Abstract:
A person’s experience within an architectural space is dependent on their emotional connection as well as their sensorial connection to that space. This experience can be enhanced and articulated through a kinetic expression of dynamic architectural spatial forms and the interplay of the body within those spatial forms. In order to allow the user to completely feel as if they are a part of the built environment in which they exist, it is important for the building to engage them, to be designed for the experiential, for it to enhance the sensory experience. This thesis begins as an investigation of experiential architecture, challenging what we perceive in architectural space. Through the understanding of our sensory recognition of space, exploring how these elements have an effect on the human psyche and the way we perceive our surroundings through our sense of sight, sound and touch. It then transitions into how we can design with these ideas in mind, even with the challenges of designing high-rise buildings. The final study deals with designing unique residential units within the context of a high-rise building and becomes an exploration on these units based on unique spatial qualities, experiences and adaptability through the idea of kinetics. To begin this study, it was important for me to understand experience through our senses.
