Fallingwater-- Frank Lloyd Wright

A similar "sound of water" situation happens in Fallingwater by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Fallingwater is called "a kinesthetic and textural architecture".

1 Hearing: From the entry bridge, the stream sound is powerfully present, while the waterfall cannot be seen from this point. And people must enter the house to experienec both the stream, on the stairs suspended just above its surface, and water fall itself, which can only be seen looking over the terrace on the other side of the living room.

2 Touch: Fallingwater uses natural materials, which could "express their age and history, as well

as the story of their origins and their history of human use".

Church in the Water-- Tadao Ando

The sound of water is an important element when people walk into this church.

This is an example of hearing in architecture.

People have to walk along the "L"wall first in order to enter the building. Meanwhile, people could hear the sound of water from the lake which in the other side of the building. So they cannot see the lack at that time. And people need to enter a transparent box and another dark box indoor. After that, when people enter the main part of the church, the most beatiful view shows up. Finally, people could see the water.

Vision and Touch

"Regardless of our prioritization of the eye, visual observation is often comfirmed by our touch."

Caravaggio, The Incredulity of Saint Thomas, 1601-2. Datial. Neues Palais, Potsdam.

This point of view was provided by my 2 life experience.

One was when I went to the exhibition in Tate Modern, named "How It Is". I was so surprised by the soft furry touch on the wall inside, while I thought it would be cold, tough metal by vision at first.

The other one was in my first experiment. I covered my eyes with cloth, and I understooed a new space by touch first. In the touching process, I felt by my hands a number of things that I would not notice by vision generally. For instance, there were 2 frames on the wall. One was smooth wooden surface, and the other was uneven complex surface. And I supposed that I would not pay attention to this kind of details by my eyes.

Vision and the other senses

Generally, vision are over the other senses, which is considered to be the noblest among our senses. But now we've paid too much attention on visual journey. While "man has not always been dominated by vision." As Lucien Febvre's said, "The sixteenth century did not see first, it heard and smelled... It was then that vision was unleashed in the world of science as it was in the world of physical sensations, and the world of beauty as well." . And it is also provided by 42 Robert Mandrou that "the hierarchy (of the senses) was not the same (as in the twentieth century) because the eye, which rules today, found itself in third place, behind hearing and touch, and far after them.".

These two pictures below is about the suppression of vision-- the fusion of vision and tactillity.

" In heightened emotional states and deep thought, vision id usually repressed."

Rene Magritte, The Lovers, 1928. Detail.

Richard S. Zeisler Collection, New York.
Magritte ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2005

"Vision and the tactile sense are fused in actural lived experience."

Herbert Bayer, The Lonely Metropolitan, 1932. Detail.

Bayer DACS 2005.

So, I intend to create a space that could suppress vision but strengthen the other senses' feelings.

In our daily life, vision actually needs the help of the other senses, such as touch. When sight detached from touch could not "have any idea of distance, outness, or profunding, nor consequently of space or body".

two books about experiencing an architecture

" Art should not be explained; it must be experienced."

Most people judge architecture by its external appearance. While in the books, it is said that" The task of art and architecture in general is to reconstruct the experience of an undifferentiated interior world, in which we are not mere spectators, but to which we inseparably belong."

Q: How do people really understand/interact/communicate with the building? ( when I was reading these books)

Amants du Pont-Neuf, Les

"Amants du Pont-Neuf, Les", directed by Leos Carax, 16/10/1991, France.

The subway section impresses me most.

First, the sound changes her original trend.

And then, facing four entrances which look the same, they follow the sound and choose the "right" one with their own sense.

Keep following the guide from the sound.

She stop and hesitate as the sound disappear. The man lies to the woman, easily. Because the violist has already gone. He thought the whole story could be cleared away, since nobody left. It seems that nothing actually happened just now.

If there are no cigarette butts left as a clue. Perhaps she would believe him that there was a woman, not a man.

The whole truth is reflected in indirect things. Those clues could easily change people's minds when people are in the journey of discovery. If the clues vanish away, then how about the truth, the facts, or something originally exists? How could people know somthing by nothing?

The Unilever Series: Miroslaw Balka, How It Is

In this vacation, I visted Tate Modern for Miroslaw Balka Boxes.

When I arrived there, from its back side, I saw a huge black metal box which scale was between architecture and sculpture. Turing to the main side, a ramp leaded to the inside of the box, the darkness. At first, it was truth that I cannot see anything. Later I could see some black figures around me and that was the other vistors. It was so terrifying to face the unknown. But with the trust in the organisation, I kept walking slowly until I touched the innermost wall. And I enjoyed listening to the footsteps or voices or applause in my walking process, which, for me, enriched the original simple interior space and made the black box alive! Furthermore, when I touched the material of the wall, I was so surprised that it was like velvet, soft and furry. Because I had thought it was just cold metal.

There are 2 main reasons I admire Balka Box. First, the work is only complete when the viewer enter. That is to say, HOW IT IS places emphasis on interactive behavior. In addition, the interior looks simplified. But what it brings, such as the darkness, the echo, the feelings from the material of the wall, withhold the people( I don't know if the verb is right or not, I wanna describe a kind of effect), both physically and psychologically. He chose to show the back side first to the viewers, and made a enough height for people to go underneath it. So not only the one who is in the box, but also the one who is surrounding the box, people could all join in the exhibition and have different reactions.