The document summarizes Juhani Pallasmaa's book "The Eye of the Skin" which argues that architecture has a profound impact on human senses beyond just vision. Pallasmaa believes that as people move through built environments, their bodies and minds consciously experience spaces through touch, sounds, smells and more. He provides examples of how textures, scales and spatial qualities of buildings can stimulate different senses. Pallasmaa also discusses how artworks and natural environments can activate human perception through tactile elements. The author concludes that Pallasmaa demonstrates the important role of the five human senses in how we experience and relate to art, architecture and environments on a sensory level beyond just sight.

1. BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (HONOURS) IN ARCHITECTURE
THEORIES OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM (ARC61303)
SYNOPSIS: REACTION PAPER (APRIL 2019)
Name: poh weng chuan ID No.: 0319951
Lecturer: Prince Favis Isip Tutorial Time: 10-1pm
Reader/Text Title: The Eye of the Skin: architectural and
the senses
Synopsis No: 3a
Author: Juhani Pallasma
According to Juhani Pallasma, the author describe that how people’s sensory can be crucial to the sense of
experience responding to the architectural environment, the author stated that as he move through the city his body
and mind consciously embodies the experiencing the spaces, as he uses his body as a sense of interaction with
buildings. He also, stated how human sensory organ and movement can affect the interaction between
environments that can be represented through what people called stimuli, the sense of touch while human
perception accommodatedpart of this process.Pallasmaa review that others authors suchas Bloomers and Moore
argue that human bodies sensory and imagination can create spatial memory of past through dwelling in
environment.
On this statement, the author prove that the existing of architecture, which is a man-made realm that provided the
space to intensified the sense, which by having a physical contact it’s able to stimulated different kind of senses
through architecture such as qualities of space, matters and scale, this can be equally measured by other senses
organ on human body. As the author continue his view, he imply that how sight and gaze can be in a form of
unconscious touch as the author describe Merleau-Ponty philosophy state that ‘ through vision we touch the sun
and the stars’. But without the help of ‘haptic memory’ a form of sensory memory human could not achieved a
sensation of spatial depth. On this statement, I would said that this can be relatable to how a person travel
experience to vast land of urban jungle, example in the site Kajang, as people roaming through buildings with
texture qualities, scale and height and spatial qualities. All these elements are able manifest the human sensory
experience with it showcase how human interact with architecture through using senses.
Furthermore, as the writer explain how the artwork able to activate human sense through perception, he describe
tactile values from Bernard Berenson that the theory is about stimulating human imagination through apprehend in
a physical way. As he supported his evidence by giving examples of famous painter works using environment,
objects and human, it’s to showcase nonetheless ‘life-enhancing’. Besides that, not only artworks give an
impression of senses experience as the author talks about how environment and materials can play a crucial role
in awakening human senses. As the authors give example of Frank Lloyd Wright Fallingwater, as he expresses the
scenario how the placement of the architecture flow through the forest, the texture and colour of the house as well
as sound and smell of the environment create different kind of sensation of experiences.
In conclusion, Juhani Pallasma, entire argument demonstrated how important is the human five senses can be
correlated with art and architecture. Not only that, he describe how human senses react through when comes in
contact with different environment, spatial contact and textures, this explain interconnection between human body
and environmental space. In my opinion, the writer also, teaches us that our conscious mind is constantly receiving
and coding information from places of experiences and thus we perceive and visualize it as what we see, is what
we touch but far from that, Plallasmaa explain that from the book of tea, Kakuzo Okakura, the body is not a mere
physical entity, as it is enriched by both memory and dream together with past and future. In my point of view,
human body is just not about experiencing different sensation but reflected through memories from the present,
past and continuously towards the future.
Word Count: 588 Mark Grade
Assessed by: Date 28/5/19 Page No.