Architecture as Experience

Abstract

How do we experience architecture? Stated in a different way, how do humans experience the built environment? Recall the last time you felt something when you walked into a building or a room. Be it a sense of awe, or calm, perhaps. It probably hasn’t happened recently or sadly, maybe not ever. In today’s world, we are so connected to our technology, our quick communication devices, that maybe unless it is flat and blinking at us, we simply do not pay attention to it. Have we lost our ability to connect with our surroundings? Maybe our sense of sight is so inundated, barraged with images from all angles and mediums that we no longer feel. Architecture is powerful; it can affect our health from the materials that it is constructed with to the way it is constructed. Daylighting in buildings can allow us to be more productive and happier. Framed views through windows and walls of art help us to remember there is more to life than a cell phone if only we will lift our heads. The sounds of water, fresh air allow us to breathe deeply and experience less stress and anxiety. If only we will hear and pause to breathe. Yet, when is the last time you closed your eyes and listened to the wind, felt it against your skin while you were inside (or outside for that matter)? When is the last time you walked down a dark corridor only to come around a corner to a wide, bright opening that framed a beautiful view of the mountains, trees or ocean? When is the last time you wanted to touch the walls of your classroom or apartment? Too often, architects and builders are designing spaces devoid of feeling. Adding texture and light, sound and smell into the experience of a building is not difficult; and more and more, I believe it is imperative. How we view our world starts with how we view our immediate environment. If our immediate environment continues to be devoid of anything that allows all senses to be engaged and connected to the natural environment around us, we will continue to not care about the Earth. Because we simply will not know how. We will have forgotten. Architecture can make a difference in how we perceive our immediate environment; architecture is meaningful and rich; it can reconnect us, engage all senses. Experiential architecture makes us aware of our humanness.