The Film Sense
What Neuroscience is Telling Us
When you design and integrate an architectural feature to engage your building occupant, how do you think it affects them? For example, suppose your occupant is walking toward your building and is just about to enter it — during their approach they can see a waterfall feature just on the other side of the glass which separates the exterior from the interior. How do they process your interior design before ever entering it? Do they actually hear that water feature on the other side of the glass which they can only see?
Such are the questions which leading neuroscientists are uncovering. In fact, findings are indicating that when people are presented with only a visual of something, they do actually hear it. So, even though that interior waterfall is acoustically cut off from the exterior, your occupants will still form a perception of it which is made up of processes beyond the visual.
In the article entitled The Brain Hears Just by Seeing in Scientific American, you can listen to a podcast which describes what is happening with the brain when visual cues stimulate auditory perceptions. You will learn that although people may just “see” something, like a rooster crowing, activity in the brain of the observer actually shows a “lighting up” in their audio cortex — similar to how it would light up if they were actually hearing it.
So as it turns out, the different human senses cross-relate and inform each other in some pretty sophisticated ways. This is something you should definitely understand as you design your built environments.
How to Take Findings about Synchronizing Senses a Step Further
A wonderful book which you should read is called The Film Sense
I like this book because I think it is critical for you as an architect to understand how …[Read Full Article]…
Name: Sensory Design by Joy Monice Malnar and Frank Vodvarka
URL: Sensory Design
Purpose: to explain in-depth and clearly how humans interact and perceive architectural design
THIS BOOK IS MUCH NEEDED IN OUR DISCIPLINE
Sensory Design is a book to really make you, as an architect, more aware of how your designs impact people. Taking and in-depth look at how humans perceive space and built form, Sensory Design is really quite a remarkable publication.
Written by Joy Monice Malnar and Frank Vodvarka, every page is filled with insight that will help you to become a better designer. Their unique way of presenting diagrams, illustrations and photographs really help to make an otherwise complex topic easy to understand.
Many of you, my readers, email me looking for a good resource on the topic of human perception and architectural design. Very often, I find myself recommending this book. In fact, there are very few books that seriously delve into the topic of sensory perception and design in such a detailed fashion. It brings modern day practice together with historical trends and then it ties theories together with findings about the brain to really help designers understand why certain design decision might work and why some might not.
Again, Sensory Design is a great find as it is much needed in the architectural discipline.
WRITTEN FOR A DESIGNER — ABOUT THE HUMAN PERCEPTUAL PROCESS
As you’ve probably heard me say before, the topic which this book covers is very important for architects and other designers to understand. Plus, I like that the authors go an extra step further by explaining human perception from a designer’s stand-point.
I think it best to show you what I’m talking about. Here is an excerpt that I particularly like: …[Read Full Article]…
Image: adamgreenfield | Flickr
THE PROMISE OF UBIQUITOUS COMPUTING
When discussing the topic of ubiquitous computing, there is a particular author that really stands out — his name is Adam Greenfield. In his book Everyware: The Dawinng Age of Ubiquitous Computing
Everyware is an attempt to describe the form computing will take in the next few years. Specifically, it’s about a vision of processing power so distributed throughout the environment that computers per se effectively disappear. (1)
[…]
In everyware, all the information we now look to our phones or Web browsers to provide becomes accessible from just about anywhere, at any time, and is delivered in a manner appropriate to our location and context. (1)
[…]
The vision is, without doubt, a lovely one: deeply humane, even compassionate. But getting from here to there may prove unexpectedly difficult. (1)
Ubiquitous computing holds much promise in certain ways; yet, it seems that it can fall short in others. As evolution brings us toward environments where there are a multitude of computers per person, it seems that such smart environments can indeed “streamline” our lives. The problem emerges; however, when we consider how this all might actually work.
HOW CAN WE MAKE IT BETTTER?
As more and more data is collected to help computers help us, privacy quickly becomes a major concern. Also important is how we plan to make “sense” this data, as sensors and actuating devices work together to “simplify” our lives. Because of such major issues, designers need to start establishing …[Read Full Article]…
Name: Color, Environment & Human Response by Frank H. Mahnke
URL: Color, Environment, & Human Response
Purpose: to explain the physiological and psychological effects of color in architectural environments
THIS BOOK WILL LAST A LONG, LONG TIME
Color, Environment & Human Response is filled with seventeen chapters of detailed insight about how color really impacts occupants within architectural designs. The author, Frank H. Mahnke explains color and its various complex dimensions, from neuropsychological aspects to human emotion and beyond.
I particularly like the following excerpt from this book where Mahnke explains some fundamentals about the relationship between color design and human reaction: …[Read Full Article]…
