Touching Architecture: Affective Atmospheres and Embodied Encounters

This book explores the relationship between architecture, perception, emotion, and affect, emphasizing the embodied experience of architecture and the importance of considering the senses in creating meaningful places. It introduces a felt-phenomenology as a more holistic approach to understanding the impact of architecture on our physical, emotional, and psychological well-being.

Format: Hardback
Length: 244 pages
Publication date: 30 December 2022
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

This captivating book delves into the intricate realm of perception, emotion, and affect in architecture, exploring how and why we experience the feelings we do in the spaces we inhabit. It sheds light on the profound ways in which our surroundings and bodies contribute to these experiences, challenging the notion that architecture should be solely perceived through a visual lens.

The book takes a holistic approach, recognizing that our experience of architecture is an embodied one, involving all our senses as we navigate through time and space. It picks up where much of the critique of architectural aestheticism at the end of the twentieth century left off, illustrating the limitations and potential consequences of attending to architecture as a visually biased practice that has become the norm in both industry and education.

To address these issues, the book draws upon interdisciplinary research to elucidate the reasons why this approach is counter-productive to the creation of meaningful places. It articulates the embodied richness of our touching encounters, introducing a felt-phenomenology as a more-than-visual alternative capable of sustaining our physical, emotional, and psychological well-being.

By recognizing the reciprocal and participatory relationship that exists between atmospheric affect and our (phenomenological) bodies, the book opens up a new understanding of how we touch and are touched by our built environment. It invites readers to appreciate the manifold ways in which we engage with and are engaged by our surroundings, transcending the boundaries of visual perception.

Touching Architecture appeals to a wide range of interests, including architectural history and theory, as well as those passionate about atmospheres, affect, and embodied perception. It offers a thought-provoking exploration of the ways in which architecture can evoke and shape our emotional experiences, providing valuable insights for architects, designers, and anyone seeking to create more meaningful and enriching spaces.

Weight: 620g
Dimension: 246 x 174 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032048994