PATCH A SENSE It is said that we are living in an urban environment full of visual stimulations, watching over a thousand images just in one day and that this has led to a gradual lack of individual thinking. What if the fusion of perceived information concerns, not only the visual aspect but has also led to a deactivation of the rest of our senses, due to the over-layered sounds, scents, textures and tastes we experience daily?
Sensory experience is instinctively perceived by a human being. Every sense is
important in order to fully comprehend our surroundings and to connect with them. They
memories, which in reality are interlaced information received from a multi-sensory experience. Lacking a single sense physically might enhance create
all the others, but lacking most of them mentally converts contemporary people from
active members to passive evolution or solidarity.
receivers, without satisfying their internal need for
Through memories they are connected to the past and especially places, no matter their size. Whether it is the distinctive smell of a large hospital, or the sound of the wooden deck in our old house, we could probably being able to recall at least one image connected to them and a subtle feeling we had felt while experiencing them. Creating a holistic architecture, where all the senses are equally and highly
stimulated, is extremely challenging to achieve in a single structure, let alone in an urban context which is already filled with lifeless buildings. It would be impossible to start from scratch and start designing new surroundings, offering multi-sensory experience throughout their whole existence. However, it would be more effective to analyse and understand what is missing and what could possibly trigger our senses
patch
’ them, by in the current urban environment. Afterwards, we will be able to ‘ creating interventions throughout a city or a district, evoking at least one sense at a time. This will result in a multi-sensory experience and hence, to the formation of new
memories and bonds with the spaces.
In order to achieve this we need to consider the character of the space. Every city has its own texture, sound, scent and taste, inextricably linked with the culture and daily habits of the citizens. Thus, people unintentionally create a certain
atmosphere where they live in, which sometimes make them feel uncomfortable. The noise of the fast moving train on the rails, the smell of gas emitted by cars, the sense of the cold steel bench while waiting in a bus station or the taste of the plastic spoon during a quick lunch are part of our everyday life and they are all created because of the materials we use. Every material can evoke all of our senses. Sometimes a single material in two different forms evoke opposite feelings. A healthy wood might be linked with a pleasant environment and a burnt one with fear and destruction. Yet, this is not always the case.
People have memories connected to materials, thus, a possible intervention might be engaging or disrupting. The point, however, is to generate multiple atmospheres which will revitalise our senses. Then, there will be a freedom of choice on whether someone agrees with it or not and freedom is a crucial aspect in any balanced society. This can be associated with the mental map that Kevin Lynch has referred to. Every person perceives a city differently, though, in order to do that they need to start elaborate on it. The main aim of a new urban strategy should be to create
new nodes by forming
patches adaptable to people’s daily habits. Let’s take for instance a main street downtown, which services people heading to their jobs or simply passing by. Large or small sidewalks, public squares, window fronts, bus stations, light posts, benches are
key components of an urban landscape. Simply by replacing a portion of their materiality on each will alter the image of the street and hence, the
just some of the
way it is perceived. The right question is which are these new materials and why?? Depending on the country, people are forming bonds unintentionally with different materials. Wood, stone, mud, sand and even water. However, within a city these are not rarely found. But… As mentioned above people form memories, associating materiality, objects and feelings. What if the patches
disrupt
these memories, replacing the
already known with the unexpected, aiming to allow people’s mind to notice and examine the properties of these new ‘combinations’. Another option could be to interfere with the already existing and reform the way it is perceived. Does a pavement of stone tile needs to be always solid and stable? Replacing a hidden material, the soil in this case, with a softer one, automatically alters pavement’s behavior and the way people step on it, provoking them to examine tile’s edges and sound. There are thousands of possible combinations of
memories, materiality,
atmosphere and emotions and we should start include them either temporarily or permanently in our immediate surroundings. It is important to awaken our senses in order to evaluate our surroundings and the large amount of information we perceive every day. Subsequently, we will be able to extract, retain and develop only
these which motivate us to evolve and in the same time, respect our own self and hence our environment. Creating spaces which will trigger more thinking and feeling than watching, might lead to a more unified society. Other factors are negatively involved in this, like politics and economics but living in a space without having created any bonds and attachments to it, alienates and isolates the contemporary people even more. This might be the reason why the feeling of belonging somewhere is nowadays almost distinguished. Getting attached with our immediate surroundings can only contribute in holding a positive stance in life. Humans are social beings and creating places and spaces where the can share
common sensory
experiences might be a great opportunity to keep them connected to each other.