Sensing Depth through Vision and Touch in Architectural Space

Author: Patrick Lim

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the regulations for the Degree of Master of Arts in Architecture and Critical Theory in the University of Nottingham, September 2011.

Abstract

New technologies especially development in design tools are seemingly increasing the distance between the architect, the users and the finished building. More often than not, the design of a building is dominated by the visual aesthetic look without much concern to other senses such as touch.

The challenge for architecture nowadays is to deliver a design with consideration for meaningful perceptual experience and thoughtfulness with regard to the body’s sensory systems.

The first objective of this dissertation is to understand the relationship of vision and touch with depth perception through mediation of light.

The second is to identify the possibilities for enhancement of architectural space experiences and meanings by using results obtained from the first objective.

The research of this dissertation is conducted through analytical reviews on theories and studies from philosophy, psychology, and biology with writers such as Merleau-Ponty, Descartes, Berkeley, Levin and so on. Finally, there are two case studies which are used to examine the results from the discussions of the topic.

The dissertation concludes that our conception and perception of architectural space and depth can be enhanced and can exceed beyond the physical realms when visual and haptic sensory systems are taken into the consideration and emphasis is placed on the design’s process. This can lead to the creation of aura of the depth in architectural experiences. Furthermore, there is also a scope for improvement in kinetic depth effect for future research in this topic.