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SUBJECT : Space perceptionTOPIC : Sensorial spaces

DESCRIPTION : Sense of space and stimulation.

impact of space on visually impaired person.Architectural design for visually impaired.

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SENSE OF SPACE AND STIMULATION

Introduction

At first, the question of senses in Interior Designseems to be unnecessary. Spaces are rather functional constructs that, if possible, shouldinclude an aesthetical component. SomeDesigners try to fulfil the function requirementsand after that focus on the shape that will give the

building their individual style and by that itsacknowledgment in society.

But it is not satisfying for the users to translatethe program of demands into shape and assumetheir content. Besides the functional demands thequestion for design should be how the people feelinside the space and how they are going to

experience the space. Not only in terms of howthe space looks, but also how it touches, how itsmells, sounds and maybe even tastes.

Interior of the space is a multi-sensoryexperience. Designers should make use of thisfact to create buildings that are more intense,more exciting and profound than threedimensional objects.

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SENSES IN INTERIORS

Sight the top senseThe dominance of vision

Already in early times the vision was the leadingsense. Until today, sight prevailed on top of thehierarchy of the senses and our technologicalculture has separated the senses even further.

As a result Interior design is meant to please thissense. This should not imply that interiors focusonly on the nice picture of their design but someof them are just not balanced in terms of thesensual possibilities. Whereas other interiorsfocused on the visual component of their designbut conscious or unconsciously built interiorsdid affect several other senses.

Le Corbusier with the statement thatArchitecture is the masterly, correct magnificentplay of masses brought together in light is agood example. His statement is clearly leading toan architecture for the eye but with hissculpturing talent and his sense for materialityhe prevented his buildings from turning intosensory reduction.

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Touch an intimate sense

The eye is the organ of distance, whereas touch isthe sense of nearness, intimacy and affection. Theeye observes and investigates, whereas the touchapproaches and feels. So when the light makesspace for shadow our other senses are sharpenedincluding the sensitivity to touch.

Feeling shapeWe can feel if a room is brightly lid or if it is dim. Inthe same way as we can feel the sunlight on our skin. So light is a good method to address touch ininteriors. But the skin can sense more things. It canread texture, weight, density and temperature of matter.By touching material we experience more than bythe bare gaze at it. Structures have a visual effectbut by touching them we feel more components of their construct. Hardness, Depth, Temperature thesecomponents can vary in materials that give the samevisual impression. Two different examples of architecture can be the

holocaust memorial in Berlin from Peter Eisenman or the interior of the iWeb by Kas Oosterhuis. Both theextremely smooth concrete and the sprayed foam layer just invite to be touched. Though our vision leads usthere only the touch is actually satisfying our curiosity.

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Acoustics the silent senseA buildings soundtrack

Hearing is a very incorporating sense. It is Omni-directional, not focused like vision. A view at abuilding will not show the person watching thebuilding but a building will return the sound of aperson walking in it and listening to the sound.

And still most of the time acoustics remain anunconscious background experience but in the rightplaces it can create the right atmosphere for almostspiritual sceneries.We are not aware of the significance of hearing inspatial experience, although sound often providesthe temporal continuum in which visual impressionsare embedded.

On one hand we have new technologies that enablearchitects to build great soundscapes on the other hand we cheat on the spatial experience by installingsound absorbing materials and other soundoptimizing elements. So the built product does notequal the heard product.

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W AYS TO SENSE THE SPACE FOR VISUALLY IMPAIRED PERSON

feel the texture of a surfacewith our hands

echoes reverberating around the building

feel a cold breeze on our skinSoundscape : sense of space . material and sounds

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A special case is the lack of vision. Interior Design is stillperceivable for blind people. Over the other senses. Thelack of one sense stimulates the others to develop. Stillthey perceive Interiors in a different way. So designing abuilding for their use is a very special task. In severalinterviews blind people describe their feelings aboutInteriors.

The outside can be sensed with hearing and description.We can hear the wind blow off the building and sense thesize of it that way. I tend not to like the smooth glass andsteel because it sounds very hallow and cold. I can hear itcreak and moan and groan. I listen for how the wind or breeze flows around an older structure and I can thensense the little crevices and hallows.

Open spaces are a double edge sword for us. Openspace gives us a sense of freedom and on the other handit can be too noisy for us. Sound is a primary source of our world.

IMPACT OF SPACE ON VISUALLY IMPAIRED PERSON

Open spaces and guide ways

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Texture tiles as a hapticaspect to sense the spaceand orientation.

High contrast Navigation and orientation through the

building was critical. The concept of a trail railwas developed, which doubled as a storagewall. It allows the children to move around theschool with a level of freedom. The wall isclad in cork, which has warmth and tactilequalities and provides signifiers or messagesalong the route to confirm the childrenslocation within the school

High ceilings make the roomssound huge.

Wood paneling seems tohold the noise out