Sense of memory
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Date
2010
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Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture
Abstract
Throughout this thesis three main categories will be addressed. Memory: a: the power or process of reproducing or recalling what has been learned and retained especially through associative mechanisms b: the store of things learned and retained from an organism's activity or experience as evidence by modification of structure or behavior or by recall or recognition¹ Sense: a: the faculty of perceiving by means of sense organs b: a specialized function or mechanism (as sight, hearing, smell, taste or touch) by which an animal receives and responds to internal or external stimuli² Architecture: a: formation or construction resulting from or as if from a conscious act <the architecture of the garden> b: a unifying or coherent form or structure <the novel lacks architecture>³ There are many variables involved in the ability to acquire and store information, within the human memory. The senses, being one of these variables, enhance an individual's ability to retain information. Sensory influences should be addressed in architecture dedicated to memory; such as architectural memorials. Memories formed within or associated to a memorial have the potential to be carried with an individual for the rest of their life. Senses connect people to their surroundings in natural and built environments by affording them a greater perception of space. This perception helps them further understand their existence in space, in relation to objects around them. Memory and sensory are closely linked, and should be experienced together. Creating an architectural memorial which not only acknowledges who or what is being remembered, but also engages the human senses, has the ability to link experience, sense and memory to a built form of remembering. This bond of sense and memory forms an individual embodied experience, which holds the potential to coincide with experiences of individuals who experienced the memorial in the past, or of individuals who experience the memorial in the future. A memorial can become a link between generations of the past and future. It can become the present.