A Multisensory Take on Architectural Foundation in Tourism

A Midterm Paper on The Eyes of the Skin: Architecture of the senses by Johanni
Pallasmaa
Author/s:          Razel Dale Cabasal
        Mapua University School of Architecture, Industrial Design & the Built Environment
razedalecabasal@gmail.com
Deandre Ibayon
Mapua University School of Architecture, Industrial Design & the Built Environment
ibayonandre21@gmail.com

Skyler Pamatmat
Mapua University School of Architecture, Industrial Design & the Built environment
skylerpamatmat99@gmail.com

Joanna Kristin Tamano

Mapua University School of Architecture, Industrial Design & the Built Environment
joannakristintamano@gmail.com

Abstract: In the past, buildings have a standard or trend in aesthetics, thus making functionality slightly disregarded in
the process of creation. The appearance dominates the qualities of infrastructures in this visual-dominated
world and in architecture— although it has changed due to the implementation of unity within the human
senses, it has yet to be the priority of architects. Recently, their works of harmonization has changed the
perspective of people, giving modern structures a foundation that could develop better processes on
environmental issues. The concern for this issue has struck a sudden movement and revolutionized the use of
infrastructures, especially in this era of accessible tourism— that has damaged some of preserved historical
sites and tourist destinations from overpopulation. This paper addresses the importance of the senses for
foundation and interactive experiences between the subject and the participant in tourism and to provide
solutions for the environment’s well-being.

Keywords: experience, aesthetic, perspective, senses, foundation, environment, tourism, architecture

INTRODUCTION
Why do some buildings are often seen as good-looking and make the most of their visual intake of their
façade? In the process of thoughts and perception there was always a dominance of the sense of eyesight
over the other senses, and most problems of contemporary architecture rooted in its dominance, thus
inhuman contemporary architecture may be the result of an unbalanced system of the senses. In other
words, isolation is the result of the dominance of the eye; it results in repression of other senses and false
perception of the environment because this subject prevents us from perception of the various dimension of
our soul (Zaredar A, 2015). Every now and then the other senses are ignored or not usually engaged in the
working process. This makes the structures lose their main purpose within them, when the eye only meets
beauty and beauty overwhelms the eye. Making the sight overruling the infrastructures from a more
functionally convenient usage of the structures to giving more importance on their beautification, thus
having tourism as the primary example of a vision-centred experience, together with the application of
modern-day photography.
This study aims to promote applied multisensory skills in creation for architectural standing from the rising
problems in tourism and the analysis of structures that does not solely focus on the sense of visual, but the
significance and role of the other senses to retain its functionality or use while not affecting the aesthetics of
establishments. In relation with Sotech Asia (2014), architects practicing in Thailand have gradually
adapted and recognized functionality as the most important aspect of building design— and these are
evident in many modern structures defining Thailand’s tourism landscape: These are the modern resort
hotels, private luxury villas, and even condominium buildings. But while these functional building styles
flourish in the country, it is not to say that the architects have altogether gotten rid of the aesthetic aspect of
the designs of the building. A balance withstands between all the senses and these two elements: to not let
the aesthetic look overpowering from its function and vice-versa— thus, it should be certain in the creating
process. In this way, the other senses are also pleased in the production of architectural landscaping and
urban planning.

THE MODERN-DAY IMAGE ON ARCHITECTURE

In the 21st century, a structure often symbolises more like a model than an establishment. High-rise towers
are dominating the eyes of the people by captivating them with its aesthetical interior, forefront, or its
overall, such leads to a thought-provoking basis on what buildings should look like; that the landscapes are
worthy of imagery and visual production. Although, the problem lies in the hegemony of the eye wherein it
mainly focuses and experiences only through aesthetics, especially in the age of modern technology—
photography. In this case, photography sets as an important factor in decision-making for tourism, thus it
eventually affects the behaviour of tourists in line with the goal of their contentment from experience
(Kawnopparat, 2017).
Images haven’t yet par on lived experiences from an architect’s personal life (Bohn 2016) in the
constructing process, but social media would have a role in the success of the maker’s design. In a case
study by Farahani, Motamed, & Ghadirinia (2018), the researchers analysed the uploaded photos of Shiraz
in Iran from social media platforms— 500px, Flickr, and Instagram. To identify the interest of tourists who
captured the heritage sites through the shared photos. Resulting in Nasir Al-Molk Mosque as the most
photographed structure among the area because of the incorporation of traditional elements like the panj
kāseh-i.

Figure 2.0 Nasir Al-Molk Mosque or The Pink Mosque located in Shiraz, Iran (Source:
commons.wikimedia.org)

The analysis gives an advantage for architects and urban designers to incorporate the people’s thoughts and
opinions with the place by manipulating the eyes and it may seem like it sets a successful pleasantry
through its plausible work in architectural construction.
However, in some cases of photography, it does not serve as a scale whether a structure stands with all her
beauty. There are different perspectives that people do withheld through their stories told within the images
they share. Some people are not susceptible to eyeing the grandeur and capture it in a second, but in another
way of appreciating it through the participation of the joined senses in an interactive manner. Malebranche
explained in Lewandowski’s (2016) dissertation that he believed, “No two men saw the same object in
exactly the same way and we must look to our other senses in order to make judgments through drawing.”
As different individuals, there are different opinions about the types of art that people like looking at,
especially in Architecture. Looking at a piece of art, one might say that the person doesn’t like it, but the
latter might appreciate it. Perception mostly just use the vision in aspects of judging the surroundings but
once there is involvement of our different senses, those perceptions may change.

TOURISTS AND THE ENVIRONMENT

With accordance to the modern-age, the start of invention and involvement of photography has caused
availability to store deeply rooted memories of experiences on tourism.
Brazilian architect and professor, João Batista Vilanova Artigas expressed that Brazil’s architectural culture
has changed due to political positions of the Brazilian architects and the input of movement for vision-
centric in the modern world. During the 1930’s, civil engineers and construction workers have made
architects disappointed because of their poor collaboration of idea and work, notably the outcome of Rio de
Janeiro and São Paulo that gains a description of architecture being activities for redesign because of the
lack of management.

Figure 3.0 Rio De Janeiro, Brazil aerial view (sour- Figure 3.1 Sao Paulo, Brazil landscape at night
ce: Pixabay.com) Source: Pixabay.com)

Therefore, redefining it with the use of an already-fragile system in fine arts and the rejection of increasing
technology as opposed to an eye-ruling process in architecture (Goncalves de Freitas and Tirello, 2017).
Many church buildings today is popular as tourist destinations. Art and architecture in the pastoral and
cultural life of the Church extends in history the dynamism of the Incarnation (Tan, 2018) Through art
present in the architecture of churches, people experience the inner and spiritual beauty of Christianity. In
this study, one way to attract the tourists’ attention is through spectacle. It is important that the first thing the
tourists must see in churches will be how the people have communication of faith taking place there. He
explained that tourists are often deeply moved because in the present culture they do not have the occasion
to hear certain words, or hear certain themes or the concepts that religion talks about like life and death,
hence, it is because of how they reflect on these churches about their faith. It is about experiencing the art,
culture and its architecture. The reflection of the people is within themselves to experience it and the one of
the purposes of the church is to let you live in it and define it as important. It is not merely stories,
personages or decorative patterns of the church, but it is about seeing and touching the theological content
of faith.
These crowd-favourite tourist spots undergo an issue of over population, in the case of favoured tourist
destinations. As Duzhik and Kozhnova (2019) state that this reason of the growing population is one of the
factors that contributes to the continuous construction of high-storey structures in addition to the access of
limited space within the urban location of historical sites. Thus, it creates problems for architectural
development in the environment and an obstacle in preserving the place’s authenticity and integrity. In a
study by Paulauskaite et al. (2017) tourists have disrupted the local neighbourhood, mostly in Europe where
locals are outnumbered by the amount of people who sizes up the towns due to the tourists’ demand of
authentic experiences; this is why Airbnb is a booming business within these countries and is constantly
having a share on their economy, considering the facilities are interconnected with the values, culture, and
tradition of the countries they reside in— in regards to the application of senses that are input in specified
rooms. Arguably, the impact of tourism in host communities is a difficult issue to be simply overlooked
upon with evidences of travel agencies and accommodations starting to break the locals’ relationship with
their neighbourhoods and replace them with tourists’ commodities— resulting in locals to flock onto
unknown residential areas because from the negative effects that were inflicted on their quality of life
(Aznar et al., 2016; Paulauskaite et al., 2017). Another reason to build, build, and build, in small
communities or in some preserved regions, especially in forested areas where the locals are highly getting
their resources from— arising in deforestation. However, there is a solution given in environmental
development, especially that deforestation remains a threat in the world of Architecture. That’s why
Almunir et al.’s (2018) main purpose is designing a house that will possibly help in preventing deforestation
from building different infrastructures. They proposed to have “undersoil houses” wherein the house is
underground and there are trees on the surface. They didn’t just focus on the design but innovated the way
to also help our environment, as it was designed to respond to nature and the survival of human life — as
we are currently experiencing problems like global warming and overpopulation that would eventually
harm the world’s ecosystem and the enlargement of biodiversity.

HARMONIZATION AND THE PURPOSE OF THE SENSES

When in cooperation, the senses are capable of serving change and help efficiently, especially in the
environment and the people. This includes the support and solutions for various problems in the society that
will develop better functionality in our livelihoods.
Not only does the human senses participate in the creation of urban planning, landscaping, and the built
environment; It also establishes other sensations besides the physical perception. The human senses also
develop in cultivation of the sense for longingness through an individual’s experiences, thus a solution in
which Eijkelenboom et al. (2017) explains that the refurbishing of the nursing home for the elderly people
who reside in will be able to gather the sense of home during their stay— often, they are brought in by their
children who have no means of taking responsibility or time to take care of them. In order to incorporate the
feeling, they have shown a floor plan consisting of the psychological factors provided in support to the
spaces within the home. During the process, an old female— who is a resident, served as their basis for the
sensation of a homey feeling using all the senses in summation of the features of the design she has
mentioned. The design also regards the spatial relationship, specifically the linked of a common space of
the building by making spaces from semi-public to the most personal area, which is the bathroom.
Altogether, this creates a home-like atmosphere that mimics the overall interior of the house to be
established within the nursing home.
The case for visual sense shall not just be the focus of architectural experience for there are also visually
impaired people who uses multisensory holistic experience in their environment. According to the World
Health Organization (2018), there are approximately 1.3 billion people who live with some form of vision
impairment and 36 million people of this are blind. Mostafa et al.’s (2017) study explained that blind people
use their other senses along with alternative skills and tools to interact with their environment. Kahn who
was blind was asked about his most memorable experience whilst having nothing to see, and he went to a
museum, wanting to hear what the vaults were like. As his cane hit the concrete floor, he said, “I could hear
the architecture.” He heard the sound of the people walking on gravel and the fountain. One blind person
also said, that echo is his way of understanding the surrounding space around him. In another case, Belir’s
(2018) study shows that when somebody loses their sense of sight, they can use other senses more
effectively. Six blindfolded students were asked to go into three different routes. The student’s experience
made the sense of touch, hearing, and smell important. They perceived noises from vehicles, felt the texture
change on the ground surfaces, noticed the smells of vegetables and fruits inside the grocery store, making
it as a sensory landmark for their way. He concluded in his study that multiple senses, make spaces more
legible and students became more aware of these senses they do not use frequently although vision is
mostly common as a tool for normal people in appreciating architectural works. It is still important to use
the senses besides of sight, for it ensures us proper navigation and unites the people with the environment
they are in. Unfortunately, for these people having vision impairments they don’t have the privilege to see
art. However, it is their other senses that experience the art in architecture. This instance speaks that these
elements are not specifically aligned with the visual sense because people like them experienced
architecture even though they can’t see. This is why to the vision disabled community; art is all in their
mind. The other senses are what’s left for them to survive and for their livelihood. They imagine or use their
imagination in comprehension of their surroundings, mostly through haptics and auditory senses that helps
them guide to an easier understanding of the unforeseen world. Thus, visuality is not necessarily important
all the time, often, but not most. What’s important is that the senses are intact and are in good condition,
otherwise it becomes difficult to live and comprehend what is happening in a person’s surroundings.
In relation to the psychological effect of the newly designed nursing home for the aged, houses in
residential areas are vulnerable when it comes to hindrances of construction along the roads, other times
noise disruption do happen in the process of building, to the point that certain people are easily stressed and
distracted that correlates to mental problems when one is bothered or influenced by their level of sensitivity.
Cerwén, Kreutzfeldt, and Wingren (2017) came up with a solution and states that soundscaping— from the
study of soundscape ecology, has a good outcome especially in health problems. When the approach has
been applied, acousticians were highly benefited to work and also the landscape architects— for it helps
them in detecting noise pollution within the area so that when an infrastructure is built, the unwanted
sounds won’t be able to affect the lifestyle of the people in the same environment. Making soundscaping as
a sole reliance in the utility of the sense of hearing and a key design for people who have auditory
sensitivity.
According to Zaredar (2015) human senses are vital and are compelled to have equality. The attention to
details highly increases if all the sensations are harmonized. Thus, the unification of the senses gives
purpose and feelings different from fairly aesthetical formation. All should be encompassing in the
movement of structural building; no sense is left behind in this process— for they involve like human
camaraderie in the purpose of creating a strong foundation.
Following the aforementioned is the sense of touch that provides the body the feeling of texture and close
proximity interaction, while the sense of smell grants the grasp of reality or realism. An example of this
collaboration is Saren Reid’s (2015) study in which she states that Perth in Western Australia provided a
sensory experience using two historical water park establishments— the Perth City Baths and the Water
Chute.

Figure 4.0 The Perth City Baths, (c1899) in Figure 4.1 The Manly Water Chute (early
Western Australia that was demolished in 1917 1900’s) in Sydney, Australia (Source: pinterest.ph)
(Source: www.abc.net.au supplied by
State of the Library of Western Australia)

Both do not only conform to visual experiences, but the haptic and olfactory senses too. Although there are
unpleasantries due to the smell, together they contribute to an entertaining experience by the shore. This
mindset has also placed an important role of tourist behaviours in reacting to personal experiences as
tourists.
Natali Ricci (2017) mentioned Don Ruggles in her study, a Denver-based Architect— and states that
functionality, form, and aesthetic are the three primary elements that comprises the sense of pleasure,
though beauty is a subjective context, this aspect is known all around when talking about the satisfaction in
art. Humans have evolved and eventually inherited this sense due to the familiarity of architectural designs
of buildings and cities that created a direction or pattern that helped to locate ancestors for survival.
Through pattern, there is orientation and organization withstanding psychological elements— sympathetic
or parasympathetic response in our brain that our ancestors have applied in the past. Thus, it serves as a
necessity to know which precise feature and pattern of the brain that amounts to the survival skills of
humans to evolve or for future evolution. Architecture is not just about the appearance, design and
aesthetics of the buildings or structures, but it also requires the function of the building, as well as the
entirety and involvement of its parts that requires to have relations to its external factors.

5 CONCLUSION

The reliance on the visual sense in creation of structures should lessen its application in the contemporary
world, especially in the case of excessive tourism that influences people to travel for the experience of these
architectural sites. Thus, impacting and damaging the local communities in their everyday livelihoods.
Solutions in environmental development should promote advocacies for the effects of overpopulation and
their negativities. In the creation of architectural projects for this improvement, all of the senses are in need
of collaboration when making these forms, especially in the countries worldwide that are caused too by the
excessive amount of population. Moreover, they should also be the platform and foundation for a better
experience and provide interactive areas for the people they are adhering to with the inclusion of proper
functional spaces. Ar. Daniel Libeskind, as phrased by Lewandoski (2016)— strongly believes that
architecture has its roots as a multi-sensory experience. It’s not wholly about how the building is seen, but it
talks about confronting the art of the architecture and its purpose along. It must be felt, walked through and
used as a tool to ingrain memories and have a deep connection with the structures or landscapes that the
people engage in. If humans would solely use sight as a basis for encountering them, therefore they are
limiting themselves in engaging to artistic experiences that architecture does offer. However, it is best to
limit these “like a local” practises of experiences and confrontations in tourism, for disruptions in local
areas are continuing to arise and are demanding respect for the structures, most likely the homes in their
neighbourhoods

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