haptic body

“The more we reflect on place, however, the more we recognize it to be something not merely characterizable but actually experienced in qualitative terms. These terms, for example, colour, texture and depth, are known to us only in and by the body that enters and occupies a given place. Site may be bodiless - it entails a disembodied overview, a survey - but there can be no being-in-place except by being in a densely qualified place in concrete embodiment. Indeed, how can one be in a place except through one’s own body?”

Casey, Edward. S. (1998) The fate of place, a philosophical history,
Berkley, Los Angeles, London, University of California Press.


Haptic material catalogue

“ . . . each of the five senses encourages one orientation or the other. Dependence on picture-vision tends to support exteriorism, whereas dependence on hearing kinesthesia, smell or radar-vision – seeing the arrayed proximity of things around us rather than their composed shapes relative to each other – supports interiorism. These sensory inclinations are so subtle, however, than the intellect can readily override them.”

Benedikt, M. (2002). Environmental stoicism and place machismo. Harvard Design Magazine Winter/Spring, n.16, p.21-27

Begin to observe the objects and spaces that surround you to gain an awareness of their haptic qualities. How does the handle of the car door feel on the skin of your hand first thing in the morning? When you bite into a piece of toast what does it sound like? What is the air like on the train, in the gym, at the bank? What does it smell like in the places that you travel through each day? How does your favourite piece of clothing feel against your skin? What does it feel like when you lie down on the grass or on the supermarket floor?

Your task is to locate and supply a material to form part of our design 1 Haptic Material Catalogue. We are not talking here about conventional building materials but things that you are surrounded by that have interesting haptic properties. You might find something in a $2 shop, a second hand shop, at the dentists or mechanics. The material may come in the form of an already made object, it might be a toy, or a household item, or it might come from somewhere outside. It might be synthetic or naturally occurring. It might be high or low tech.

You need to bring a sample of this material into studio on Thursday 27 March when we will be recording and cataloging these materials.


The haptic design: choose from either the waiting room or the alleyway
The waiting room

Waiting is generally an unpleasant experience. Waiting occupies an in-determined space, it is neither here nor there. With nothing to look at (silent tv and ancient magazines are hardly a distraction), you find yourself speculating as to the stories of the others in the room, while simultaneously trying to block out the fact that they may be doing this about you.

Design a waiting room where the haptic experience might increase the inhabitant(s) awareness of waiting. (This could be by relieving their anxiety, by distracting them, by disguising the act of waiting, by haptically re-locating them . . . ) The waiting room volume is 4m3. You may place openings where -ever you wish. You must decide what it is that is being waited for and who occupies the space.

OR

The alleyway

An alleyway is a place in the city passed thorough, a shortcut, a secondary space often neglected in terms of design, that comes about by the chance relation of building and property boundary. Yet an alleyway can offer a rich sensory experience (smelly rubbish bins and other olfactory elements) that might offer a counterpoint to the more regular conditions of journey around the city. Design an alleyway where the sensory experience might allow those passing through to be affected. The alley dimensions are 2m (wide) x 12m (long) x 8m (high). The alleyway is open to the sky but this may be considered in your design. You need to determine the end points of the alleyway for your design, that is, what spaces/locations/states does it link?



Phase of work
For either haptic design project (waiting room or alleyway) the phase of work is:

• maquette studies
  
• light studies
  
• sectional drawings
• material schedules

Reading requirement
As part of this brief you must select and read two out of the five following texts:


Benedikt, M. (2002). Environmental stoicism and place machismo. Harvard Design Magazine Winter/Spring, n.16, p.21-27

Franck, K. A. (2000) “From the body”, in Architecture inside out, Chichester, Wiley. Pages 46-60, sections titled “From the body”, “Bodies: Open, inclusive” and “Bodies: Moving, making space”. Call Number: 72.012 F822 2007

Hara, K. (2007) ‘Events on the skin’, in Designing Design, Baden, Switzerland Lars Muller Publishers. Pages 100 - 103

Pallasmaa, J. (2005) The Eyes of the Skin, architecture and the senses. Chichester, Wiley. Pages 49-59 Call Number: 72.01 P164

Holl, S. (2000) Parallax, New York, Princeton Architectural Press. Call Number: 72.036.6(73)H733p

The design that you make for a waiting room or an alleyway will need to respond to/ be informed by your reading in some way. We will be discussing the readings with your work.


PIN UP:
The haptic body first pin up will take place on THURSDAY 3 APRIL FROM 9:00AM venue tbc. You should show all of your phases of work at the pin up. There will be a further crit for this project on Thursday 10 April.

Images:
Top: from Holl, S. (2000) Parallax, New York, Princeton Architectural Press.
Bottom: Shuhei Hasado, Geta. From Hara, K. (2007) ‘Events on the skin’, in Designing Design, Baden, Switzerland Lars Muller Publishers.