A Dimensão Sensitiva na Percepção da Arquitetura. Construção do espaço mental no campo não visual

Abstract

The way in which space is experienced is dependent on various consecutive stimuli, which can take effect both on a person's direct perception as well as on their field of memory. A person's spatial orientation is, in turn, a consequence of the reactions their body triggers and interprets, and it is kinesthesia that provides the necessary balance and bodily awareness to produce motion. How then can space be defined in its multi-sensorial dimension? The body's confrontation with the constructed environment gives rise to several sensory reactions. However, the most impactful ones are consequent from visual stimuli, which in turn results in the supremacy of vision over the remaining senses. With this confrontation between the spatial comprehension of the visual and non-visual worlds, an uneasiness arises. Blindness contrasts itself with the visual normative way of perceiving Architecture, by highlighting the importance of an idealised mental space. This space is composed as much by the direct interpretation of the world, as by the pre-existing memory, which underlines the relevance of sensorial complementarity in face of diverse stimuli and their consequent actions. This study begins by systematically exposing the relevant knowledge in the field, and confronts it with experiences of everyday life, through an empirical method of qualitative analysis, which bases itself on an array of conducted personal interviews. The analysis is performed in regards to a singular condition - blindness - as well as for the broader universe of low vision, a common consequence of the natural ageing cycle. In conjunction with the exposition of the multi-sensorial dimension of spatial comprehension, this investigation also contributes to sensibilize architecture students towards the underlying conditions of visual impairment and its consequences in Architectural design, through the conducted activity "Percurso às Escuras". The obtained results indicate a number of sensorial architectural questions to keep in mind during a project's design process, and emphasises the value of a participatory methodology and education through empirical means.