Title: Greening Modernism by Carl Stein (affiliate link)

URL: Greening Modernism by Carl Stein (affiliate link)

Purpose: Greening Modernism’s author, Carl Stein, makes a case for a more unified and holistic architecture that reaches a sustainable synergy through building reuse, with particular attention to the balance between the qualitative aspects of science and the more effect-driven aspects of utility and human experience.

Merging the Finite with the Wisdom of Occupant Experience

This beautiful book, Greening Modernism (affiliate link), encourages readers to take on the finite nature of natural resources, as they may serve as impetus to design buildings which offer occupants more meaningful human experiences. In his discussion, the author Carl Stein, highlights the relationship between occupant and building — where “limitation” can be used to re-frame design problems, and thus, lead to more holistic and cooperative design solutions that invite occupants to connect with their environment in ways that meet today’s environmental challenges while still offering, what Stein calls, the “authentic human experience”.

Often emphasized in this book is the notion of how the authenticity of experience is frequently missed due to our lack of awareness regarding the finite nature of that which surrounds us: the environment, its resources, and the energies which buildings utilize (for their demolition, construction and operation). I agree with Stein as he eludes to the notion that authentic experiences are hard to come by these days, as there is an epidemic of “devalued experience”, which may be a by-product of the lack of awareness that our resources are, in fact, limited.

As you may surmise, Greening Modernism offers a narrative that will lead you through the strategies, relationships and consequences of how to “build” sustainably for our time, complete with color images that often serve to reinforce the links between what we need to do, and what has been done.

Energy, Restraint and Smart Reuse: Beyond ‘Buildings as Objects’

As one delves deeper within Greening Modernism (affiliate link), Carl Stein invites his reader to look beyond ‘given’ systems of analysis — to question what already exists, to decipher what will be required to meet human need, and to weigh architectural design strategies to find new and smarter ways to both preserve and reuse resources.

Astutely, Carl Stein investigates the interrelationships between ‘quantified analysis’ and ‘subjective effects’ with such questions that weigh the thought process of decision-making between specifics like the importance between a “5% increasing cooling load [versus] a visual connection to the outside world”. (Stein, 192) Thus, through both its big-picture and detail-oriented lens, Greening Modernism is an insightful read in that it juxtaposes architectural design’s larger challenges with specific scenario-based solutions and applications, so you can see how truly sustainable and holistic architectural design thinking might play out.

Building Systems and Controls That Interconnect Rather Than Divide

As an architect, reading Greening Modernism (affiliate link) will be time well spent. It offers strategies to tackle both the simple and complex with the intent of keeping building occupants in touch with what is most important — achieving a more sustainable architecture and way of living where, through occupant behavior, they never lose ‘touch’ with that which surrounds them.

For instance, Carl Stein explains how automated and manual building control systems may serve different purposes when each is taken to its extreme. And as such, each scenario has caveats as well. The fully automated building system that self adjusts and self corrects may be more efficient in real time, but as Carl Stein explains, it may further disconnect building occupants from their environment, in turn, making them lose touch with the cause-and-effect relationships between their building, its operations, other occupants and the larger surrounding environmental context. (Stein, p. 215)

In the end, Greening Modernism (affiliate link) presents a way forward where sustainable design becomes more than just about efficiency and quantitative analysis — Carl Stein, instead, suggests how meaning can be further developed within architecture, particularly when that architecture has been designed in true synergy with the environment, not for the sole purpose of saving limited resources, but to also design buildings that are truly worth experiencing.

To learn more or to buy Greening Modernism (affiliate link), please click here. (affiliate link)

Review by Maria Lorena Lehman, Founder of Sensing Architecture

Citation:
1) Stein, Carl. Greening Modernism: Preservation, Sustainability, and the Modern Movement. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2010.

Disclosure: Please note that the book entitled Greening Modernism was provided to me for free by the publisher for the purposes of this book review publication on Sensing Architecture. For more information, go to Sensing Architecture Disclosures

© 2008-2011 Sensing Architecture by Maria Lorena Lehman

Title: The Architecture of Patterns by Paul Andersen and David Salomon

URL: The Architecture of Patterns (affiliate link)

Purpose: to explain how redefining pattern today can unleash new developments in architecture that lead toward greater evolution in building design, instead of merely repetitive building design. This book explains how rethinking patterns is key.

Does How You Perceive Pattern Really Make a Difference?

This book, entitled The Architecture of Patterns (affiliate link) by Paul Andersen and David Salomon, proves to be a quite fascinating read. You will immediately see, upon opening the book, just how patterns play a significant role within architectural design — both as they were thought of in the past, and in how we need to continue re-thinking “pattern” as we strive to direct architecture into new realms.

The authors point out how patterns are inherently playing a part in how we “see”. And the more we engage in perceiving patterns, the greater our chances are in creating design “interactions” as opposed to simply just the design of “things”. (Andersen and Salomon, p 47) I find such notions made within this book to be quite appropriate when considering where architecture has been, and where it is now headed.

As we delve into designing architecture that is more dynamic, transient and personalized, we as architectural designers need to re-think not only how we see pattern, but also how we integrate it within our built environments — as it does affect the very people that we design for, and it does become the very fabric by which our buildings behave to ultimately engage with them.

Patterns that Allow for Greater Variety and Diversification

This book will take you along a journey which begins by exploring how patterns have made their way into our world through both things and environments. Andersen and Salomon look at how pattern has evolved over time, and how with each step in its evolution it has yielded breakthroughs to better the lives of the people that use them.

Interestingly, The Architecture of Patterns (affiliate link) also takes note of why there is a “silence on patterns”, where designers shy away from them due to their fleeting and seemingly unstable nature. But Andersen and Salomon go on to further explain just how the very makeup of patterns, when thought of through new lenses, bring with them characteristics like connection, variability, diversity and new kinds of flexibility. I think more books like this should emerge where authors take on new perspectives that help us to further explain to ourselves the merits of architectural “properties” that have been not fully understood, or maximized for the particularities and challenges of our own evolving era.

In an age where our buildings are headed toward being more sensitive places, I do agree that patterns maintain certain qualities that allow certain architectural stimuli to “vibrate” (Andersen and Salomon, p. 96 ), where it is becoming possible for buildings to yield an elasticity through zones that can create new kinds of architectural differences and same-nesses. As you read this book, you will see these and other examples that deconstruct pattern for architecture in order to help you, the reader, re-consider it for its untapped potential.

Another nice thing to see in this book are the use of case studies to really drive home concepts about how patterns can be reformulated, being seen from different angles to create architectures that are more intelligent, while also embracing both the static and fleeting — which, in the past, has often been thought of as two separate entities which could not exist together.

I highly recommend this book to you, for I think it will help you to see how integral patterns are — going beyond the most obvious use of patterns today, delving deeper to explore the architectural make-up of patterns across multiple disciplines, by pulling from other realms like graphic design, industrial design and even cultural anthropology. I like how Andersen and Salomon explain how patterns make for easier translation, which yields better communication. And as such, patterns also are more malleable as they can more easily be changed on the fly. Reading this book will give you a deeper level of understanding into just how and why this occurs.

The Architecture of Patterns Should Be on Your Shelf

In the end, I do think that this is a worthwhile book to read. It will expand your knowledge about how patterns are interwoven within architecture, and how such patterns can exist in realms beyond the visual — into all of our senses, and ultimately into all of our cultures.

At 133 pages, this book is a must-read, and I am glad that I have it on my shelf. It is filled with wonderfully integrated color images that reinforce the concepts being explained within the book. And it is nice to see a book where the illustrations are as important as the text, teaching how you can “see” patterns in new light, to understand more about our evolving perception of them, and inspiring you to incorporate them anew into your architectural designs.

To buy, or learn more about, the The Architecture of Patterns, please click here. (affiliate link)

Citation:
1) Andersen, Paul and Salomon, David. The Architecture of Patterns. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2010.

Disclosure: Please note that the book entitled The Architecture of Patterns was provided to me for free by the publisher for the purposes of this book review publication on Sensing Architecture. For more information, go to Sensing Architecture Disclosures

© 2008-2011 Sensing Architecture by Maria Lorena Lehman

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 (affiliate link) by Sergei Eisenstein. In it is discussed the notion of “montage” and what the merger between the senses (like sight and sound) means for an observer and director or designer.

I like this book because I think it is critical for you as an architect to understand how various senses relate to one another, and what happens when you play with the way they relate to each other by manipulating factors like time (and space). All that you do as a designer will be perceived by the person experiencing it — and the way you feed them sensorial cues makes a huge impact on how your design is received, ultimately affecting the overall quality of your design (and its ability to uplift your occupant’s lifestyle).

When you design your built environments you should know what message you are getting across to your occupant, how that message is received and how it gets processed through factors like occupant behavior, thought and emotion. Practically speaking, some of this may not be so obvious to you while you design, however, your occupants are sophisticated observers and will pick up on the sensorial nuances in your design — whether you intended them or not.

This book, The Film Sense (affiliate link), is a great way to point you toward the path of dissecting how your building occupant’s perceive through their senses, as written from the perspective of film design. I’m sure that by reading this book, you will gain interesting insight equipping you to reach architectural designs with maximum positive impact.

The Film Sense (affiliate link)

© 2008-2011 Sensing Architecture by Maria Lorena Lehman

Name: Sensory Design by Joy Monice Malnar and Frank Vodvarka

URL: Sensory Design (affiliate link)

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:

“He maintains that a connection exists between individual distance (the normal spacing of humans) and personal space, which may be thought of “as a portable territory, since the individual carries it with him wherever he goes, although it disappears unders certain conditions, such as crowding. It is the sort of space that W.H. Auden refers to in his “Prologue: The Birth of Architecture”:

Some thirty inches from my nose
The frontier of my Person goes…

This raises the question of just how far our ”frontiers” actually do go, and the degree to which each sense is responsible for understanding distance. Golledge and Stimson point out that because the real world is complex, sending out millions of information signals, we can only be aware of a small portion of them. This information is experienced and recorded as differentials of color, heat, motion, sound, pressure, direction, and whatever else is present and within the range of the senses. Because we record only those stimuli that have a bearing on our particular needs, perceptions may differ.” (Sensory Design, pages 150-152)

As you can see, this book makes it easy for you because the authors have collected very significant and relevant information about what qualities make a space and how those qualities may be interpreted by your occupants. Additionally, Sensory Design includes both broad and detailed explanations which are extremely useful as you work making numerous design decisions at a time.

BECOME A BETTER ARCHITECTURAL DESIGNER

Sensory Design is filled with many different formats to help you learn. The authors have really done their research and will provide you with concrete examples of the different theories about the intersection between the human senses and architectural design compositions.

Plus, history is a part of it too. Not only do Malnar and Vodvarka incorporate the latest findings about the human senses, but they also make links and connections so you can understand how and why certain architectural design techniques stick and others don’t.

There are many nuggets of wisdom in this book — true gems.

I have seen other books that claim to link architectural design to how humans perceive and none that I have seen so far come close to this one. If I had to recommend one comprehensive book on this subject to get you started and that I think would help to make you a better designer, then this is it.

I am sure that you will pick this 356 page book up again and again. I know I do.

Here is the book link: Sensory Design (affiliate link)

© 2008-2011 Sensing Architecture by Maria Lorena Lehman

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 (my affiliate link), he takes a look at how ubiquitous computing works and how it will affect society, in most all realms. Here, he explains more…

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 some priorities now, so that “everyware” technologies lead to smart environments that develop in optimum ways.

You, as a designer of built environments, play a major role in how this all develops. You should be informed about ubiquitous computing technologies — understanding both its great potentials and its negative effects. As technology propagates and embeds itself within architectural space(s), occupant perception will be greatly influenced while experiencing architectural works. The key is to integrate technology with architecture, so each complements the other while minimizing any negative “side-effect”.

WHY “EVERYWARE”?

Adam Greenfield is very thorough in his exploration of ubiquitous computing — explaining its impact on cultures, physical environments and individuals.

This is his why he wrote the book…

My intention in Everyware is simply to describe what ubiquitous computing is; establish that it is a very real concern for all of us, and in the relatively near term; explore some of the less-obvious implications of its spread as a paradigm; and finally develop some ideas about how we might improve it. (1)

Click here to buy the book: Everyware: The Dawinng Age of Ubiquitous Computing (my affiliate link)

(1) Greenfield, Adam. Everyware: The Dawning Age of Ubiquitous Computing. AListApart.com. April 4, 2006.

© 2008-2011 Sensing Architecture by Maria Lorena Lehman

Name: Color, Environment & Human Response by Frank H. Mahnke
URL: Color, Environment, & Human Response (my affiliate link)
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:

“Human reaction depends on a multitude of factors. First we must consider that in choosing appropriate surface colors much depends on the specific hue, its value, and intensity. Also where color is placed, how much of it […], for what purpose, and for what length of time should all be taken into account.

It would be erroneous to think that color design […] can or should be geared to a specific physiological effect — such as lowering the blood pressure of a person suffering from hypertension. Let me emphasize: Specific physiological effects should not be the designer’s objective.

[…] When designing with color we must always see it in context, and not apply it through generalities.”

Although this book explains relationships and uses of color in great detail, Mahnke writes in a style that is easy to understand – making a very complex topic digestible and eye-opening. This is a book that you will reference again and again, getting new insight each time you open it.

The author, Mahnke, is an architectural consultant for architectural projects and he has devoted his life to the study of color to help designers create healthier built environments.

HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR DESIGNS

Color, Environment, & Human Response (my affiliate link) is specifically written for professionals that design and plan architectural environments. Not only does Mahnke teach you about color basics and its more complex psychological effects, he also details the biological effects of light – fundamental to color.

Mahnke looks at color from a design perspective as he delineates color uses and occupant effects for a multitude of building types. The following is a list of just a few of the building types covered in this book where he provides detailed architectural design goals and guidelines for each:

• offices and computer workstations
• schools
• healthcare facilities
• restaurants and food display
• industrial work environments
• color for exteriors

A PICTURE IS WORTH 1000 WORDS…

I particularly love the sixteen page color image spread that shows specific examples of how color can be used in design to achieve certain outcomes. You’ll realize just how important color is for architectural design. (Additionally, I like the black and white images that complement the text to help explain the author’s point throughout the rest of the book.)

Mahnke will also teach you about how the colors you currently use in your designs affect your occupants. Plus, you’ll benefit from understanding why color in architecture works the way it does – giving you detailed and useful insight about how you can incorporate color in the future, providing both general principles and specific guidelines for a wide range of building types.

DON’T TAKE COLOR FOR GRANTED

For anyone that is interested in how architectural features impact occupant experience – this book is a must read. Color is not something that should be an afterthought in the design process. It really does have a large effect on how occupants experience and behave within built environments. So please, read this book.

Here is the book link: Color, Environment, & Human Response (my affiliate link)

© 2008-2011 Sensing Architecture by Maria Lorena Lehman