensualise and re-eroticise our relationship with the world. Simply, humanity is lost when life loses its echo in the deep historicity and spirituality of existence. Architecture can strengthen and maintain our grasp of the world and ourselves, and support humility and pride, curiosity and optimism. A door handle, a conversation, an encounter: such is this small book.'

The short book investigates how the senses are activated in and through architecture and the built environment. Logging the ocularcentric nature of most architecture theory, Pallasmaa evokes sound (and silence), but also scent and texture in a profoundly moving and effective way. Most significantly, there is attention to memory, passion and imagination and how they are summoned, triggered and enhanced through architecture. But the quality of the writing alone is inspiration for readers and writers.

Pallasmaa argues that most contemporary architecture disappoints because it aims for a memorable visual image above all else. The second of the two essays especially points towards an architecture drawing on the other senses which can restore a sense of belonging and integration. A refreshing book, not just for the general reader, but also for graphic designers and others naturally concerned with the visual.

The book argues that great architecture is not created based on purely visual sense but also other senses. At the time when visualisation is king in architecture due to the development in digital media and the demand of quick turn around, visual sensation has become the main objective on architectural creation to satisfy the eye. We quickly forget that visual attribute is only temporary. Our taste change over time. Therefore timeless architecture must more than visual to endure time.

In many respects, Pallasmaa's vision is a template in how to navigate through life's challenges, always looking for a positive experience and using our own sense to channel that energy.