The Eyes of the Skin of Architecture

Juhani Pallasmaa

This book was written by Juhani Pallasmaa with regard to ‘Polemics’, on issues that were part of the

architecture discourse of the time, i.e. 1995. It is also an extending of ideas expressed in an essay

entitled “Architecture of the seven senses”1 published in 1994.

As suggested by the title, this piece of literature attempts to highlight the importance of sensory

experience in architecture. It is indeed a response to what the author terms as ‘ocularcentrism’ of

Modern Architecture. Ocularcentrism is the act of prioritizing visual stimuli to all other sensory stimuli

available to a human perception. He quotes famous German poet, Goethe, in his defense, “the hands

want to see, the eyes want to caress”2

Firstly, Pallasma discusses at length the sensory deprivation and distance caused by ocularcentrism; and

how this keeps architecture from being as wholesome as it is capable of. This is so, as architecture today

does not Pallasmaa argues, take into account, peripheral vision, shifting of focus, memory, and

imagination. It "has housed the intellect and the eye, but left the body and other senses, as well as our

memories, imagination, dreams homeless”3.

Secondly, he points out how ocularcentrism has developed into a cultural norm; thus the eye can itself

be biased, "nihilistic or narcisstic". Therefore can be distanced and detached from the other senses, for

instance, touch, thus allowing no emotional dialogue. To support his theory, he quotes examples of the

dynamics of the sense of touch in heightened emotional states wherein, indeed "the hands want to see"

Thirdly, the author compares the image of a modern city to that of what he terms a "haptic city" - a city

which can be touched; contrary to the distant, exterior oriented modern city. Furthermore, he discusses

how since antiquity, man has been the measure of not only his architecture, all his activities as well. To

support this argument Pallasmaa quotes instances of the caryatid court and the experience of hunting in

prehistory, where man becomes the central point of origin of everything.

He emphasises on the presence of and an enveloping satisfaction through multi stimuli in nature; giving

an example of a trek through a forest, and the feeling of being within the space of a clearing invoked by

peripheral vision, complete with the crunching of leaves under the feet and sap smell that surrounds us

through the trek.

1 Pallasmaa, Juhani (1994) Architecture of the seven senses, Questions of Perception; Architecture + Urbanism Press

2 Goethe, Wolfgang (1790-1795) Römische Elegien V3 Pallasmaa, Juhani (2005) The Eyes Of the Skin – Architecture and the Senses ,Great Britain; Wiley Academy

Building on this starting point Pallasmaa speaks of the importance of the shadow in creating light. He

suggests that it is the nuances of shadows and the dimly lit which actually tickle the senses, and that

Modern Architecture seems to lack this appreciation of the shadow.

Arguing systematically he takes the reader through all the senses in question; namely, hearing, smell,

touch and taste. For each sense he quotes an example from nature, thus describing how it is an

acknowledgement of all senses that completes a space. He talks of registering the speed of wind

through hearing and detecting the temperature of the same through touch.

Furthermore, he links smell with memory and adds that smell is by far one of the strongest mediums

that add to the memory of an experience. He then brings into his argument the presence of man by

discussing, time and the sense of proportion - as man is designed to perceive in comparison to his self -

and action where man measures through moving within a space.

In conclusion, Pallasmaa discusses the importance of these senses in the design process. He talks of the

distance created between the architecture and the design due to mechanization of the process. This

part of the argument need not be dwelt on for long as the previous text makes clear all the reasoning

behind this, one can comprehend in pertinence to each sense, the importance of 'feeling' it during the

design process.

The text though very interesting, is a bit cumbersome, and requires frequent reference to the dictionary.

The argument flows very clearly and systematically and highlights the disadvantages of ocularcentrism in

comparison with each sense and how that made the Modern - cold and distant from man.

The entire argument is very well illustrated with both quotations, graphics and experiential reference -

which add to and are very pertinent to the argument. The author saturates the text with examples. This

makes the argument very convincing and becomes intimate with reader. The author also makes

psychological and physiological references making this argument scientifically sound and not just

something rooted in poetry. One of the major textual references that are made, are to Halls book - The

Hidden Dimension4. The author laments that architects today have forgotten it- and hence his written

response to this ignorance.

The most appealing aspect of this text is that it can be understood by a lay person, due to the fact that

all examples are such which belong to the life of all and do not use buildings to illustrate hence not

limiting them to architects.

Qurat-ul-Ain Shamim

Bibliography

4 Hall, Edward T. (1966) The Hidden Dimension, United States Of America; Doubleday Publishers

Pallasmaa, Juhani (2005) The Eyes Of the Skin – Architecture and the Senses , Great Britain; Wiley

Academy

Pallasmaa, Juhani (1994) Architecture of the seven senses, Questions of Perception; Architecture +

Urbanism Press

Goethe, Wolfgang (1790-1795) Römische Elegien V

Hall, Edward T. (1966) The Hidden Dimension, United States Of America; Doubleday Publishers