Looking can be a very unconscious event. I want to explore when the consciousness takes over and looking at something turns into the concept of perceiving something. Because perceiving requires conscious effort. You have to use your senses to perceive something. It’s not the same as judging, but rather being aware of what’s there. Judging requires analysis, I want to understand what’s in front of us after the fact of looking but before the act of judging. Because judging is also pretty automatic once you perceive based on your senses. But does that mean the judgement is ingrained automatically in the unconscious based on the environment?
Recently, I watched a Ted talk by James Howard Kunstler. And I agree with his analysis of the ghastly tragedy of the american suburb. When I studied architecture, I was surprised at how much I focused on the architecture itself and not the environment that it was located in. I studied in Philadelphia, so when we designed, the environment was occupied with the mundane elements of everyday life. It was packed with apartments, houses, and shops that are the norm of cities. Because it was so normal, everything was meshed together, I started disregarding the environment and started focusing more on how people would react once people arrived at my design.
But I realize now that perceiving the environment and then looking at my design go hand-in-hand. Since I was copying the environment without realizing that the environment also needs to start inviting people in, the environment has to be a space where people can relax. My problem with Philly architecture is with its design of fitting people inside rather than allowing people to experience the space. Apartments are generally compact, divided by roads and major destinations. There’s very little interaction outside besides people walking from place to place. And major destinations, like center city and old city, are where people congregate. And I want people interacting everywhere.
When I went to Tokyo, I was surprised at how people were more likely to be outside at all times. The train system allowed for bustling people at all times. There were people riding bikes in all spaces. Of course, there were also cars, but there was a hierarchy that made it more acceptable for the cars to exist. But in american cities, cars generally overwhelm all types of spaces. Especially in places like Philly, where it bothered me that there were so many cars. I used to bike all the time in Philly, so I have more experiences with the roads, but overall the space designed for people to live in generally were bounded by big roads. It would be nice if there was more of a hierarchy between where people walk, bike, drive, and interact.
Now with the discussion, regarding perception, I think generally we do perceive a great deal the first time we arrive at a destination. We look at the surroundings, we get familiar with what stands out, all the different shapes, and the movement of the space itself. But that happens the first few times, and then we slowly become used to the space. I want to lessen habituation and increase perception. The idea that our transportation systems and the noise of our environment taking control of our space should be erased. The architecture that I designed became bulky and standardized because at the time I wasn’t able to realize how interacting with the outside was crucial. I was focusing on the interior space without realizing that the exterior was already having unconscious effects on the individual.
It becomes hard to justify designs that deviate from the norm. Architecture nowadays still exist mostly in rectangular shapes because the process to create structure is easier that way. This doesn’t solve the problem of people interacting with the space though. If people keep building space with just looking and using it as shelter, then the interaction between human beings is going to diminish. If people continue to stay inside and not interact with each other, then we’ll be living in a future with thousands of vertical skyscrapers but no interaction between people.
Sources used:
William James meant when he wrote, “My experience is what I agree to attend to. Only those items which I notice shape my mind.”
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