The Eyes of the Skin: Architecture and the Senses

by Juhani Pallasmaa

Book Overview

THE EYES OF THE SKIN

First published in 1996, The Eyes of the Skin has become a classic of architectural theory. It asks the far-reaching question why, when there are five senses, has one single sense - sight - become so predominant in architectural culture and design? With the ascendancy of the digital and the all-pervasive use of the image electronically, it is a subject that has become all the more pressing and topical since the...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1119941288
• ISBN13: 9781119941286
• Release Date: May 2012
• Publisher: Wiley
• Length: 144 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.2" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

The Eyes of the Skin

The book is great. I bought it as a gift & my son loved it. The seller was very timely in shipping & the book was in perfect condition.

A Must-Read

In five years of Architectural Design, I am hard-pressed to find a book that has made such an impact on my thinking and overall awareness of architecture. This is truly a must-read for any architecture student, and is extremely interesting for those non-architects out there. I highly encourage the investment.

Updated Reprint of an Old Classic

Now back in print and updated into a second edition, this little book is a masterpiece on the differences between what we see in a set of architectural plans compared with what we sense when we walk into a building. When we actually walk into a building, we are sensing the building with all of our senses. The smell of the still drying paint, the echo's from unexpected sources and more now have an impact that wasn't there in the plans. This book consists of two essays: The first surveys the historical development of the eye-centric orientation of our Western culture that began with the Greeks. The second begins to lay out a way towards a multi-sensory approach to architecture that forms a sense of belonging and integration.

Lessons for students in architecture

As a student in architecture I would recommend this book to any person involved in any way of design. Not only buildings, because architecture also includes every aspect of the designing of space. This can therefore include industrial design, automotive design, etc. The book dicusses the interaction between people and spaces(buildings) using the human senses as medium - the way we see, feel, hear and experience a space. It is a fresh and captivating book and it is a real pitty that it is out of print.