Pallasmaa

1)  How can we understand and determine a person’s experience of architecture?
One’s experience of architecture can be understood by their feeling. This is a combination of a multitude of senses, and a combination that goes far beyond the visual sense. Pallasmaa would say that some of the most important and successful architecture is one that is memorable and could possibly be recounted at a later date.

2)  How do you interpret Pallassmaa’s ideas about the following?
a)  All art emanates from the body…..
Pallassmaa is saying that art is directly related to the body, or the user. In the same way, art by way of music deteriorates if it is detached from dance, and the viewer’s feelings and experiences are a major part of architecture. 

b)  Early childhood memories inform us and form us as we grow up…..
Pallassmaa wrote about the architectural experiences that are most memorable, and that these are often multisensory. This can be applied to our relationships with people, buildings, places, spaces, and objects.

c)  Other arts create the importance of place and experience…..

Things outside of the built environment that enhabit the environment are what can truly define a place and experience as positive, negative, memorable.

d)  Loneliness and silence of buildings…..

The silence of buildings is a powerful aspect of architecture, if achieved. In the context of an art museum, this is seen as a positive, according to Pallassmaa. To create a quiet (and often lonely building) is a difficult task.