WINDOWS OF THE SOUL
Critical Written Reflection Anahita Koosha 2013219 Studio 2A Tutor Anders Gammelgaard Spring 2018
TABLE OF CONTENT
06 PREFACE
08 WINDOWS OF THE SOUL
10 HOUSE OF GLASS
16 PURPOSEFUL CREATION
22 POSTFACE
24 BIBLIOGRAHPY
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PREFACE
“Indeed, architects would do better if they were less concerned with the photogenic qualities of their works.” In the text, “Space, Place and Atmosphere: Peripheral Perception in Existential Experience”, Pallasmaa explains his personal thoughts on the role and significance of atmosphere in architecture. Pallasmaa criticises the fact that atmosphere is underestimated both in architectural practices and in schools of architecture, claiming architects would do better if they were less concerned with the appearance and form of their works, rather than the atmosphere of the spaces created. Pallasmaa quotes Peter Zumthor “I enter a building, see a room, and – in a fraction of a second – have this feeling about it,” explaining how our perception of atmosphere gives us an immediate emotional judgement of a space, that is not only reliant on our logical thinking or, the Aristotelian senses; such as the senses of orientation, gravity, balance, stability, motion, duration, continuity, scale, and illumination. He believes that our personal background, emotions, memories and imagination plays a significant role in our perception of a space. We grasp an atmosphere on an emotional level before we understand it intellectually. According to Pallasmaa, recognising a space is an intuitive reading, a biological principle of survival. It is neurologically closely related to recalling memories.
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Our perception of a space is intuitive, an unconscious judgement or scanning without consciously interpreting the individual elements of a space. Pallasmaa gives numerous examples of the use of the atmosphere as inspiration to prioritising atmosphere. However, Pallasmaa does not provide a recipe for how to achieve atmospheric spaces, concluding how the perception of a space is entirely subjective and personal. While reading the text by Pallasmas I nodded agreeingly along the lines. In a consumeristic time where business and recognition are in focus, I see less architecture concerned with the experience of a space one can have. Numbers and meters are prioritised and not the architectural concept - quantity over quality. It is about the appearance so projects become presentable and sellable for the investors. Quick solutions are made to meet deadlines and buildings are getting more and more homogenised. A boxy shell with windows as details. Time is invested in profit rather than the creative process to create spaces the emotionally moves us. With a focus on windows is a great tool for creating atmospheres, I aim to discuss their use in architecture today as afterthoughts to a fictional narrative depicting the paradoxical purpose of windows in an urban environment.
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WINDOWS OF THE SOUL In the morning light, the facades shine brightly. The city and every detail cast a shadow of its presence. When the star spotted black velvet curtain is drawn the mysteries behind the closed doors come alive. The human and it’s curious nature irresistibly observe the surrounding life as a distant stranger. Captivated, the spectator creep inside the soul of the night the facades are only a frame of the life inside.
Origin and Etymology of window Middle English ‘windowe’, from the Old Norse ’vindauga’, from ’vindr – wind’ and ’auga – eye’, i.e., wind eye
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HOUSE OF GLASS At first he thought it would be ideal to live in a house with a full view of the city and all of its inhabitants. But soon he would come to learn, the consequences of living in a house of glass.
Behind the panoramic view, William stood ready, ready for the day to begin. Glancing over the city as the sun slowly hit the buzzing streets. William was an artist that occupied himself with observing people. His panoramic view was his inspiration board. The people was his art. He would detect peoples’ true colours that from time to time would shine through their windows. He looked for the compeling human qualities behind the personas they masked themselves with on the streets. William had an exceptional curious nature. Since he was a little boy, he would spend his time imagining the life of the people, he saw through his bedroom window, and play it out through his toys. That trait had stuck with him all his life. A quiet fly on the wall. Consequently, he had become a lonesome wolf. He didn’t engage much with people. He watched them from afar and was with them in his mind creating their characters. Williams apartment allowed him to survey the city from every corner of his house. He could draw the surroundings with closed eyes. He had examined the building facades around him that supposedly should cover the private life of others. But William knew more about these persons would like to know. He had observed the inhabitants and noticed a pattern of three individuals whose characters inspired him to keep studying them. In the newly build apartment across Williams place, on the 7th floor, just one level below Williams apartment, lived the man in the suit. The building was a clean and polished light sand coloured brick facade probably covering a concrete structure. The only detail was the deeply inserted windows that seemed to be blindfolded put on the blueprints.
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They contrasted the walls with thin black transoms framing the one large piece of glass. All the windows were tall - from floor to ceiling only variating in the width which gave William a perfect view into the life behind the facade. The man in the suit was an early bird. He hastily got ready for work every morning. He always wore sharp-looking and well-fitted suits that he thoughtfully chose every morning. He delicately took out the suits worried not to wrinkle anything and dressed with great effort. The mirror was his best friend. He checked himself and straighten himself. The hair and face were always groomed and ended the check with an approving nod to himself. He definitely dressed to impress. William could observe the man in the suit from the bedroom to the kitchen where he ended his morning routine. Here he packed his brown leather briefcase with his laptop and a folder filled with notes as he finished the morning coffee. William had assumed either he was a lawyer or some sort of CEO. Unlike him, at home, he walked the streets with a steely authoritarian demeanour. Almost presumptuous and intimidating. But was humbled by the way he battled himself. Late in the evenings when he came home, he almost always brought home dinner. In the evening the routine started with him neatly putting down the briefcase and food on the kitchen island and go to the bedroom for a change. He wore comfortable sweatpants and an old t-shirt. Then he found the ironing board to prepare the suit for another day and carefully hung it back in the closet. He tidied the room before going to the kitchen and eat his take-out. He sat by the kitchen island. He never used the dining table as it was just for show and for guests. Of course, he would never take a break, so while uncousinly eating, he would work. He was a hardworking man that put a lot of effort in keeping up an appearance. It was all on the surface, but sometimes William would see the surface cracking. Naturally, it was impossible to keep up the facade, without breaking out of it. He sweated over the computer, to work past the expectations of him.
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William pitied his self-torturing ways, to be a better version of himself. But would the people even notice the difference? Continuously he lied to himself keeping his head high. Aspiring to be perfect but with an inner, that suffered. A young woman lived in an older apartment next to the sand brick building. It was a narrow brick building plastered and painted light grey. You could see the windows to the stairwell on the left side differentiating in level with the windows of the apartments. These windows were sat up in a grid forming a symmetrical pattern on the facade. The windows were wide as a door. They opened up on the middle, and the white painted wood transoms, divided the glass into six squares. The windows secured more privacy, and therefore William only knew her by night. She lived on the 3rd floor, and when the room was lit up from within, he could see right down into the apartment. Presumably, she was a student but what William had sensed that she for sure was, she was a quiet person. Often when she came home - she changed into something dull and comfortable, made herself a quick dinner and went on to study before going to bed early. Al though she would be awake for a while either reading, being on the smartphone or as countless nights, William had seen, cry herself to sleep. She never closed her blinds therefor William knew her well. She wasn’t a loner - she was lonely. The way she cried at night, was a desperate wish for presence something embracing. He had seen her with friends, but she obviously felt alone. As William, she would spend some evenings peeking through her bedroom with a gloomy look on her face. It was as if she emptied her mind and let the city create images and emotions. There were small moments of joy in her eyes. However, it shouldn’t last for long before the emotionless face was back. Every morning she entered the streets bleak expression at home transformed. She looked delightful and smiled pleasantly but William could still recognise the melancholy behind the painted smile.
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On the other side of Williams apartment looking down to a spacious courtyard opposite William in a traditional exposed brick apartment lived another woman. The apartment had been under transformation. The old windows had been replaced with glass doors with white frames, opening up to a newly installed balcony. It was a lightweight steel construction with wood panels as flooring. The railing, as well, was of steel with vertical balusters. In the sunny weather, she would take any chance of being out on the balcony, enjoying herself. He knew lesser of her compared to the other two. She was out of the house most of the time and if not, she would have company over. She was a regular woman with a vast social life. She had an ordinary daily life with the occasional house parties. She was everything William was not. Her interactions with people intimidated him. The ordinary represented the majority of people, however, the reason he still kept an eye on her was how she carelessly exposed herself to the world. She didn’t seem to mind rather the opposite. She was social butterfly depended on the presence of people. She was defined by the people surrounding her. She had built up an image that wouldn’t matter if people didn’t see it. She never left her phone either doubtlessly browsing through social media or be in contact with the missing people. William had been fascinated by how she staged herself to the world. She let everybody in and William as well. Over the time he had been watching these individuals he had come to know them, imagined them and finally created them. He had a load of an amount of artwork based on the inspiration through his glass wall. He never thought of being in their shoes. He was just the fly on the wall. In the evenings where peoples life shines through the glass, people can’t help but take a quick look. William didn’t know where to stop. His obsession was his downfall. The intense observing would have a limit until someone as curious would find William.
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One night, as the productivity was on a low, William gazed over the city. Something had changed. As he peeked through the windows of peoples home he suddenly felt he was the one being watched. That had never been the case for William. He had never been aware of the staring eyes. William had been occupied by his own world and immersed himself in his art. Had people always been watching or was it something new? He had tried to let it go but every time he would let the paintbrush stroke the canvas, he felt the burning stares over his shoulder. It prevented him from freely perform his art. The irony that had gone by Williams’ nose. He was the one living on a stage and he was on the spot with stage fright. With the constant feeling of being judged William had never liked to paint in front of people. It was a private matter to him. The creativity flow was limited by the obstructive thoughts. With the constant feeling of being judged William had never liked to paint in front of people. It was a private matter to him. The glass house, exposed every inch of him, and he was conflicted. Closing off the view would let him live in private as before, but if he did didn’t have the view, what would be of his art? He had had an idea of covering the glass walls with his art. He hoped it would keep the city life around him alive. But all he had was four walls covered in still moments of the past. The illusion was shattered. William had realised his place only had value to him because of the city and the people he was watching. He had always just lived through them. His addiction had intoxicated him with grief. The glass walls and flat roof provided him with necessities and fulfilled the basic needs and nothing more. He didn’t even have the privilege of privacy. The view made the place his home but was also his ruin. His childhood nostalgia and imagining the life of people comforted him and without those, he couldn’t create. What was he suppose to do? This was the only way he knew how to live. Williams home didn’t exist he was just imprisoned in a soulless box.
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PURPOSEFUL CREATION “(..)Matter evokes unconscious images and emotions, but modernity at large has been primarily concerned with form.” (Pallasmaa) In the western world, the neglect of our senses in architecture is being questioned. The deprivation of sensory experience, in a homogeneous world, less time is being offered to create spacious architecture to move us as various art forms can. We live simultaneously in material and mental worlds that are constantly fused. Along reading a story, we unconsciously construct the settings and a world are created - even the feeling and ambience of the place. The same happens in architecture. Based on background, life experience and memories we imagine ourselves in spaces that stimulate the imagination and suggest distinct acts and activities. Paradoxically, we can grasp the atmosphere of a place before we identify its details or intellectually understand it. We can often recall a firm image and emotional understanding of a place but may be unable to tell the actual characteristics of it. And yet we have moved to more rapid and sporadic architecture that are clusters of repetitive buildings - immediately readable opposite architecture that can be explored over and over again. ”(..)Our culture of control and speed has favoured the architecture of the eye, with its instantaneous imagery and distanced impact, whereas haptic and atmospheric architecture promotes slowness and intimacy.” (Pallasmaa) Western modern architecture, which slowly influences the rest of the world with growing wealth, has become quick and easy. A boxy shell with transparent walls. One could argue windows have been reduced to the mere detail in the facade. It is no longer its own element but blends in with the dominating exterior. The evolution of the window has changed noticeably over time. It has gone from openings in the wall, serving the four functions as ventilation, filtration, illumination and framing, up until now where the whole facade has become one large seethrough wall. The metaphor for the window as an “eye” seems lost.
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The singular window, framing a particular view, has been; “(..)replaced by the idea of the window as a uniform screen wrapped around a building.” (Koolhaas) With the curtain walls and larger windows, outsiders are invited even more to take a look inside. Instead of the window being the eye, looking out on the world, it becomes the wide eyes to look into. In the movie by Jacques Tati, Mon Oncle 1958, the metaphor of the window, as eyes, are clearly portrayed. By night Mr. and Mrs. Arpel is looking out of two side by side round windows in their 50’s modern villa. In the dark, the pair’s heads appear as pupils in the lit room, encircled by the window and together it visually acts as the eyes of the house. As eyes are known to be the windows to the soul - the windows of the house could then be understood as being the portal to the soul of the house.
Mon Oncle, 1958, Jacques Tati
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Taking this situation to a building of glass facades the watcher behind the glass is the one being watched. The indulgence of seeing everything also puts you on a stage. “I could be seen by the people(..) At the same time, I could also play the watcher, Rear Window-style, peering in on dozens of people with whom I’d never exchange a word, all of them engrossed on the small intimacies of the day.” In the book The Lonely City, Olivia Laing describes the windows being the portal into peoples life while she as well can be seen. The curiosity of getting a glimpse of other peoples doing is undeniable - and paradoxically we want our privacy. The one can’t be had, without the other. But we could be more considerate of, how much is suppose to be given away. Windows are a peek into another world, letting in a fresh breeze and natural light. By thoughtfully choosing the placement and measurements of the window you can frame exactly what, as an architect, see fit for the place. Framing a view also limits the visibility of the inside to the outside. But since the 20th century, the growing preference for enormity or panorama, more and more windows has erased the distinction between private and public - open and closed. In many cases of new architecture ribbons of windows or ceiling to floor windows, have aimlessly been placed without a clear purpose for the room.
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Rear window, 1954, Alfred Hitchcock
Night Window, 1928, Edward Hopper
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It is important to be aware of the surroundings when choosing what type of window is needed for the place. For instance in a high rise penthouse, with an overview of a city, you will be invisible to the eye. Or in a nature setting where the trees perform as the outer curtain casting playful shadows onto the floor and wall creating an atmospheric feel. The question of being exposed is irrelevant and the use of large windows or glass walls have a meaningful purpose in that kind of situations. Large and panoramic windows came with the purpose of framing land- and cityscapes. The floor to ceiling windows is excessively used in dense regular apartments today where the view isn’t reaching further than the next apartment or right into the home of others. The concept of a wide view becomes pointless. Rooms we consider to be private, designed with floor to ceiling windows, contradicts the function of the room and the view payoff is very little compared to being exposed.
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The ability of the window being practical and, at the same time bring a poetic sense of imagination to a place, is lacking when architecture is more concerned with form and visual quantity. The result becomes monotone and doesn’t prompt creative imagination or atmospheric sensation. This sense of imagination allows us to immerse ourselves in a poetic experience where the material and mental world combines. A curtain wall, as the name suggests, is no window but has adopted the transparent quality of it. The singular window can have an immense impact on ambience and mood of a space. Just like, how music create memories or images that stir up emotions, architecture has the same artistic power.
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POSTFACE Contemporary architecture reflects the modern society, where questions of being too preoccupied with appearance, are constantly discussed. In urban society and as well in architecture, the facade is the main focus. Staging and recognition come before the inner, that often are adapted to fit with the exterior instead of the other way around. The fifteen minutes of fame the outer shell receives is great for the cityscape whereas people mostly spend time in the inside spaces with less payoff. Atmospheric architecture creates certain moods and emotions that can have a huge impact on a person and their experience - recalling images and memories. Just like artists can emote people, architects have the same ability, that is not being practised enough. Creativity is missing in architecture, and in general, and paradoxically that is what differentiates an architect from other professions in the field of architecture. It is an artistic profession that should aim the purpose to create spaces for a bodily experience instead of solely creating visual landmarks.
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Atmospheric architecture creates certain moods and emotions that can have a huge impact on a person and their experience - recalling images and memories. Just like artists emote people, architects have the same ability, that is not being practised enough. Creativity is missing in architecture and paradoxically that is what differentiates an architect from other professions in the field of architecture. It is an artistic profession that should aim the purpose to create spaces for a bodily experience instead of solely creating visual landmarks. Practising creativity, housing could be more than a roof over the head. A place to feel at home which, as Pallasmaa wrote, is a biological principle of survival. Understanding atmospheres could teach us about the art and power of architecture and let it inspire us to think out of the box and break with the standard ways. Pushing the limit, so architecture isn’t just for the eye, but with the body can be explored over and over again.
‘The richest experiences happen long before the soul takes notice. And when we begin to open our eyes to the visible, we have already been supporters of the invisible for a long time’ (Gabriele d’Annunzio).
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BIBLIOGRAPHY Pallasmaa, Juhani: ”Space, Place and Atmosphere: Peripheral Perception in Existential Experience”, 2011 Koolhaas, Rem: ”Elements of Architecture - Window”, 2014 Tsukamoto, Yoshiharu: ”Window Scape - window behaviourology”, 2011 Laing, Olivia: ”The Lonely City”, 2016
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