Pallasmaa

1) It is impossible for architects to really understand how the users perceive your work. Like any other art, the experience of a building is unique to every person. One thing that sets architecture apart from many other arts is its functional aspect. If a building does not fulfill its function it will certainly be a failure to most users (or even a hazard!).

2) All art eminates from the body….. I think this is absolutely true. This brought to mind the Modular Man by Le Corbusier. This iconic image expresses the importance of scale to architecture and to me, it is a piece of art.

Early childhood memories inform us and form us as we grow up…. I appreciated Pallasmaa’s observation that “Surely the fact that certain early memories retain their personal identifiability and emotional force throughout our lives provides convincing  proof of the importance and authenticity of these experiences.” I agree with this completely. I would love to delve into the neuroscience behind what spatial imagery we retain from childhood and why. One thing I would of liked to see more in this article are some more references – Pallasmaa quickly brushes over many complex thing here and I would love to see some deeper research into these topics.

Other arts create the importance of place and experience….. I couldn’t help but recall all of the imaginary worlds I’ve conjured up while reading a great book while reading this paragraph – particularly “Invisible Cities” by  Italo Calvino.  Not to mention visual artists who show us amazing worlds – for example,  Theo Prins, an American artist and Michal Lisowski an illustrator from Poland. Beautiful! I think it is beneficial for all architect’s to occasionally go back to this world where structure, plumbing and HVAC don’t exist.

Loneliness and silence of buildings……. It was quite poignant how Pallasmaa described how one can feel the absence of the designer in buildings. This made me think of Haley’s presentation about Tadoa Ando (I loved learning about his personal life!) – maybe the reason why his buildings are so powerful is that he put so much of himself into them.

-Annaliesa