Experiencing architecture through the senses

In this video, we talk about architecture that is experienced not only visually, but with our senses, or what we call, "sensing architecture".
Today, we are constantly bombarded with information that is designed to please the eye and to deliver maximum impact within a short amount of time. When we become immersed into this colorful information, our other haptic senses of experiencing the world become desensitized.
This doesn't only impact our perception and our psychology, but it also has an indirect impact on our our built environment and the way that we experience space.
In an interview with The New York Times, Zumthor once explained his process: "When I start, my first idea for a building is with the material. I believe architecture is about that. It's not about paper, it's not about forms. It's about space and material.” I'd seen so many of his buildings in photographs and in books, but never in person.
In the summer of 2016, I went on a trip to Europe with my classmates, and we visited the Saint Benedict Chapel by Peter Zumthor, a small, inconspicuous church on top of a hill.
I realized that none of the photos did it justice, because what I realized is that his architecture is all about the sensory experience.
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[@DamiLeeArch]

Have you ever felt "experiential impoverishment"?

[@markcurry8980]

Yes, we experience it every day as we drive through mega suburban neighborhoods with repeated features, and through cityscapes at speed. I would add to your comments of space and place to add time. Cities like Savannah Georgia. The downtown anyway truly need to be experienced as a pedestrian. To really feel the texture the nuances and history. In that regard time is history, But also the speed at which you experience the architecture.

[@kaimagnus]

To answer your question yes I have. By official degree I'm a Machinist, Metallurgical Chemist, Engineer. I have always been an artist. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that's the way I've always envisioned Architects like an artistic engineer. I really appreciate when an architect designs buildings so it appears like if I had a giant hand and I rubbed the surfaces it would have a pleasant texture. I even like it if it is just slick like glass. I have to say I appreciate the look of the "shining mirrored city". Thanks for another perspective on architecture.

[@Lexter606]

My experience of that feeling happened when I felt absolutely empty inside as if I had no way out, no help, and just simply nothing. It was beyond being loss because it wasn't me who wanted it to happen but it just happened and I felt absolutely out of control. To explain that, it felt like I just hit the bottom of the ocean - in the cold, dark place! Then, a while later I felt as though I had the power to realize it, recognize it, and I felt a glimpse of peace and strength to move forward. It was one the darkest days of my life.

[@IzzyOnTheMove]

I am keenly aware of it, didn't know there was a term for it.

[@fernandocunnoris5008]

"The door handle is the handsake of the building." Damn..

[@DamiLeeArch]

That's exactly what I said when I heard that sentence.😁juhani pallasmaa ALWAYS dropping poetry on us

[@Olivierstreet]

Architects love to wax

[@sophiamarina8358]

I'm in my first semestre of architecture school and we just visited the St. Anton's Church in Basel, Swiss. The professors wanted us to experience the building with all our senses and I loved it. We were all so quiet in the church and the light reflected beautifully onto the rough concrete walls. Architecture is so much better in real life than on photos!

[@Eliphas_Leary]

Recently I started working in a building by Zumthor. Before that I have never seen people getting high from architecture. Some of our guests need some minutes after they left the building to return to normal. Zumthor truly is an amazing artist.

[@saheltahvildari4946]

This was my favourite moment from our trip, I’m so glad you made a video about it!

[@DamiLeeArch]

Thanks sahel! Yeah I think it was for me too.. that whole journey up the hill past the quaint little homes was very memorable for me 😁

[@sandipanaich]

I am a Software Engineer and I do not understand much about architecture. The way you explained your idea of sensing the architecture was very beautiful and meaningful. It really helped to realize that there is much more to out there, than our retina can really absorb. Thanks a lot for sharing these videos, @Dami.

[@herbchao6305]

As coordinator for construction, buildings have recently felt like to me a dead&hollow object or space to sell (probably cause i worked on commercialized buildings/residential) but wow... that quote about how "the door handle is the handshake of the building" really re-invigerated in me emtionally to see buildings being an entity of itself to be interacted with and experienced, much like a person. Almost enough for me to be untraumatized from my experience sorting out the door schedules. In summary I really enjoyed this video. Thanks!

[@69jut]

Your last sentence describing your sensory experiences gave me chills. Beautiful!

[@carlberg7503]

Thanks, I'll never experience architecture the same way again.

[@dolbow]

brilliant! Now, I understand why I have such strong memories of certain structures! and why I miss those moment so much!

[@sonneao]

Years ago when in college, in the "Senses" module of my intro to Psychology class, I remember reading a chapter dedicated to one famous mnemonist. When he asked about how he remembered so much, he explained that he would close his eyes and create spaces within a house or building. He would fill a room with something he wanted to remember, then go into another imagined room and do the same, and so forth. This video, you mentioning the brain research linking physical space with memory... it brings so much sense to this mnemonic strategy. Very interesting topic, thank you for bringing it up and relating it to arquitecture.

[@christopherrodway8714]

I really enjoyed this video! I really liked how you finished with the walkthrough and description of the church building in Switzerland! It felt like you really brought it to life with your verbal descriptions over the top of the video of it. Now I want to experience it in person! 😁

[@AT-oh3yy]

Awesome description of the moment! I could imagine what what you were conveying, as if i have stepped into the place myself! Truly lovely

[@yigitakyol1436]

I just found your channel, and as a senior architecture student, I can say that you made me re-love architecture. Thank you for that.

[@DamiLeeArch]

Awww that's really good to hear!! I also had times when I fell out of love with architecture, but somehow someway I keep coming back 😁

[@somtochukwuuchendu7721]

This is why I subscribed to your channel. Thank you for sharing all this wisdom and knowledge for free

[@resilientfarmsanddesignstu1702]

Just discovered and am enjoying your channel. My view on space, memories and place is that what we are really recording is our route through spacetime. We do not traverse space. We do not traverse time. We traverse spacetime. We always do both simultaneously. The two dimensions of location are inseparable. since we live in spacetime, our brains and senses have evolved to help up navigate and make sense of it.

[@gregorysoltis2390]

Hi Dami! I just discovered your videos a week ago. I really enjoyed this one. I speak to my class about space and place all the time and I am always trying to get them to be present in the moment and experience a place. I will be watching more of your videos in the coming months. Thank you for sharing your insights.

[@jeremiahgallo1055]

Duuuude. Well done! A glimpse of the outside world during quarantine is always nice.

[@DamiLeeArch]

Thanks a lot! Yeah it was also very nice for me to make, for a sec I felt like I was up there in the mountains, not stuck in my room 😊

[@jeremiahgallo1055]

@@DamiLeeArch Totally!

[@dianausse]

I'm so in love with your channel..... thanks for sharing everything you're sharing!!

[@annyandlife]

I am an architecture student and your channel is so inspiring to me!! :)

[@wenhsin547]

I wish I knew architects who could express what you are saying. There's so much more to it that draws me to experience buildings but most is what has been presented is about aesthetics, function or some dreamy self-indulgent "creativity" which says nothing of a communal experiential language.

[@jazz_and_tea]

What a fascinating subject!

[@cutiepieyoshi910]

oooh please make more like that :) it was beautiful

[@DamiLeeArch]

Ahhhh thank you!!! 🥰🥰🥰

[@priyashiwijeratne7577]

love all your content DamiLee. Do more of experiencing architecture videos. interesting to hear your take on a design

[@lukar8826]

Such a well crafted and thought out video. The point about differentiating space and place is super interesting to me and also something I'm thinking about from time to time. The closest I've come to somewhat explaining it to myself is looking at 'space' as something assembled with defined elements that are visual and by altering them you would most definitely change the end result, therefore making some new space. On the other hand, 'place' is something above visual, most definitely influenced by memory aspect that you mentioned, plus all the other senses. Changing a place is probably much harder because it almost happens by accident and is hard to plan or predict. Zumptor is I think one of the few who can reliably make 'places' instead of 'spaces', probably thanks to huge experience and mastery. Excuse my English, it is not my main language so I hope it's understandable :)

[@DamiLeeArch]

hmmm yeah that's an interesting description. If you look at books like Space, Form and Order, it breaks down all the elements of architecture to create a certain kind of 'space', but just based on those elements, it's hard to get a sense of 'place'. I think of the word 'genius loci', or the 'spirit of the place', and think of old towns that have grown over many many years, that have quality that's not only physical, but also metaphysical or even spiritual. I guess it's one of the reasons why you can't study architecture just by looking at books, like you really have to travel and visit as many places as possible and spend time there, to really understand it. I also like looking at scientific or neurological explanations to architectural concepts because I think it really helps ground some of these less tangible ideas. Sometimes reading architectural descriptions of concepts drive me crazy because they're so illusive!

[@DamiLeeArch]

oh and don't worry about your english! I actually didn't realize you were not a native speaker 😆

[@andrewqie883]

Really touched by this video, thanks!

[@arunavsinha6324]

Loved this! My experience with experiencing a space through senses was when I visited this little village located in Nagaland called 'Kohonoma'. The architectural space I talk about is a simple residential house locally designed, crafted as well as constructed but the experience etched in my mind is of the softness of the material palette, the sounds of the valley channeling into the house through wind, the graveled pathways leading to the house and the stone stairs leading to the lower floors (typology of houses there included a lower floor below main roadways). This video helped me see the link between my memory with the architectural experience (through senses). Thanks a lot!

[@DamiLeeArch]

That sounds like a lovely place 😊 memories like that will stay with you and come out through your designs.

[@maxlegomaster]

I felt this moment when I saw the Temple of Heaven, it was alos the perfect day when we saw it. It was a clear sunny day which helped in viewing the building. I can remember my jaw dropping when I saw the building for the first time, it was so surreal.

[@hammad9148]

Damn Dami, your narration is so good. It gave me chills and made me feel the space through my goosebumps.

[@veronicaalessandrello1022]

I agree 100%. All our senses are key to solving problem. Corporate and big tech idea of Remote control of ‘wealth’, is delusional sense of control. It keeps growing because of the desperate needs of capitalising on new designs and technology models, yet the so irrational, unsustainable contractual dependency for earning a living and keeping the economy ‘growing’ becomes the root cause of our today’s chaotic socio-economics crisis. I’ve witnessed how business of capital importance have lost mega deals due to the ‘remote control’ approach. The desensitised generations won’t know how to solve problems so we become self destructive. I wish my senses were comfortably numbed but they are sharp as the current situation clear demands sense of urgency for our survival.

[@SpiritOfTheWest49]

Beautiful. Love the simplicity of this video and the topic

[@DamiLeeArch]

Thank you 😊

[@mariansykora5341]

Thank you for the video, im architecture+c.eng. student and I’m in 3rd year(6yr studying in eu), and I didnt really find myself in any field yet, I feel like im more of a problem solver than creator, but this inspires me for architecture, I just love churches and castles. God bless you

[@DamiLeeArch]

I also realized these last few years that I'm more of a problem solver than a creator :) School teaches you to be a creator but the profession wants more problem solvers, imo.

[@user-yk1cw8im4h]

How about solving problems creatively, that must be a thing right

[@DamiLeeArch]

yep for sure

[@dabi_]

experiential impoverishment...daaannnngggg that is such a good way to describe it. gonna make sure to go and explore more spaces. thanks Dami! this was genuinely a super interesting video. would be curious to hear your thoughts on the places you most found architecturally interesting to visit sometime! one of the things I'd love to do more of is explore more of the world's spaces, when it gets unlocked again.

[@DamiLeeArch]

Thank you David and that's a great idea! I have such a huge library of photos from places that I've visited, although I got lucky with this one because I ended up taking video footage of it. Ali might say that was young me, watching out for future me ^^

[@dabi_]

@@DamiLeeArch hahah :) 👏 to young Dami then!

[@oac121]

Thank you for the video @DamiLee. Keep it up! Zumthor is a true phenomenological master. I went to Benedict's Chapel in the snow, so the sense of place and a beacon for warmth was doubly pronounced.

[@DamiLeeArch]

Wow that sounds delightful. Something to live in your memory forever!

[@rfatihkaya6983]

Brilliant video, thanks for that

[@DamiLeeArch]

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it! It was fun to make 😊

[@paulinestallborger4358]

I live there his buildings are stunningly beautiful!!

[@DamiLeeArch]

Wow you are one lucky human!!! I want to visit more of his buildings. I visited his office and I still remember this incredibly unique texture of the concrete that I can almost feel it in my hands.

[@tlessclock]

Very inspiring and beautiful... thank you!

[@DamiLeeArch]

Glad you enjoyed it! 😊

[@vincentbaezmontes800]

Love this content

[@eirini.karanikoli]

Amazing short video I come to watch again and again

[@carbonc6065]

~Another great video--with great insight!

[@superheaton]

I'd like to add that spacing and design is very important. It could be economical, but it could feel like a beautiful community or it could be like projects where everyone is frustrated, such places like the old crowded Hong Kong apartments in Kowloon.

[@cameroncooper8618]

Love your channel great work

[@DamiLeeArch]

Thanks 😊

[@nikoskakaris9965]

Really nice building. I like your comments on material, construction and atmosphere. These are stuff that interest me and as we see here they are very closely related. I wish more focus was given to these factors in my university.

[@DamiLeeArch]

Thank you Nikos. If you're interested in this topic, definitely check out the Eyes of the Skin by Juhani palladmaa, like all of Peter Zumthor s books, Kenneth Frampton, Louis Khan. (If you haven't already!)

[@aida4338]

"The doorhandle is the handshake of the building"

[@DominkDoMinh]

THis video is super inspiring, wish I could visit one of Peter zumthor's buildings right now

[@DamiLeeArch]

I've got a long list of buildings to visit after the pandemic. maybe the waiting will make the experience more satisfying? idk ^.^

[@gabrielverde5649]

Wow I found this channel because of a mac video and found a passion! 😅

[@DamiLeeArch]

How it should be!!

[@frncscbtncrt]

This is really eerie, but I dreamed about this building in 4:05 some nights back

[@rachel26k]

Hello! Haptic architecture is one of the core concepts behind my thesis topic, and I'm glad this video exists! I believe more architects should at least try to design places that aren't just visual feasts for the eyes. We have at least five senses, we should at least satisfy around two to three of them :D

[@avocado1405]

hi im also doing a thesis around that topic can you tell what building typology did you go with for your thesis?

[@sherwinabad]

i love your presentations Dami!

[@technowelliebobs4779]

Your videos are so underated

[@Janelou42]

Here I am thinking I would see something new and bit out of my norm. *Sees her go to switzerland* oh okay... Well only makes me appreciate some of the architecture here even more then! Greetings from switzerland ^^

[@thirdrockjul2224]

Good points.

[@brondi0]

Great video, very inspiring, thats what i was looking for at the end of term! Instant sub and waiting for more :)

[@DamiLeeArch]

Yay! Thanks for joining me! Hope you had a good term 😊

[@rick_kramp]

jeez u captivate me so much, really interesting!

[@DamiLeeArch]

Thank you!!

[@maryjoyasuncion589]

more more of these

[@DamiLeeArch]

thank you! ❤ I have a similar type of video coming up this weekend.. stay tuned ^^

[@jivagoribeiro]

Very nice video! That feeling of total silence, it's one of the most peacefull things on earth. I guess can be only compared to the sound of waves crashing into the beach (deserted ones). Another thing that affects us, is the accessibility and effortless way to get those "informations", when you don't have to expend a lot of money to "get it", because it's already at your hand. Don't misunderstand me, i totally agree with Juhani, experiencing the place and the space is more important to architects and students (hell, to everyone in fact hehe). =]

[@DamiLeeArch]

Yeah that's totally true. The accessibility has lots of positive sides, like democratising information, but also some negative side effects, like lowering attention spans and being addicted to visual stimulus. I'm so curious what will happen to the next generation!

[@Rhinoch8]

Such a nice place! I'm from Lausanne, I will certainly go to Sumvitg one day. The village nearby, Disentis, has a lot of gold in the mountains :)

[@DamiLeeArch]

I'd love to visit some day 🙂

[@alexandraelenacristea]

Wherever we might be, we occupy space with our entire body, not just with our eyes.I believe not many architects realize the importance of catering to allllllll of the senses, not only sigh, but hearing, smell and taste also. Juhani Pallasmaa's book, The Eyes of the Skin, is an interesting reading on just that. Also Phenomenology is a theory that promotes the integration of sensory perception as a function of a built form. Christian Norberg-Schulz is one architect that has written a great deal on the topic.

[@DamiLeeArch]

Eyes of the Skin was one of the first architecture books I'd ever read, and coming from knowing absolutely nothing about architecture, it was mindblowing and a wonderful embrace into the field. Still one of my favourites. I have read snippets of Norberg Schultz's essays as well, but unfortunately after I started working, I stopped reading architectural theory. Making this youtube channel introduced me to it again. 😊

[@IzzyOnTheMove]

As a writer, I'd say, do not underestimate the amount of different ways words like "red", "hard" or "disappeared" can be interpreted. 😉

[@peterwilson569]

This reminds me of the film Rivers and Tides by Andrew Goldsworthy.

[@Abrpatel]

Nice video! We’re all living in a digital reality that’s more engaging then the outside one. We just have to look at people in trains to see all of them looking downwards instead of ahead or each other. This might heavily influence future architecture to be more photography worthy then a sensory experience. I hear museums are designing they’re exhibits to be instagram worthy over just pressing the art. Keep shipping thought provoking essays!

[@DamiLeeArch]

Yeah totally. I think technology is like a double edged sword, where it exposes architecture to the mass audience, but only a very small aspect of it, usually the visually stimulating, money-shot worthy aspects. I was looking at this new proposal for a library in china called the 'wormhole library' and it looks amazing from the outside but the function of reading and studying seemed really like afterthought, something jammed into this super cool shell. They might have lots of instagrammers, but maybe not so many readers 😁

[@Abrpatel]

@@DamiLeeArch lol. There aren’t any free lunches . Every “advancement”, has some cost, even if that cost isn’t revealed after many years. The the true cost of smartphones wasn’t revealed after more then a decade of society around the world using it. It was as addictive as a drug, and very hard to stop using it. Everyone in the world together became an addict, an unheard of moment in the history of the world. We’re still dealing with the aftermath.

[@johnsonbullocks3538]

Damileee!!🤜🙌

[@DamiLeeArch]

Woohoo!

[@kiileetsoku2397]

Wow

[@pramudithamadhusankha]

awsome

[@DamiLeeArch]

Thank you 😁

[@jwebstersmithii7459]

Matter and Pattern. Maternal and Paternal. Moon and Sun. A completion when the two become one.

[@joshua19145]

lol me turning up the silence at 3:44 ✨😆😌✨

[@fishmini9771]

Hi Dami! I would like to ask what kind of camera lens were you using for the photographs?

[@Malay435]

Instant Sub.. !!

[@mateusklabin5527]

It's surprising that you barely mention Juhani Pallasmaa's Eyes of the Skin in this video; it's arguably the most important body of work in architecture theory relating to haptic architecture. I think it's worthy of more than just a quote, and it should be recommended to your viewers to learn more about this topic.

[@rick_kramp]

can you sharing the name song around 2 min ?

[@djcb4190]

This is the neo-organic architecture.

[@r_7man]

انه ملهم جدًا 😢

[@MosesGTC]

Irony... I'm watching this on KZbin experiencing experiential impoverishment

[@chefearther7288]

feels very isolated

[@khawarkhurshidahmedmalik9445]

Quotations she quotes are from people that are, may be. too intelligent for me. But as soon as her argument gets to the St Benedict's Chapel in the Swiss Alps, one realises she really knows her architecture.

[@victorinolopez8944]

I just became woke and I have learned to escape the matrix through architecture.

[@avocado1405]

THAT IS SUCH A GOOD THESIS TOPIC HAHAHA

[@firstname713]

Einstein was completely wrong about the most important aspects of human existence.

[@DamiLeeArch]

like what?

[@firstname713]

@@DamiLeeArch Imagine that email I sent you is the truth, imagine that you will have to one day stand before God when He gave you everything beautiful in your life yet you did not pause from building skyscrapers to say thank you a single moment. We know there is a builder because we see the building, we know there is a creator because we see the creation. Einstein in all his genius believed the scientific impossibility that nothing created everything, don't follow those footsteps of ignorance, they only lead to destruction. Jesus Christ loves you, He will spare you, cry out to Him while He can still be found.

[@nasseralajmi5259]

Wow