This reaction paper summarizes and discusses the key ideas from the article "The Eyes of the Skin: Architecture and the Senses" by Juhani Pallasma. The author argues that architecture affects our bodies through all our senses, not just vision, and that each person's sensory experiences are unique based on their memories. The paper also reflects on how exploring the senses can provide insights into the history and essence of a local street in Kuala Lumpur. In conclusion, the discussion inspires the idea that good architecture should consider how it engages all the user's senses to integrate their experiences, dreams, and imagination.

1. BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (HONOURS) IN ARCHITECTURE
THEORIES OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM
(ARC61303/ARC2224)
SYNOPSIS: REACTION PAPER (MARCH 2017)
Name: Chia Cheng Wei ID No.: 0322091
Lecturer: Tutorial Time: 10am-12pm
Reader/Text Title: “The Eyes of the Skin:
Architecture and the Senses”, (2007)
Synopsis No: 2
Author: Juhani Pallasma
In this article, the author mentions that our body and environment are constantly relating to each other, how
places affect our bodies and associations, how we in turn affect the world. Senses such as hearing, touch
and taste could also important on how we interpret the architecture but not only from the perception of eyes,
the author wrote regarding to this issue “dominance of vision and the suppression of other senses in the way
architecture was taught, conceived and critique.” I’m strongly agree with the author mentions that we use
visual sense to identify an object but it needs to be confirmed by the original experiences of touch. The sense
of touch allows one to perceive spatial depth to sense weight, resistance and three-dimensional shape of
material. However, each of individual may perceive world with different type of sense and response based on
their own memories and dreams, the past and the future to achieve the different outcome. Therefore, the
individual chooses to experience and has experienced before is subject to individual experience of the world.
Unfortunately, there is lack of integration of the complete body of human in the spatial experience. An good
architecture is about how to let organism interact unconsciously with all their sense, and not restricted to
observing by using the eyes. From our current studio site, Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman. We can start
understand their background not obly by observing their facade design but could hear the timeline story from
the local people regarding to the site. Although Jalan TAR has changed over the time but the essence of the
street is still well preserved. The textile that displayed on the street and the materiality and texture of each
shop houses maintain many years until now without getting demolished away or may include some new
design features after being restore due to their specific function. Each sensory we response to the site allow
us to appreciate more on the history and memories that we spend in the place because the sense of beauty
inspire the body and the body make it as a memory. In conclusion of “The sneses not only mediate information
for the judgement of the intellect; they are also a means of igniting the imagination and of articulating snesory
thought’ said Pallasma, the discussion is very inspiring for me in the architecture design. Architecture should
question how body interacts with space and how the space engage to the world and allow it to integrate the
body sense of the user with their dream, memories, imagination to bring out different sensation.
Word Count: 483 Mark Grade
Assessed by: Date Page No.