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Case Study

This document discusses several case studies that explore how architecture can harness different human senses: [1] An anechoic chamber designed for total silence makes even subtle internal sounds like heartbeats audible. [2] A black room installation in Japan renders visitors blind until their eyes adjust to the dim light, highlighting sight. [3] A New York art exhibition used scent as an artistic medium, with fragrances emanating from gallery walls to evoke memory. [4] An American pavilion covered in printed chocolate questioned the relationship between taste and pleasure. [5] A school for blind and deaf children uses varied textured walls that can be followed by touch, allowing independent

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Mansi Sethi
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181 views6 pages

Case Study

This document discusses several case studies that explore how architecture can harness different human senses: [1] An anechoic chamber designed for total silence makes even subtle internal sounds like heartbeats audible. [2] A black room installation in Japan renders visitors blind until their eyes adjust to the dim light, highlighting sight. [3] A New York art exhibition used scent as an artistic medium, with fragrances emanating from gallery walls to evoke memory. [4] An American pavilion covered in printed chocolate questioned the relationship between taste and pleasure. [5] A school for blind and deaf children uses varied textured walls that can be followed by touch, allowing independent

Uploaded by

Mansi Sethi
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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CASE STUDIES

MANSI SETHI
4TH YEAR , 7TH SEM
Sound: Anechoic Chamber, South Bank University, London

When considering the significance of sound in architecture, it may


seem a little perverse to select a room designed to harness total
silence. However, this would be to over-simplify matters: spend a few
hours in an anechoic chamber, and all manner of previously
unperceived sounds become apparent.

The crackling of your sinuses, the movement of blood around your


head, the thudding of your beating heart… the walls of foam blades
absorb almost every sound, leaving you hyper-aware of your own body
and its existence within the space.
Sight: Backside Of The Moon, Naoshima
Amongst countless other architectural treasures, Japan’s “Art Island” is
home to a timber-clad building that stretches the sense we take for
granted most: sight. James Turrell’s “Backside Of The Moon” contains a
pitch-black space that renders you blind for what might seem like
forever.

Eventually, your eyes adjust – only then can the eerie gray light
installation be observed, and the space you are sitting in begins to make
coherent sense. The brilliant Tadao Ando painstakingly detailed this
installation, and it shows: This structure represents the essence of how
light and darkness can be harnessed to create truly powerful
experiences.
Smell: The Art of Scent, Museum of Art and Design, New
York City
When they weren’t busy working on the High Line, Diller Scofidio +
Renfro adventured into the realms of sensory design in New York. Their
installation at the Museum of Art and Design launched as the first major
exhibition to focus on fragrance as an artistic medium rather than just a
consumer product controlled by luxury brands.

Smell is the sense most associated with reminiscence, and each of the
invisible artworks aimed to evoke memories and affect thought patterns
of visitors. The minimalist architecture employed by DS+R framed this
experience beautifully, with fragrances emanating from a series of
subtle dimples and pleats within the gallery walls.
Taste: Chocolate Room, American Pavilion, Venice

Originally created for the 35th Venice Biennale in 1970, American artist
Edward Ruscha created the ‘wallpaper’ of this room by silk-screen
printing 360 sheets with Nestlé chocolate. The oppressive room forces
inhabitants to question their preconceptions about the relationship
between taste and euphoria, forming physical proof of that age-old
proverb: too much of anything is a bad thing.

While we typically associate chocolate with its euphoric effect on our


taste-buds, the sense of smell was particularly overpowering in this
case: the walls began to melt in the hot summer temperatures,
attracting swarms of Venetian ants that ate away at the artwork.
HAZELWOOD SCHOOL

Hazelwood School was designed specifically for children who are “dual
sensory impaired” – they are both blind and deaf – meaning the sense
of touch was infinitely more crucial in fostering their independence
and aiding their orientation around the building.
Architect Alan Dunlop developed a meandering plan that allows
children to follow a linear route through the building, avoiding maze-
like conditions. Furthermore, the interior walls are clad with multiple
textured materials, which pupils can follow with their hands to make
sense of their whereabouts within the school. This means that they can
make their way from classroom to classroom with minimal help,
increasing the children’s confidence despite the challenges they face.

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