4ARC630 Dafydd Jones-Davies

What is the importance of a haptic aesthetic in architecture?

Dafydd Jones-Davies 11745293

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Introduction I initially decided on this topic through reading The Eyes of the Skin 1 and On Weathering.2 What drew me to these books was, my interest in photo-realistic image production that seems ubiquitous in architectural schooling. I believe that with the greater attention given to the production of imagery, a timeless architecture is being produced, that gives no suggestion to the understanding of architectures own mortality, and by reintroducing other modes of sensation we can begin to create a more humanistic architecture. I do not wish this dissertation to turn into an anti-visual diatribe but merely to note that there are other senses that help to inform our appreciation of our environments. This interest has driven me to discover to what end our other senses, in particular the sense of touch, play in our enjoyment of a place, or to put it more succinctly our perception of a place. Despite the apparent interaction of our bodies with space, architectural representation is dominated by visual modes. What are the reasons for this visually subjugated culture and in what way does our haptic sense influence our perceptions? I will attempt during the course of this paper to demonstrate why our society has become so ocular orientated. Also, how we receive and process haptic sensations and the importance of haptic sensations on our emotions and consequently our appreciation of our surroundings. I will discuss how the body processes these haptic influences and which areas of the brain are involved in processing this sensation. I will be referring to scientific and psychological reports to demonstrate the influence of haptic sensation on our emotions and our perception as corpuscles in space. As well as architects that are aware of the predominance of the ocular and attempt to engage our haptic sense. To avoid confusion there are a few definitions that will need to be clarified. The term haptic is widely agreed to be defined as The sensibility of the individual to the world adjacent to his body by use of his body.3 I will be
1 2

Pallasmaa, Juhani (2005) The eyes of the skin, John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester. Mostafavi, M & Leatherbarrow, D (1993) On Weathering: the life of buildings in time, MIT Press, London. 3 Gibson, J.J. (1966). The senses considered as perceptual systems, Boston: Houghton Mifflin. pp.97-98.

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using the term haptic to include a combination of somatosensory perception, the perception of textures and patterns on the skins surface, as well as the perception of ones body in relation to objects in space. Its also necessary to clarify the difference between vision and ocular sensation. The term vision shall be used when discussing the sense of sight in accompaniment with other senses. The term ocular will be used to discuss only sensations received through the eyes and the perceptions there in. The present day notion that the qualities of animate or inanimate objects are perceptions we attribute to them and that these perceptions are formulated within the brain is taken for granted - the result of sensory effects on receptors located on our body transferring the information into our brain and consequently we are perceptive bodies. This notion was first introduced by Galileo who began to consider the body and mind as corpuscular. Entities that float about space receiving stimuli and responding as is necessary. This separation of ourselves from the world, although its had huge benefits, also required that the senses be considered separately. Something that we are now realising, through neuroscience, is not strictly true.

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Ocularcentricism During the enlightenment there was a great push to place reason at the centre of philosophical development.4 This quest for truth was underlined by continual references to ocular descriptions, such as, light and vision.5 The importance of our other senses was negated, because reason could be objectively and logically deduced and so considered more truthful. Its also important to appreciate that up until the 19th century beauty was considered to preside in the mind, to which the senses were subservient. As David Hume remarks; "Beauty is no quality in things themselves. It exists merely in the mind which contemplates them." 6 In the 19th century in Germany, the field of aesthetics was developed. Until then, the scientific study of beauty hadnt been grappled with. The reason for the development of this subject was in order to elevate its importance and authority, bringing it on a par with engineering.7 Considered by many predecessors of philosophy as a merely subjective field, this new insight into the subject was in an attempt to objectify the subject and consequently to reconsider the importance of our senses. They attempted to discover, philosophically and scientifically, what and why we perceived things to be beautiful [see Fechners tests with golden ratio rectangles].8 It was during this time that Robert Vischer (1847 1933) developed his doctrine that aimed to incorporate the body directly into the experience of objects. This appreciation for an object he termed einfhlung or empathy. This sense of empathy was considered to be a feeling as opposed to a

Age of Enlightenment, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_Enlightenment (28th December 2011). 5 Bloomer, K. & Moore, C. (1977) Body, Memory & Architecture, Yale University Press, London. p.29. 6 Good Reads, http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/45726.David_Hume 6 (28th December 2011). 7 Bloomer, K. & Moore, C. Body, Memory & Architecture, p. 31. 8 Mallgrave, H. & Ikonomou, E. (Intro. & Translation.) (c1994) Empathy, Form & Space: problems in German aesthetics 1873-1893, The Getty Centre for the History of Art, Santa Monica, U.S.A. p.13.

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process of formal thought in which we imbue an object with our emotional desires.9 10 Of particular importance to architecture during this time were Gottfired Semper (1803 1879) and August Schmarsow (1853 1936). Within architecture, tectonics had given way to embellishing details that aimed to heighten the visual impact of a building.11 Semper had begun to discuss the importance of enclosure as the antecedence of raum or space as the principal concern of architectural creation.12 August Schmarsow took the concept of space further by declaring it as the real motivation behind architectural form. Along with this newfound belief in the senses Schmarsow declared the movement of the body to be the determining factor in developing the third dimension.13 It must be remembered that until this time the orders of classicism, and the proportions of the golden ratio had held a great power over architectural design. The idea of beauty through bodily movement could liberate a profession that concerns itself with the creation of space, which until then had been confined to visual pleasure. Despite their best efforts to readdress this bias of the senses, with the dawn of mechanisation and more specifically a mass media consumerist driven capitalism of instant gratification and reproduction, society refocused on visual beauty as its opiate. This is a system that in order to progress and grow is drawn into a repetitive production of imagery in order to assert itself and its values.14 Also, with the modern development of computers and more specifically graphic based representation, the pendulum has swung back into the realm of ocularcentricism - computer rendering software uses images pasted onto surfaces to represent materials and textures. The dominance of our ocularcentric mode of representation in architecture today and the consequences this has on the architecture
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Mallgrave, H. & Ikonomou, E. (Intro. & Translation.) Empathy, Form & Space: problems in German aesthetics 1873-1893. pp. 89 125. 10 Bloomer, K. & Moore, C. Body, Memory & Architecture, p. 26. 11 Mallgrave, H. & Ikonomou, E. (Intro. & Translation.) Empathy, Form & Space: problems in German aesthetics 1873-1893. p. 59 12 Semper, G. (Translation by Mallgrave, H) (1989) The Four Elements of Architecture ,. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 13 Mallgrave, H. & Ikonomou, E. (Intro. & Translation.) Empathy, Form & Space: problems in German aesthetics 1873-1893. p. 65 14 Debord, Guy (1994) The Society of the Spectacle, Zone Books, New York.

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produced, is not purely to be blamed and placed at the door of the architectural profession or architectural schooling its an overriding problem with a consumer capitalist driven society. We are constantly encouraged to reproduce images, polished and exciting, original or not in a endless quest for growth (a fallacy of a consumer driven capitalist regime).15 Or as Guy Debord puts it; as the perfect image of the ruling economic order, ends are nothing and development is all.16 Juhani Pallasmaa reminds us of the danger of conceiving of architecture in this way; An architectural work is not experienced as a series of isolated retinal pictures, but in its fully integrated material, embodied and spiritual essence.17 Guy Debord in his seminal work Society of the Spectacle, heavily criticises our concentration on imagery. He sees this production as symbolic of a deeper social problem; The spectacle is not a collection of images; rather it is a social relationship between people that is mediated by images.18 Debord goes on to describe how he believes society has been robbed of its ability to see itself as it creates mirages in its place.19 He also attests to the elevation of the sense of sight over the sense of touch in accordance with

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Bartlett, Albert. The most important video youll ever see, nd http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-QA2rkpBSY (2 January 2012). 16 Debord, Guy (1994) The society of the spectacle. p. 14. 17 Pallasmaa, Juhani. The Eyes of the Skin. p.12. 18 Debord, Guy (1994) The society of the spectacle, p. 12. 19 Debord, Guy (1994) The society of the spectacle, p. 17.

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this move.20 This is unfortunate as the primordial strength of the tactile in charging emotions is well discussed.21 22 This ocularcentric focus creates a timeless society out of touch with the natural cycles of time. Think of a photograph and how it captures in static motion the positions of bodies in space. But space is something to be experienced through the body in motion. Both Pallasmaa and Debord comment on the effects of this timeless cycle; As Hegel showed, time is a necessary alienation, being the medium in which the subject realizes himself while losing himself, becomes other in order to become truly himself. The opposite obtains in the case of the alienation than now holds sway the alienation suffered by the producers of an estranged present. This is a spatial alienation, whereby a society which radically severs the subject from the activity that it steals from him separates him in the first place from his own time. Social alienation, though in principle surmountable, is nevertheless the alienation that has forbidden and petrified the possibilities and risks of a living alienation within time.23 Buildings of this technological age usually deliberately aim at ageless perfection, and they do not incorporate the dimension of time, or the unavoidable and mentally significant processes of ageing.24

Haptic Perception What we perceive through our haptic engagement with the world helps to create a fully sensual experience of space. In an increasingly ocularcentric

20 21

Ibid. Hertenstein, J. Matthew (2002) Touch: Its communicative functions in infancy, Human Development, Vol. 45, pp. 70-94. 22 Williams, L. and Bargh. J.(2008) Experiencing Physical Warmth Promotes Interpersonal Warmth, Science. Vol. 322. 23 Debord, Guy (1994) The Society of the Spectacle, pp. 115-116. 24 Pallasmaa, Juhani. The Eyes of the Skin. p.32.

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society its important that we dont neglect what is considered to be the oldest sensory organ. Ashley Montagu suggests that; the skin is the oldest and most sensitive of our organs, our first medium of communication, and our most efficient protectorEven the transparent cornea of the eye is overlain by a layer of modified skinTouch is the parent of our eyes, ears, nose and mouth. It is the sense which became differentiated into the others, a fact that seems to be recognised in the age-old evaluation of touch as the mother of the senses.25 What we regard as our haptic sense comprises a highly complex set of interactions. This network of receptors and neurons is known as our somatosensory system. The elements of this system can be broken down into 3 main categories; the receptors, the nervous system and the brain. The first point of contact, the skin, contains millions of receptors. The receptors themselves have different qualities that suit them to specific roles. The four main types of receptors are; mechanoreceptors, thermoreceptors, pain receptors (nociceptors) and proprioceptors. Within these groups there are different receptors that do similar but often counter roles. The receptors are located across the body, in varying density. For example there are as many as 100 receptors per cm3 in areas such as the hand and tongue, whilst as few as 10 per cm3 are found on the back.26 The mechanoreceptors perceive sensations such as pressure, vibrations and texture. There are four main types of mechanoreceptor whose only function is to sense indentations and vibrations on the surface of the skin. The thermoreceptors are a lot simpler in that there are two basic types; the hot and cold receptors. Above and below certain temperatures however the pain receptors take over. Pain receptors or nociceptors, as the name suggests, detect pain or stimuli that might cause damage to the skin or organs. These are scattered around the body and can be found in your skin, muscles, bones, blood vessels and organs. Proprioreceptors are able to

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Pallasmaa, Juhani. The Eyes of the Skin. p.11. Skin and Your Sense of Touch http://www.hometrainingtools.com/skin-and-sense-ofth touch/a/1386/. (Date accessed 18 Nov. 2011).

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sense the position of different parts of the body in relation to each other and the surrounding environment. Found in tendons, muscles and joints, their locations within the body enable them to sense changes in muscle length and muscle tension.27 Whilst many of these receptors have specific functions there is never an occasion when just one type will be active. For example, when drinking a fizzy beverage, your hand will be sensitive to the right amount of pressure to exert to hold onto the can, the coolness of the can and the faint popping of bubbles within the can. You will also be aware of your hands position in relation to your mouth, so avoiding any unnecessary spillage. As the receptors are deformed or chemically induced they set up a chained response through the nervous system to inform our brain. The brain processes the quantitative and qualitative information and then, if necessary, relays a command to the subject to desist or continue doing whatever they are doing. This information travels up into the brain where it is processed in different regions. What must be remembered is that these messages travel up to various regions via other areas, which are also receptive to the information and also play an important part in the coordination and emotional responses to the stimuli [see fig. 1]. A message that is sent through the brain stem will pass through the amygdala and the cerebellum before entering into the primary somatosensory cortex. It is here that the neurons associated with the haptic and tactile sense reside. The complexity of how our neurons operate is slowly beginning to be unravelled. In has been discovered that different neurons will fire in the brain to activate what, on the surface, would appear to be similar tasks. The example given by Rizzolatti is between using your index finger to grasp something and to scratch.28 The muscles required to initiate the task are the same yet different neurons will fire. Which leads Rizzolatti to conclude that certain motor neurons will be triggered in relation to the intent of the movement. As he defines it grasping-with-the-hand-and-with-the-

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Somatosensory system http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somatosensory_system (18th November 2011). 28 Rizzolatti, G. & Sinigaglia, C. (2008) Mirrors in the Brain: How our minds share actions and emotions, Oxford University Press, Oxford. p. 3.

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mouth29 The act of grasping is the next sub-division that must be considered after the realisation that a motor neuron is being triggered.

Figure 1. Shows the role of different areas of the cortex

Scientific and Psychological Studies The importance of the haptic sense begins in infancy. It informs our perception of ourselves in relation to space and feeds into our emotional wellbeing. It is through haptics that we receive our earliest understanding of the world around us. It also possesses an important communicative function that, as babies with under-developed optical abilities, were very receptive to.30 31 It has been noticed how young infants respond positively to touch stimuli even when the facial responses of the caregiver are neutral. The simple act of touching would relax an infant.32 This valuable interaction would appear to release emotionally calming responses. Many of our emotional histories are
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Rizzolatti, G. & Sinigaglia, C. Mirrors in the Brain: How our minds share actions and emotions. p. 3. 30 Hertenstein, J. Matthew Touch: Its communicative functions in infancy, pp. 70-94. 31 Rizzolatti, G. & Sinigaglia, C. Mirrors in the Brain: How our minds share actions and emotions. p. 72. 32 Hertenstein, J. Matthew. Touch: Its communicative functions in infancy, p.77.

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stored in the amygdala and due to its function will influence many of our future reactions to touch.33 Another report concerning young infants demonstrated the importance of touch in premature babies. Neonatals who were kept in near-sterile condition suffered from a lack of tactile and kinaesthetic stimulation. Whilst, the neonatals who received daily sessions of limb movement and stroking grew 47% faster per day, were more active, and were released from the hospital 6 days sooner than the control group.34 Another study testing the effects of tactile senses on our mood found that individuals who were asked to hold warm items, such as a drink, were more likely to perceive others and themselves as friendlier, more trusting, and more generous than those who held cold items.35 In a separate study individuals were presented with hard or soft objects, resumes on heavy or light clipboards, and a puzzle with smooth or rough pieces. They found Among other effects, heavy objects made job candidates appear more important, rough objects made social interactions appear more difficult, and hard objects increased rigidity in negotiations.36 At the Delft University of Technology Marieke Sonneveld began to teach a tactile aesthetics module to her product design students. Interestingly, to begin with students were nervous and shy to share their tactile experiences of objects as they lacked a vocabulary to discuss how they felt about the objects.37 Students felt unsure about sharing their intimate feelings through the sense of touch with regard to an object. Sonnenveld also distinguishes between two different forms of touching, one exploratory and intelligent, picking out rational qualities, the other as she terms it the dreamy hands, which aids the student in deciphering their own aesthetic and emotional judgements of the objects.38
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Jacobs R. H. A. H. (2011) "Aesthetics by numbers: computationally derived features of visual textures explain their aesthetics judgment", University of Groeningen, Groeningen. p.38-42. 34 Field, T., Schanberg, S. et al. (1986) Tactile/Kinesthetic Stimulation Effects on Preterm Neonates, Pediatrics. Volume 77 No. 5. p. 654-658. 35 Williams, L. and Bargh. J.(2008) Experiencing Physical Warmth Promotes Interpersonal Warmth, Science. Vol. 322 p. 606-607. 36 Ackerman, Joshua M., et al (2010) Incidental Haptic Sensations Influence Social Judgments and Decisions, Science. Vol. 328, pp. 1712-1715. 37 Sonneveld, M. (2004). Dreamy hands: exploring tactile aesthetics in design. McDonagh, D, Hekkert, P, Erp, J van & Gyi, D (Ed.), Design and emotion: the experience of everyday things, Taylor & Francis, London. pp. 228 232. 38 Sonneveld, M. (2004). Dreamy hands: exploring tactile aesthetics in design, p. 230.

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The importance of the optic sense in our perception of the world is irrefutable. The interaction it has with our sense of touch, the first sense we perceive our environment through as infants, is significant in providing us with our perception of our environments.39 This is a quote taken from Houlgate in The Eyes of the Skin; Sight detached from touch could not have any idea of distance, outness or profundity nor consequently of space or body.40

It would appear that the two senses dont operate separately but interact within the brain to give a fuller understanding of that which we see.41
42

Rizzolatti has demonstrated how stimuli will trigger some neurons

previously thought to operate solely in response to certain stimuli. The somatosensory neurons will be triggered by visual and 3d objects.43 Rizzolatti goes on to demonstrate the complexity of our haptic ability [see fig. 2]. Here somatosensory neurons are responding to the proximity of visually perceived objects. Not only will the neurons respond to direct touch but also to a movement observed optically within the proximity shown.44 This ability enables the body to define its position relative to itself and its surroundings the skin actually sees. Something that is alluded to in the opening pages by Juhani Pallasmaas The Eyes of the Skin; our skin is actually capable of distinguishing a number of colours; we do indeed see by our skin. 45

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Rizzolatti, G. & Sinigaglia, C. Mirrors in the Brain: How our minds share actions and emotions. p. 71. 40 Pallasmaa, Juhani. The Eyes of the Skin. p.42. 41 Rizzolatti, G. & Sinigaglia, C. Mirrors in the Brain: How our minds share actions and emotions. p. 55. 42 Jacobs R. H. A. H. "Aesthetics by numbers: computationally derived features of visual textures explain their aesthetics judgment", p. 42. 43 Rizzolatti, G. & Sinigaglia, C. Mirrors in the Brain: How our minds share actions and emotions. p. 55. 44 Rizzolatti, G. & Sinigaglia, C. Mirrors in the Brain: How our minds share actions and emotions. p. 56. 45 Pallasmaa, Juhani. The Eyes of the Skin. p.10.

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Figure 2. Somatosensory & visual receptive field of bimodal neurons. The shaded area indicates the somatosensory receptive fields; the solid figures delineate the visual receptive fields. This interaction between differing areas of the brain was also noted in a recent study by a group called Syntex, at the University of Groningen. They looked at the effect of textured swatches on brain activity. The textured surfaces were presented via a monitor and the test subjects were required to decipher if they found the textures beautiful or rough. Interestingly, when the subjects viewed the textures under fMRI conditions the second somatosensory cortex was shown to be active. This implies that on viewing textures a person will actively begin to imagine how that texture feels.46 What was also interesting was the stimulation of the amygdala on viewing these textures. It is unclear what the amygdala does in its entirety, but it would appear that not only does it store memories and control emotional responses to stimuli, but that it may also direct our optical devices to focus on certain areas of interest. These focal points are genetically driven and/or emotional memory based driven. So, not only does the amygdala receive information but
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Jacobs R. H. A. H. "Aesthetics by numbers: computationally derived features of visual textures explain their aesthetics judgment", p. 42.

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it also works in a top-down manner, directing our attention to features it deems significant.47

Architectural Influence The study Corporeal Experience: A Haptic Way of Knowing looked to determine the verbal descriptive associations and recollections that a group of ranchers had with the land, structures and their livestock. Its interesting to note, that in reminiscing about past experiences, we will often use words that are descriptive in nature of physical movement within space. Its clear to see the dominance of descriptions of a haptic nature (see fig 3). The physical connection the ranchers felt for their environment is evident and their recollections and stories are littered with an abundance of descriptions of a haptic ilk.48 What is interesting about this is, how our imagined past, is recollected through predominantly kinaesthetic and haptic perceptions. And that this personal contact of the ranchers with the environment had developed a deep bond and understanding between all elements on and within their land. Bloomer and Moore discuss at length these strong emotional feelings that are brought about through haptic interaction with our environments. They go on to say of the significance of the sense of touch; No other sense deals directly with the three dimensional world or similarly carries with it the possibility of altering the environment in the process of perceiving it; that is to say, no other sense engages in feeling and doing simultaneously. 49

47 48

Ibid. ONeill, Maire. (Sept. 2001) Corporeal Experience: A Haptic Way of Knowing, Journal of Architectural Education, vol. 55, no. 1. p. 8. 49 Bloomer, K. & Moore, C. Body, Memory & Architecture, p. 35.

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Figure 3. Table showing the number of times descriptive words relating to visual and haptic modes were used in reference to certain features on the ranch.

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One exemplar of an architecture that absorbs you haptically is the late Alvar Aalto. Although practicing during the formative years of modernism, Aaltos work displays a gentler touch to context than most of the modernists of the time. Using collage techniques, his buildings ebb and flow within the landscape, giving them a layered quality that encourages haptic engagement. Aaltos projects arent underlined by one single concept a tendency in the modernist approach. Instead the buildings unravel in a sequence of events that stimulate us to explore the built landscape.50 Below is one example that demonstrates this collage technique [see figs. 4-7]. In utilising this approach, Aalto creates disparate elements that work in unison to produce emotionally charged encounters. He achieves this haptic quality by masterly playing textures and light against one another. He also brilliantly manipulates forms, to interact externally and to unfold internally, giving a rich contextual experience. Its also worth mentioning the development of Liss Werners Tactile Architecture practice. The practice looks to develop space by using cybernetics, biogenetics as well as other digital tools as conduits for developing spatial designs. Its almost certain that with the ascension of computers that the use of this medium for design will only continue. It may be hoped that through the use of parametricism that we might be able to harness the power of computers, not only to aid complex geometrical forms, but also to contain quantifiable information regarding materials tactile qualities.

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Pallasmaa, Juhani (1998) Logic of the Image, Journal of Architecture, Vol. 3, No. 4, pp. 289-299.

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Figure 4. The elevation drawings begin to show the play of forms that Aalto does so well.

Figure 5. This elevation shows the mixed use of form and material in Aaltos work.

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Figure 6. Here simple grilles offset create interesting light quality and requires dynamic movement of the body through the space.

Figure 7. Again Aaltos use of materials and play of light tempts you to reach out and touch.

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A contemporary architect that constantly subscribes to the haptic mantra is Steven Holl. As Holl says himself; Architecture is a phenomenological discipline in the sense that the only real knowledge and real understanding of architecture is when you move with your body through the space. 51 By cleverly manipulating space Holl encourages the visitor to move through the spaces. This can be seen in projects such as the Nelson Atkins Museum of Modern Art and the Stretto House [see figs. 8-11]. In both these projects the spaces are displaced and played off of one another to entice movement. Although Holls use of materiality is often simpler than Aaltos, he will be more inclined to use only one material externally, the haptic nature of his buildings encourages your body to explore. Steven Holl believes that architecture within the 21st century needs to advance towards a; new focus on architectures potential to shape experience, that interrelates body, brain and world.52

51 52

Stefano Casciani (April 2007) Adventures in the Haptic Realm, Domus, No. 902. p. 37. Stefano Casciani (April 2007) Adventures in the Haptic Realm, Domus, No. 902. p. 37.

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Figure 8. The Nelson Atkins Museum of Modern Art extension.

Figure 9. Internally the museum extension creates interesting directions of movement encouraging exploration.

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Figure 10. The Stretto House like the museum extension suggests separated volumes that must be explored to be uncovered.

Figure 11. Internally spaces are partially concealed and levels altered to give the body a sense of movement about the space even just by looking.

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Conclusion As is evident from many of the studies mentioned in this paper, the importance of the haptic sense on our emotional response to situations and our perception of space is indisputable. More interesting though, is the interaction between the ocular and haptic senses. The displacement of neuron activity across the different areas of the brain indicates why a holistic approach to architecture is required, as our own appreciation of places is never constructed out of independent sense perceptions. Stimuli would appear to create reactions across regions of the brain, so giving a multisensory perception of our environments, even when the stimuli is thought to be unrelated to other senses. Therefore, we should begin to consider how things look and feel in the same breath when designing. It is my belief that by demonstrating such a clear scientific connection between the ocular and haptic sense itll hopefully encourage people to design for both senses. What must be remembered is that the senses never work independently. The information gathered by them is compiled giving us constant relays of our surroundings, which in turn constitute our perception of our environment. Our tactile and haptic connection with our surroundings has been neglected. Unfortunately, due to this disconnection, the language of the tactile is under-developed. It would appear that its going to be difficult to alter this in a Society of Spectacle, but if we should wish not to lose one of our senses, which is ultimately a form of expression, then we must attempt to rebalance the hegemony displayed by the ocular. Im not advocating a return to rapidograph-based drawings and model making as the solution. But that within the 21st century the ability new software packages afford the designer to create projects in a virtual domain must be balanced with a tactile approach and appreciation of the basic principles of architecture, which is to create spaces for habitation. These spaces may be considered to be extensions of our bodies. As neuroscience progresses, our appreciation of how the brain processes the senses and consequently where consciousness pops up, will begin to reshape, not only architecture, but also the fabric of society.

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Further Research The writing of this paper has opened up many other avenues of investigation that would warrant attention. For instance, how may it be possible to arrive at quantifiable responses to materiality? Especially as our response to textures and materials are largely governed by past experiences? Would it be possible to arrive at mean expectations of emotional responses to textures and materials? If so, would it then be possible to incorporate these calculations into modern design tools i.e. computer programs? Would this then encourage a standardised method of designing that would reduce the architect to a mere button pusher? One aspect of the research that I found particularly difficult was in finding architecture that is a paragon of haptic engagement. This maybe due to the fact that all architecture engages us in movement, although some do with a greater sense of excitement and discovery than others. Its very difficult to get beyond the rhetoric of many of the blurbs on architectural designs. What concerned me was that this is a method of sensing that is about physical experience not rational understanding. Ive come across many examples of architecture that use the words tactile and haptic in their descriptions, yet, and the irony is not lost, Ive felt uncompelled by the images I found of them. It would also be interesting to try and uncover what makes physical movement thrilling or enjoyable. There are many philosophers who believe that shadows are important in providing the mind with space to imagine.53 54 Is this true of movement as well? The less we see, as long as its suggested, does this invite and excite the body into movement into the space? In relation to this I would like to research further into the history and the present concepts of architectural space.

53 54

Bachelard, G. (1992) The Poetics of Space, Beacon Press, Uckfield. Merleau-Ponty, M. (1969) The Visible and the Invisible: Studies in Phenomenology and the Existential Philosophy, Northwestern University Press, Illinois.

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References Ackerman, Joshua M., et al (2010) Incidental Haptic Sensations Influence Social Judgments and Decisions, Science. Vol. 328. Bachelard, G. (1992) The Poetics of Space, Beacon Press, Uckfield. Bloomer, Kent (1977) Body, Memory & Architecture, Yale University Press, London. Casciani, S. (April 2007) Adventures in the Haptic Realm, Domus, No. 902.

Debord, Guy (1994) The Society of the Spectacle, Zone Books, New York.
Field, Tiffany M., Saul Schanberg, et al. (1986) Tactile/Kinesthetic Stimulation Effects on Preterm Neonates, Pediatrics. Volume 77 No. 5.

Gibson, J.J. (1966). The senses considered as perceptual systems, Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Hertenstein, J. Matthew (2002) Touch: Its communicative functions in infancy, Human Development, Vol. 45. Jacobs R. H. A. H. (2011) "Aesthetics by numbers: computationally derived features of visual textures explain their aesthetics judgment", University of Groeningen, Groeningen. Merleau-Ponty, M. (1969) The Visible and the Invisible: Studies in Phenomenology and the Existential Philosophy, Northwestern University Press, Illinois. Mostafavi, M & Leatherbarrow, D (1993) On Weathering: the life of buildings in time, MIT Press, London.

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Pallasmaa, Juhani (2005) The Eyes of the Skin, John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester. Rizzolatti, G. & Sinigaglia, C. (2008) Mirrors in the Brain: How our minds share actions and emotions, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Sonneveld, M. (2004). Dreamy hands: exploring tactile aesthetics in design. In McDonagh, D, Hekkert, P, Erp, J van & Gyi, D (Ed.), Design and emotion: the experience of everyday things, Taylor & Francis, London. Williams, Lawrence E. and John A. Bargh.(2008) Experiencing Physical Warmth Promotes Interpersonal Warmth, Science. Vol. 322. Electronic References Age of Enlightenment, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_Enlightenment (28th December 2011). Good Reads, http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/45726.David_Hume 6 (28th December 2011). Somatosensory system http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somatosensory_system (18th November 2011). The most important video youll ever see, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-QA2rkpBSY (2nd January 2012). Bibliography Eberhard, J (2009) Brain Landscape: The Coexistence of Neuorscience and Architecture, OUP, U.S.A. Gibson, J.J. (1962) Observations on Active Touch, Psychological Review, Vol. 69, No. 6, American Psychological Association, U.S.A.

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Hein, A. & Held, R. (1963) Movement-Produced stimulation in the development of visually guided behavior, Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, Vol. 56, No. 5. Hilton, K. (May, 2008) Reliability of Emotional Responses to Material Textures, International Design Conference, Dubrovnik. Landy, M. (1996) Texture Perception, Encyclopedia of Neuroscience, Elsevier, Amsterdam. Massumi, B (1999) Strange Horizon: Buildings,, Biograms and the Body Topologic, Article in Hypersurface Architecture II Architectural Design, John Wiley & Sons, Chichester. pp. 12-19. Mostafavi, M & Leatherbarrow, D (1993) On Weathering: the life of buildings in time, MIT Press, London. Ramachandaran, V. & Brang, D. (2008) Tactile-Emotion Synesthesia, Neurocase, Vol. 14, No. 5, Taylor & Francis, London. Rossi, A. (1984) Architecture of the City, MIT Press, London. Werner, L. Codes in the Clouds: Observing New Design Strategies, UCL Bartlett, London.