the senses to life or awaken our senses,
awaken our souls, if you like,
is very important."
[greg burgess]
i am interested in the way we sense, respond to and experience the world around us; whether it is through film, literature, food, the natural environment, or art and architecture. i often find the english language restrictive in its ability to explain emotions and experiences. it is difficult to explain, with the use of words, why i enjoy architecture. at first, there might be goose bumps, culminating in shear joy and excitement. this is usually followed by a dance. often i might hug the building.
a couple of architectural experiences have helped define my architectural ideology. the subtle insertion of building into landscape of frank lloyd wright’s taliesin west in arizona was sophisticated and beautiful. i still recall the quality of light and feeling of stone under hand. another is heide ii, once home to john and sunday reed, now an art gallery at the heide museum of modern art. the simplicity of materials, spatial arrangement of internal and external rooms and the fire nook is what excites me when i visit.
further, a number of experiences in india left me speechless in their ability to create quietness amongst the noise and chaos: a sublime experience in a small mosque in delhi, a visit to a small ashram in orissa at dusk and a number of moments at the taj mahal [the quietness of light and shadow playing on surfaces, the sound of the breeze inside the tomb and the warmth of stone underfoot].
architecture needs to be experienced. all our senses are involved when we experience architecture. it is through materiality that our senses can be evoked and fed. peter zumthor, juhani pallasmaa, tadao ando, carlo scarpa, luis barragan, le corbusier and steven holl have had substantial influence on my own thinking about materiality, spatial quality and poetics of space: an architecture for the senses.
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