Architecture In Juhani Pallasmaa's The Eyes Of The Skin

Juhani Pallasmaa in his book ‘The Eyes of the Skin’ focuses on concerns that were related to architecture at the time its writing. It is considered a continuation to his ideas expressed in an essay written earlier titled ‘Architecture of the seven senses’.

The main aim of Pallasmaa is to bring out the importance of experiencing architecture through the senses. He challenges what is called ‘Ocularcentrism’ in modern architecture. The problem with ‘Ocularcentrism’ is that it prioritizes the sense of vision compared to all the other senses that could be experienced by a human. In order to make his point clear, he quotes Goethe, the famous German poet, “the hands want to see, the eyes want to caress”.

To begin with, Pallasmaa brings to our attention

There are several elements that make that connection very unique. The writer voices the opinion of Le Corbusier that using the proportions of a human body as a basis for the dimensions of a construction is one of the most ancient approaches to develop this connection. Not only this, a certain building is remembered by how the senses react to the surrounding environment. On the other hand, this form of architecture could just create a mere resemblance to our bodies which could result in the observer losing the emotional experience. At this point, the architect must be careful to strike the right balance between the emotional concept and functionality.

During the design process, an unconscious depiction occurs. The muscular and skeletal aspects of the body gradually develop a relationship with the structure to complete the design process. This causes what we know as scale, balance, proportions and movement. Therefore, the ability of an architect to physically connect with the structure has a big influence on his design. The final design observed in a piece of architecture is the successful representation of what the architect’s body has been able to express towards other