EXPERIENCING

ARCHITECTURE
An Extract from a lecture by Jan van Dijk

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 •How a person experiences a moment or a period of time
in their lives is affected by the surroundings within which
that experience is set.

•The experience of the walk is totally different in the different

environments.

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•Increasingly as city dwellers most of our experiences todayare
environmentally affected by the manmadespaces
where we spend our time – vehicles, buildings, streets,squares,
gardens etc.

•Environments in terms of their contribution to people’s experience is

largely determined by the quality and intensity of the architecturalinput
during their creation.
In essence, Iwould describe architecture as the backdrop to the
theatre of life.
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• Architectural theorists andwriters
Hans van der Laan to Robert Venturi to DeanHawkes
Search for approaches to architecture, PROPORTIONALSYSTEMS,OR
METHODS OFDETAILING BUILDINGS which are intended toenhance
the architectural experience.

•Tounderstand how buildings will be perceived and if

possible enjoyed over the long term we have to, like a
method actor, immerse our thoughts with the experience
of future users. When we let the rituals, and perception
of everyday use inform our ideas then wecan achieve
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architecture of real meaning
Most architects carry out the typical baseline studies common in
every practice, PHOTOGRAPHICSURVEYS,TOPOGRAPHICALSURVEYSand
then produce “IMAGES BOARDS”TO“GETIDEAS” for the proposed
design.

In essence, Iwould describe architecture as the backdrop to the

theatre of life.
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HOW A BUILDING ISPERCEIVED/EXPERIENCED…….

➢ How people will pass through the building,

➢ How people will arrive at the building,
➢ How they will use it and
➢ Most importantly what addition to that experience would make the building
“special” for the user.

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 WELCOME
ENTRANCE
PROMENADE

PASSAGE
THE MAIN DOMAIN ARE
PROCESSION
ENCOUNTER
GATHERING
PROTECTION

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W ELCO M E │ EN T RAN CE │ PRO M ENAD E │ PASSAGE

│EN CO U N T ER │GAT H ERI N G│PRO T ECT I ON

The first experience that virtually any building should give the user is the experience
of welcome. It is natural for people when welcoming friends or family that they care for to
hold out their arms and embrace the visitor. Buildings to can provide a sense of welcome to
the visitor.
This can be done by the building reaching out to “embrace” people, byproviding
shelter tothem as they arrive, by making them feel safe and cared for when
alighting from vehicles, or by making the entrance and approachlegible.
The celebration of the doorway to buildings and the means ofentrance is an intrinsic
part of most vernacular architecture

PRO CESSI ON
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W ELCO M E │ EN T RAN CE │ PRO M ENAD E │ PASSAGE "Architecture occurs at the meeting of interiorand exterior
forces of use and space".

│EN CO U N T ER │GAT H ERI N G│PRO T ECT I ON

❖ The entrance to a building, the passage between inside andout,

❖Portal where we leave the limitless

space of our planets atmosphere to
enter the safety and Enclosure of
manmade form is a place where
architects can begin to work their
magic.

PRO CESSI ON
❖ It is the place where the
physical experience of the
building itself begins.
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 In these days of speed and hurry, we more than ever needs places to promenade,

PRO T ECT I ON
W ELCO M E │ EN T RAN CE │ PRO M EN ADE │ PASSAGE
places where we can walk slowly, that don’t particularly go anywhere and even lead back to
the same spot.

Walking slowly and

calmly under cover or while

│EN CO U N T ER│GAT H ERI N G│

seeking out beauty in the
objects that surround us isan
experience that buildings can
encourage.

PRO CESSI ON
A place of contemplation is
not simply one where we can
sit and think……. 10
W ELCO M E │ EN T RAN CE │ PRO M ENAD E │ PASSAGE "The movement between rooms I as important as the rooms themselves; and
it's arrangement has as much effect on social interaction in the rooms as the

│EN CO U N T ER │GAT H ERI N G│PRO T ECT I ON

interiors of the rooms“.-A Pattern Language, Christopher Alexander
Celebration of the movement between one space and the next is animportant
element in the creation of surprise.
The act of passing can enhance the
experience of the spaces either side.

Being
attracted up astaircase
from one floor to the
next can make moving
through a building
special.

PRO CESSI ON
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W ELCO M E │ EN T RAN CE │ PRO M ENAD E │ PASSAGE "The ideals of traditional architecture are a classical proportion that reflects an ordered
cosmos, harmony, a seamless integration of past and present and the use of timeless, Platonic

│EN CO U N T ER │ GAT H ERI N G│PRO T ECT I ON

forms."
Procession is the act of moving in a formal orceremonious manner. Special
occasions, religious ceremonies, and formal entertainment can be enhanced by the
celebration of procession.

PRO CESSI ON
EXPERIENCINGARCHITECT
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KEDHEESWARANB.Arc
W ELCO M E │ EN T RAN CE │ PRO M ENAD E │ PASSAGE "The Informal gives rise to ambiguity. This means interpretation and experiment
as a natural course of events“. CecilBalmond

│EN CO U N T ER │ GAT H ERI N G│PRO T ECT I ON

Many of even the best architectural spaces are “set pieces” created bythe
architect’s imagination for the carrying out of a single activity—viewing art, watching theatre,
or working at our desks.
However, creativity and
meaningful communication often happe n
when informal meetings take place.

Architects can provide opportunities in

their buildings for suchencounters.

PRO CESSI ON
This thinking is not only important forcreativity in offices
but for the everyday life of human beings everywhere.

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W ELCO M E │ EN T RAN CE │ PRO M ENAD E │ PASSAGE "VISTA”..

│EN CO U N T ER │ GAT H ERI N G│PRO T ECT I ON

"If architecture, the making of Places, is as we propose a matter of extending the inner
landscape of human being into the world in ways thatare comprehensible, experiential,
and inhabitable” Charles Moore from "Body, Memoryand Architecture
One of architectures greatest pleasures is framing or providing opportunities to
look outwards from within the building.

Similarly stepping out onto a

balcony to enjoy apanorama
can be a memorable
experience.

PRO CESSI ON
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W ELCO M E │ EN T RAN CE │ PRO M ENAD E │ PASSAGE
"One of the most basic human needs is to come together with a sense ofcommunity”..

│EN CO U N T ER │ GAT H ERI N G│PRO T ECT I ON

This happens at football matches, religious events, community
meetings, theatre nights, concerts etc.

The ability to feel part of the

audience is an equally important and
emotive experience which should be
considered

PRO CESSI ON
Architects often make the mistake of thinking
only of the need to see theevent. 15
W ELCO M E │ EN T RAN CE │ PRO M ENAD E │ PASSAGE "And yet buildings are not only enclosure; they are also extensions of ourselves, like
clothing“. Joseph Rykwert from "Ornament is no crime"

│EN CO U N T ER │ GAT H ERI N G│PRO T ECT I ON

Ultimately buildings provide protection, protection from the
elements, protection from danger, protection from exposure.

Historically this was

reflected in thick walls and
small windows.

However there are many times when even in our modern

world humans need to feel protected andsecure.

PRO CESSI ON
Today with thin skin technology and planar
glazing we have lost that sense of protection in
our architecture.
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W ELCO M E │ EN T RAN CE │ PRO M ENAD E │ PASSAGE “We are interested in the infinite richness and ambiguity of concrete reality.Architecture

│EN CO U N T ER │ GAT H ERI N G│PRO T ECT I ON

seems to be increasingly pre-occupied with inventing new systems of abstractions and
complexity.
This kind of complexity is impoverished compared tothe complexity of the world
around us, and misses the opportunity to engage with the powerful web of emotions and
expectations, of meaning that underlies
reality".
Toconclude, something new in
architecture, simply re-emphasising something
that would feel we are in danger of losing in our
blind rush form modernity.
The examples chosen to show a
continuity between the historical and the
contemporary in the creation of experiential
space.
Simply believe that with a greater
emphasis on thinking about the way that our
buildings are used that we can create better
buildings for everyday and for special occasions.

PRO CESSI ON
It is in the celebration of the richnessof
human life that architecture becomes truly
meaningful.
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EXPERIENCINGARCHITECTURE - Steen EilerRasmussen

Basic Observations
Hearing Architecture
Daylight in Architecture
Scale and Proportion
Solids and Cavities in Architecture
Contrasting Effects of Solids and Cavities
Architecture Experienced as Color Planes
Rhythm in Architecture
Textural Effects
Color in Architecture

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