How Do we Grasp Space and Place?
Juhani Pallasmaa 10.19.11 6:30PM – 8:30PM
Wood Auditorium, Avery Hall Inaugural Kenneth Frampton Endowed Lecture
Juhani Pallasmaa, Helsinki
In the inaugural Kenneth Frampton Endowed Lecture at Columbia University GSAPP,Helsinki-based architect Juhani Pallasmaa will present thoughts on theheightened sense of materiality that often accompanies atmosphericarchitecture, of which he states: “Architectureis usually understood and taught in terms of focused perception, and thesignificance of the overarching peripheric and atmospheric perception isneglected. Yet, we have an amazing capacity to instantly grasp the overallambience or atmosphere of a landscape, urban setting, space and place.Altogether, unconscious peripheral and unfocused perception has a crucial rolein our grasp of our existential situation and feeling of being part of ‘theflesh of the world,’ to use a notion of Merleau-Ponty. The overall atmosphereis also a unifying characteristic in architecture, and there are architects andartists whose work is based more on qualities of an embracing haptic ambiencethan focused formal qualities.”
