Sense Space

Stage 5 Elective

Course Descriptor

We currently inhabit a visually dominated environment, one in which the evolution of digital technologies has driven architects, artists and designers to work with highly sophisticated imagery in the process and communication of their work.

This course explores this phenomenon, and through experimentation, investigation and testing, provides an understanding of the factors affecting the impact of sensually holistic designed space, and how architects and designers can influence these factors. The course also considers the use of a mixed media approach in the recording and communication of the ephemeral qualities of ideas and proposals.

Task 1 - The Measureably Unmeasurable

Images to accompany a poem, '10 Poised Brushes', written to describe the space and activity inside a Charles Rennie Mackintosh drawing studio, Glasgow School of Art.

Task 2 - Tell Me a Story

A story, 'The Duchess and the Craftsman' written depicting an impossible romance, facilitated by a dusty labyrinthine street complex in medieval Genoa. Images illustrate a brief encounter at the convergence of two narrow streets.

Task 3 - Audio Diary

Blind sketches of sounds heard within the communal stair of the architecture building, Glasgow.

Task 4 - Olfactory Map

After shooting a short film of our small group walking through the Mackintosh building, the experience of smells, perfumes and aromas was mapped onto the altitude elevation of our journey.

Task 5 - Taste Event

A communal feast was macro-photographed using a strobe light to create a sense of 'haptic horror', accentuating the perception of touch and taste during the meal.

Task 6 - An Experiment

The final task was to devise our own sensory experiment. I used a chest mounted heart-rate monitor and a short film of a journey through the circulation spaces of the school, using the heart as a indication of temperature regulation, and physical & psychological exertion.