scholarly journals Skin to Skin: A Provocative Expression of the Dynamic Relationship Between the Surface of the Body and the Surface of Architecture

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Thomas Ibbotson

<p>It can be argued that modern architecture has expelled the building’s relationship to the ground. Raised on pilotis, modern buildings constructed the platform as an artificial ground plane. Ultimately, the platform was a two-dimensional plane, flattened to aid our transition across the built environment. This horizontal plane merely tolerated inhabitation. Unfortunately the language synonymous with this plane has been extended into contemporary architecture. It is proposed that the rigidity and stability expressed by the surface of the horizontal plane has failed to reflect the body, stimulate interaction, or challenge the inhabitant of architecture. To free the horizontal plane from its rigid axis this thesis aims to break away from the conventional building typology inflicted by modern architecture. As the force of gravity restricts our inhabitation of the built environment to the horizontal plane we directly engage with this surface of architecture. It provokes the question, how can the design of the horizontal plane engage the body and challenge the inhabitant to intensify the experience of architecture? An exploration of the skin-to-skin relationship between the surface of the body and the surface of architecture directs this thesis toward a provocative design exploration and evokes an expressive horizontal plane. To challenge the restrictive conception of architecture’s horizontal plane the program of inhabitation for this design project explores the practice of yoga. Now conceived as a dynamic force, the body can be activated by architecture’s horizontal plane. This surface provides an expressive canvas with the capacity to embody the dynamic movements of yoga. It aids, activates and challenges the participant’s body and amplifies the experience of yoga. An expressive horizontal plane, central to the inhabitation of a yoga centre, generates a dynamic space that provokes a dialogue of interaction between the inhabitant and the surface of architecture. A dynamic plane has emerged.</p>

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Thomas Ibbotson

<p>It can be argued that modern architecture has expelled the building’s relationship to the ground. Raised on pilotis, modern buildings constructed the platform as an artificial ground plane. Ultimately, the platform was a two-dimensional plane, flattened to aid our transition across the built environment. This horizontal plane merely tolerated inhabitation. Unfortunately the language synonymous with this plane has been extended into contemporary architecture. It is proposed that the rigidity and stability expressed by the surface of the horizontal plane has failed to reflect the body, stimulate interaction, or challenge the inhabitant of architecture. To free the horizontal plane from its rigid axis this thesis aims to break away from the conventional building typology inflicted by modern architecture. As the force of gravity restricts our inhabitation of the built environment to the horizontal plane we directly engage with this surface of architecture. It provokes the question, how can the design of the horizontal plane engage the body and challenge the inhabitant to intensify the experience of architecture? An exploration of the skin-to-skin relationship between the surface of the body and the surface of architecture directs this thesis toward a provocative design exploration and evokes an expressive horizontal plane. To challenge the restrictive conception of architecture’s horizontal plane the program of inhabitation for this design project explores the practice of yoga. Now conceived as a dynamic force, the body can be activated by architecture’s horizontal plane. This surface provides an expressive canvas with the capacity to embody the dynamic movements of yoga. It aids, activates and challenges the participant’s body and amplifies the experience of yoga. An expressive horizontal plane, central to the inhabitation of a yoga centre, generates a dynamic space that provokes a dialogue of interaction between the inhabitant and the surface of architecture. A dynamic plane has emerged.</p>


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ekaterina Lishak

The notion of regional particularity and sensitivity to place remains in constant struggle with the persistent autonomous approach evident in most contemporary architecture, which under the pressures of globalization has paved the path toward commodification and the creation of universal non-places. Meanwhile the decline of craftsmanship within architecture and the perpetual emphasis on visual images and iconic forms continues to undermine human connection to the built environment. The use of Fragments in architectural design involves a distinct understanding of perception of space that takes its theoretical basis in the communicative and situational character of Synthetic Cubism and Picturesque Landscape theory. Brought into an architectural context, these theories work in contrast to the rational approach based on proportion and perspectival imagery, bringing focus towards the experience of the body moving through space with emphasis on the poetics of construction, materiality, corporeal experience, and details that express craftsmanship, meaning, and emotion. Guided by Kenneth Frampton’s theory of Critical Regionalism with the aim of resisting placelessness, the nature of such tectonic articulation is informed by the context and specificity of a site.


2013 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-19
Author(s):  
Ann Heylighen ◽  
Caroline Van Doren ◽  
Peter-Willem Vermeersch

The relationship between the built environment and the human body is rarely considered explicitly in contemporary architecture. In case architects do take the body into account, they tend to derive mathematical proportions or functional dimensions from it, without explicit attention for the bodily experience of a building. In this article, we analyse the built environment in a way less common in architecture, by attending to how a particular person experiences it. Instead of relating the human body to architecture in a mathematical way, we establish a new relationship between architecture and the body—or a body—by demonstrating that our bodies are more involved in the experience of the built environment than we presume. The article focuses on persons with a sensory or physical impairment as they are able to detect building qualities architects may not be attuned to. By accompanying them during a visit to a museum building, we examine how their experiences relate to the architect's intentions. In attending to the bodily experiences of these disabled persons, we provide evidence that architecture is not only seen, but experienced by all senses, and that aesthetics may acquire a broader meaning. Senses can be disconnected or reinforced by nature. Sensory experiences can be consciously or unconsciously eliminated or emphasized by the museum design and use. Architects can have specific intentions in mind, but users (with an impairment) may not experience them. Attending to the experiences of disabled persons, and combining these with the architect's objectives, provides an interesting view of a building. Our analysis does not intend to criticize the one using the other; rather the combination of both views, each present in the building, makes for a richer understanding of what architecture is.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ekaterina Lishak

The notion of regional particularity and sensitivity to place remains in constant struggle with the persistent autonomous approach evident in most contemporary architecture, which under the pressures of globalization has paved the path toward commodification and the creation of universal non-places. Meanwhile the decline of craftsmanship within architecture and the perpetual emphasis on visual images and iconic forms continues to undermine human connection to the built environment. The use of Fragments in architectural design involves a distinct understanding of perception of space that takes its theoretical basis in the communicative and situational character of Synthetic Cubism and Picturesque Landscape theory. Brought into an architectural context, these theories work in contrast to the rational approach based on proportion and perspectival imagery, bringing focus towards the experience of the body moving through space with emphasis on the poetics of construction, materiality, corporeal experience, and details that express craftsmanship, meaning, and emotion. Guided by Kenneth Frampton’s theory of Critical Regionalism with the aim of resisting placelessness, the nature of such tectonic articulation is informed by the context and specificity of a site.


1990 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-66
Author(s):  
Leo R. Zrudlo

This article addresses architects, planners, and developers but should also interest any other professionals involved in the creation of the built environment. It begins by stating that the built environment is principally made up of buildings and groupings of buildings. Therefore, architecture and urban design are the major focus of the article. Definitions of architecture are then presented from a variety of authors and architects. An argument is made that there actually is a missing dimension in the built environment illustrated by quotations from architects, architectural theorists, amid critics. It becomes evident that architecture is unable to satisfy the emotional and aesthetic needs of people and also that the profession itself, which admits that modern architecture has created bleak and insensitive environments, is in profound disagreement on how to rectify the situation. Under the heading “Architecture–The Object” arguments for and against different architectural movements or stylistic tendencies are highlighted by quotations from the proponents of tile various styles and theories. A similar approach is taken for cities under the heading “Urban Design–The Juxtaposition of Objects.” The fact that something is missing from architectural and city design is concluded, and examples of a preoccupation for the spiritual aspect of architecture and urban design are used to illustrate this growing concern for a dimension that has been much neglected in tile previous several decades. The notion of “spiritual” is then defined, followed by a list of spiritual qualities. Two important principles, unity in diversity and consultation are discussed before presenting some concluding thoughts on how the designers of the built environment can begin finding ways of infusing their designs with a spiritual dimension.


2014 ◽  
Vol 638-640 ◽  
pp. 2290-2293
Author(s):  
Han Fang Liu ◽  
Xue Mei Jin ◽  
Jia Fu

This paper analyzes the factors influencing the contemporary architectural innovation. It puts forward that the model of standardization and mass production contribute to similar “international” architectural form, which results in the disappearing of the “national character” and“regional character” of Chinese architecture. However, simplified traditional expressions make contemporary architectural innovation too superficial, leading to a “trap” of imitation. It also pointes out that the combination of the methods of symbol and metaphor , technology and materials of modern architecture, a further exploration of traditional culture symbols, cultural energy stimulating is the power source of contemporary architectural innovation, and make a argumentation through success and failure cases.


2011 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kęstutis Lupeikis ◽  
Algimantas M. Mačiulis

Recently, among other processes in modern architecture, a lot more attention is expressed towards the fourth dimension (4D). This process is caused as an opposition to pragmatic functionalism, utilitarity, unification, formal deconstructyvism, sophistication. The expression of 4D in contemporary architecture is an intention to change the face of modern architecture, giving it more expressiveness, modern innovation. It results in specific aims and priorities of architectural expression. Architecture of today contains a variety of artistic areas (video, installation, painting, sculpture, graphics) as integral parts of its surface or internal structures. A building becomes an object of interdisciplinary art. The integration of interactive hypersurfaces in exteriors and interiors leads to various aspects of 4D in modern architecture. The paper discusses various aspects of 4D in architecture, excluding several marginal cases showing a wide range of aspects and priorities. Santrauka Pastaruoju metu, šalia kitų reiškinių, šiuolaikinėje architektūroje vis aktyviau reiškiasi ketvirtosios dimensijos vaidmuo. Šį procesą lemia priešprieša pragmatiškam funkcionalizmui, utilitarumui, unifikacijai, formaliam dekonstrukciniam laužymui, įmantrumui, daugžodžiavimui. 4D raišką šiuolaikinėje architektūroje formuoja siekis keisti architektūros „veidą“, suteikiant jai daugiau išraiškingumo, įtaigumo ir šiuolaikinio novatoriškumo. Tai lemia specifinius architektūrinės raiškos tikslus ir prioritetus. Šiuolaikinė architektūra įtraukia į save įvairių meno krypčių (videomenas, instaliacija, tapyba, skulptūra, grafika) elementus ne kaip atskirus meno objektus, o kaip neatsiejamus pastato paviršiaus ar vidaus struktūrinius darinius. Pastatas tampa tarpdisciplininiu meno objektu. Interaktyvių hiperpaviršių integravimasis eksterjere ir interjere lemia įvairius ketvirtosios dimensijos aspektus šiuolaikinėje architektūroje, kurie ir yra nagrinėjami šiame straipsnyje. Straipsnyje aptariami įvairūs ketvirtosios dimensijos šiuolaikinėje architektūroje aspektai ir sritys, išskiriami kraštutiniai, charakteringi atvejai, atspindintys platų tikslų ir prioritetų diapazoną. Aptariami, autorių manymu, charakteringiausi šios raiškos atvejai, daugiausiai dėmesio skiriant hiperpaviršių įtakai ketvirtosios dimensijos pasireiškimui šiuolaikinėje architektūroje.


Spatium ◽  
2016 ◽  
pp. 24-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nataliia Kozlova

The article is devoted to one of the actual problems concerning the current state of the facades on apartment buildings in residential districts in Kiev - videoecology. The main purpose of the article is to determine the degree of visual aggressiveness of multistorey residential buildings in Kiev. It also investigates the problem of finding the optimal criteria for creating an ecologically healthy and friendly inhabited environment in the capital city of Ukraine. The modern visual environment in the capital is contaminated, not only because of the increasing numbers of promotional billboards, but also because of the contemporary architecture of high-rise buildings such as office buildings, apartment buildings. Their composition is usually based on a simple description of a rhythm. There are also repetitions of the end parts of buildings in ?lowercase? buildings, which are high-rise buildings that alternate with nine or identical apartment groups. It creates a sense of oppressive monotony and leads to psychological and visual fatigue, especially when these repetitions are the only pattern the eye perceives. In the article a theoretical block of ecological-aesthetic criteria is defined, which must be met by the modern architecture facades of multistorey residential houses in Kiev.


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