Sensory Design

Front Cover
U of Minnesota Press, 2004 - Architecture - 356 pages
What if we designed for all of our senses? Suppose for a moment that sound, touch, and odor were treated as the equals of sight, and emotion considered as important as cognition. What would our built environment be like if sensory response, sentiment, and memory were critical design factors, the equals of structure and program? In Sensory Design, Joy Monice Malnar and Frank Vodvarka explore the nature of our responses to spatial constructs--from various sorts of buildings to gardens and outdoor spaces, to constructions of fantasy. To the degree that this response can be calculated, it can serve as a typology for the design of significant spaces, one that would sharply contrast with the Cartesian model that dominates architecture today. In developing this typology, the authors consult the environmental sciences, anthropology, psychology, and architectural theory, as well as the spatial analysis found in literary depiction. Finally, they examine the opportunities that CAVE and other immersive virtual reality technologies present in furthering a new, sensory-oriented design paradigm. The result is a new philosophy of design that both celebrates our sensuous occupation of the built environment and creates more humane design. A revolutionary approach to the built environment that embraces all of our senses and modes of understanding.
 

Contents

Spatial Constructs
1
The Minds Eye
21
Sensory Response
41
The Meaning of Meaning
59
The Talking Spring
79
There and Back
103
Sensory Cues
129
No Mere Ornament
153
Objects of Our Lives
179
The Light Fantastic
199
Sensory Schematics
229
Getting Somewhere
263
Notes
291
Permissions
333
Index
335
Copyright

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