Na granicy zmysłów. Architektura multisensualna

2010

Nr 2(28)

Vision

They try to achieve that by creating a unique atmosphere,

characteristic of not only one specic building but each

visit, the season of the year or the time of the day or sim-

ply individual mood of the user. In order to maximize the

experience architectural objects should affect several sens-

es simultaneously. The advance of that phenomenon can

be seen in the Blur Building designed by Diller/Scodio

(Expo 2002) which is permanently shrouded in a cloud

of fog or in wood smelling Peter Zumthor Swiss Pavilion

(Expo 2000). The degree of complexity of the solutions

can obviously greatly vary in respect of applied effects and

technology from quite simple to very complicated ones. It

is worth noting that for instance providing interiors with

LCD monitors displaying any landscape, which only a few

years ago was considered advanced technology, nowadays

is considered the basic level of complexity. The phenom-

enon of multisensual architecture increasingly relates to

cultural sites (museums, exhibitions, theaters or concert

halls), recreation spaces (SPA facilities), commercial areas

(retail and services) as well as private homes.

Barbara Widera*

At the senses’ edge. Multisensual architecture

Designing buildings at the beginning of the 21st century

became a eld in which the development of technology and

design support software resulted in a clearly visible trend

to move the barriers which until recently were considered

ultimate architectural limits. This is in line with the expecta-

tions of both investors and end users who are accustomed to

the swift exchange of information and to the performance

in virtual reality. Contemporary society which is oriented to

consumption driven by the media and accustomed to quick-

ly satisfy their needs, naturally impose similar requirements

on architecture. At the same time this is only the rst level of

expectations. Advanced users of modern architecture, apart

from a high level of complexity and functionality, want to

use it to experience the contact with art in its broad sense

and recently more and more often also with nature.

Designers do not hesitate to introduce some elements

of surprise. They try to encourage the end user to join the

process of creating architecture, arranging interactive so-

lutions. Many authors seek to enable the visitor to experi-

ence the contact with architecture as deeply as possible.

Body and movement

ship Store in New York was inspired by the beauty of hu-

man body. The space in uid forms was created on the

basis of observation and analysis of movements of pro-

fessional dancers. The silver gleaming dancer’s dress and

the scarf owing around her gure became a permanent

symbol of a woman’s rich and lively nature. The arches

outlined by the edges of owing fabrics mark the irregular

curves of the structure, limiting specic sections of the

interior, whereas the expressive movements of the na-

ked dancer symbolized the purity of form and natural el-

egance of body. The elements of interior decoration were

designed on the basis of averaged graphs of the man’s

movements. The combination of fragments generated in

this way resulted in a retail space as well as exhibition

and theater sections. Despite the palpability the dancers’

movements frozen in architectural forms, the spectators

and customers visiting the store, moving around unusual

structures, assume the role of actors. The clothes from the

latest collection, just like the elements of the theatrical set

Wrocław University of Technology, Faculty of Architecture, Insti-

tute of History of Architecture, Art, and Technology.

216 Barbara Widera

design, are suspended on thin strings xed to the ceiling.

Dresses, levitating in a mystical glow generated by light

rings in the oor, are perceived as unusual exhibits, stimu-

lating curiosity and becoming objects of desire.

Fig. 1. Interior of Tribeca Issey

Miyake Store in New York (2001),

design by Frank O. Gehry.

Photo by Barbara Widera

Tornado

Tribeca Issey Miyake Store (2001) is another New York

clothes boutique designed by Frank O. Gehry for Issey Mi-

yak whose interior design was inspired by a tornado whip-

ping through space. The space of the store was divided

into smaller sections, however, the intention of the author

was to maintain a sense of a large, single-space interior.

In order to do that a glass shaft was installed at the low-

er oor to provide eye contact between two levels of the

store

[1]. Especially spectacular effects were achieved on

the ground oor which has access directly from the street

and which is the upper, more representative part of the

boutique. This is where Gehry decided to affect simultane-

ously several senses of the visitors of the parlor. He used

steel bands, suspending them in space like metal curtains

undulated by strong wind and frozen in that state (Fig. 1).

Hubertus Adam, New York Architecture and Design, teNeues Düs-

seldorf 2003, p. 155.

Just like in nature, each element is unique in this amazing

landscape. In the opinion of the author these differences

and diversity determines their beauty

[2]. As a result the

character of the interior became more contemporary and

surprising, but not technological. It corresponds well to

both the style of clothes designed by Issey Miyake and to

the dangerous, heavy and cold yet still fascinating nature

during a hurricane. In order to more closely experience the

effect created by Gehry one should hold two furthermost

steel sheets xed to the pillar in the middle and gently

shake them a few times. As a result of spreading vibra-

tions the store interior is lled with a distant and gradu-

ally growing sound of thunder. The impression is strong

enough to cause a change in the spectator’s perception of

space through eyesight, touch and hearing.

Compare also: Frank O. Gehry, [in:] Gehry Talks, Mildred Fridman

(ed.), Thames and Hudson, London 2003, p. 210.

Water and air

Next group of objects includes the ones which use

architectural means and scenery to engage all possible

senses. A good example of that is Atomic Spa Suisse at

the Exedra Hotel in Milan, designed by Italian architect

Simone Micheli in 2009. The spectacular effects created

in that facility provide the visitors with relief and deep

relaxation, which is in line with the idea of wellness. The

combination of colors and LEDs creates a mystic atmos-

phere and discretely marks the boundaries between spe-

cic spaces. The soft, uid shapes of white furniture and

At the senses’ edge. Multisensual architecture 217

biomorphic, tree-like supporting structures match the soft

music owing from loudspeakers which are invisible to

the users. Mind and body are stimulated in such a way as

to facilitate full relaxation. As this is a Spa facility, wa-

ter is present there in different forms and seems virtually

ubiquitous. The theatrical attempt at creating architecture

within architecture is supposed to take the recipient to

a three-dimensional, multisensual space – totally palpa-

ble and perceived with the use of senses yet still unreal

due to its unusual character

[4]. Its exceptional quality

is achieved by mirror macroscopic half-spheres made of

plastic, coated in shining chrome (Fig. 2). Fixed above

water, on the walls and under the ceiling, they resemble

air bubbles. The visitors of the Spa can feel they are un-

der water, where they can see, hear and feel their breath

which, in the opinion of psychologists, greatly aids com-

plete relaxation. Additionally, the silver bubbles can, in

the opinion of the author of the project, evoke associations

with bubbling champagne, resulting in a sense of euphoria

and joyous relaxation

[4].

Simone Micheli, Atomic SPA Swiss, Press Release 2009, http://

www.simonemicheli.com, 03.05.2010.

Ibidem.

Fig. 2. Atomic Spa Suisse

in Milan, Italy (2009),

design by Simone Micheli.

Photo by Jürgen Eheim

Journey

The designers of museums and exhibition spaces

make use of a lot of methods engaging different senses

of the viewers. In some cases the most sophisticated so-

lutions are applied in a quite simple form. This princi-

ple was applied in the new addition of the Nelson-Atkins

Museum of Art (NAMA) in Kansas City (1999–2007)

to the author: As visitors move through the new addition,

they will experience a ow between light, art, architecture

and landscape, with views of from one level to another,

from inside to outside. The threaded movement between

the light-gathering lenses of the new addition weaves

Fig. 3. Interior of the main building of the new addition

of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City (1999–2007),

design by Steven Holl Architects, copyright by Andy Ryan

218 Barbara Widera

the new building with the landscape in a uid dynamism

based on a sensitive relationship to its context created by

the architect

[3].

Both the process of creation and the ultimate charac-

ter of architecture perceived by its users are dedicated to

a specic journey undertaken by the visitors of the mu-

seum. Each time their experiences can be totally differ-

Steven Holl, [in:] Francesco Garofalo, Steven Holl, Universe

Publishing, New York 2003, p. 196.

ent as open circulation enables the multiplication of paths

going through various exhibitions. The system is based

on chaos theory. Similarly to other museums designed by

him such as Cranbrook Institute of Science in Bloomeld

Hills (1992–1999), Steven Holl uses the strong potential

of the Lorenz attractor

[6] (Fig. 3).

Detailed description of the conception of the expansion of NAMA,

[in:] Widera B., Bloch Building – Muzeum nowej generacji. Rozbudowa

Nelson-Atkins Museum of Arts, Kansas City, Steven Holl, Chris McVoy

1999–2007, Archivolta, 1/2008, p. 8.

Limits of architecture

Modern systems, including construction solutions as

well as multimedia technologies, offer designers an ex-

ceptionally broad selection of possibilities, enabling them

to execute virtually every vision. Consequently, imagina-

tion is the ultimate limit of architecture. Regardless of

sources of inspiration, architects evidently strive as much

as possible to engage the user in the man–architecture re-

lations. The trend promoting the multi-level perception

of architecture and including various types of perception

in that process helps the development of multisensual ar-

chitecture, and ultimately, so called virtual architecture

breaks the barrier of senses [5, 7].

References

[1] Adam H., New York Architecture and Design, teNeues Düsseldorf

2003.

[2] Fridman M., Gehry Talks, Thames and Hudson, London 2003.

[3] Garofalo F., Steven Holl, Universe Publishing, New York 2003.

[4] Micheli S., Atomic SPA Swiss, Press Release 2009, http://www.

simonemicheli.com, 03.05.2010.

[5] Threat C., Sensory Architecture_Beyond Appearances. The relation-

ship between Senses and Space. http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/

etd-07162010–002128/unrestricted/00front.pdf, 19.08.2010.

[6] Widera B., Bloch Building – Muzeum nowej generacji. Rozbudowa

Nelson-Atkins Museum of Arts, Kansas City, Steven Holl, Chris McVoy

1999–2007, Archivolta, 1/2008, pp. 8–13.

[7] Winkler T., Reimann D., Herczeg M., Höpel I., Creating digital

augmented multisensual learning spaces – Transdisciplinary school

education between aesthetic creating and building concepts in com-

puter science. http://mc.informatik.uni-hamburg.de/konferenzbaende/

mc2003/konferenzband/muc2003–30-winkler.pdf, 19.08.2010.

Na granicy zmysłów. Architektura multisensualna

W dobie błyskawicznego rozwoju technologii granice możliwości

architektonicznych stają się coraz bardziej umowne. Odbiorcy, przyzwy-

czajeni do szybkiej wymiany informacji oraz funkcjonowania w wirtualnej

rzeczywistości, oczekują od obiektów architektury wysokiego poziomu

funkcjonalności i złożoności, pozwalającego zaspokoić ich potrzeby. Pro-

jektanci nie wahają się również wprowadzać elementy zaskoczenia. Stara-

ją się włączyć końcowego użytkownika w proces kreowania architektury,

tworząc rozwiązania interaktywne. Wielu twórców dąży do umożliwienia

odbiorcy jak najpełniejszego przeżywania kontaktu z architekturą. W tym

celu obiekty architektoniczne mają oddziaływać na kilka zmysłów jedno-

cześnie. Zjawisko architektury multisensualnej dotyczy w coraz większym

zakresie obiektów kultury (muzea, powierzchnie wystawowe, teatry czy

sale koncertowe), przestrzeni rekreacyjnych (obiekty SPA), komercyjnych

(strefy handlowo-usługowe), a także prywatnych domów.

Key words: multisensual architecture, senses Słowa kluczowe: architektura multisensualna, zmysł

Na granicy zmysłów. Architektura multisensualna

Barbara Widera

Streszczenie