Experiencing Space - Phenomenology: Architecture in Context 1 (DESN10055)

1. Define your understanding of phenomenology, focusing on how it relates to

architecture and design including examples.
Phenomenology is the study of phenomena. Phenomena is the appearance of things,
the way we experience them and as they appear in our experience. Phenomenology
studies this from a first person point of view. Phenomenology relates to architecture
by the manipulation of materials, light and shadows and space to create different
impacts on humans experience. Architecture is, in general, intended for human
purposes and so this creates a relationship between architecture and the human
experience be it positive or negative on its own.
2. Choose one quote from Pallasmaas text and explain why it is important and
what it means to you.
The quote I have chosen is from page 13. A wise architect works with his/her entire
body and sense of self. I found the entire chapter interesting and for me this quote
summed up all five pages. The idea of picturing myself inside the space or room I am
designing has not yet occurred to me in the first seven months of my Part 1. It will
make me think from now on that I need to go through my senses and understand how
the space/environment I am proposing affects these and therefore what I need to
change. So far I have found it easy to design spaces as I do not know any of the
clients personally and so feel detached from the space but after reading this I will
now always put myself in the space before I deem the design acceptable.
3. Visit the building adjacent to the site for project 5, Clumber Hall Evangelical
Church.
a. Write a brief paragraph about your experience of the building and
consider how you feel as you approach, enter and move through the
different spaces of the building.
As I approached the building I was taken aback as it appears to be in the centre of
a traffic island. It is also a different render to its neighbouring red brick buildings
so it definitely stands out. If I had not known it was a church I would not have
automatically assumed it was one from its shape (also if the crucifix on the front
faade was not there) and so I was surprised by its lack of appearance. As I am
not religious I did not feel anything spiritual.
The entrance is small. Once inside you have the option to go left into the kitchen
area or right into the area of worship is. Again, I was surprised how un-church like
it looks it has much more of a community centre look about it. There is a lot of
light that is let into the worship room coming from high windows which I can
assume makes a religious person feel a connection with God.
b. Analyse why you react the way you do: is it connected with the physical
aspects of the buildings (scale, light, materials, style etc.), the nonvisual sensory information (sounds, smells, textures), the
activities/uses, the memories or associations it stirs, or the values you
hold etc.?
I think my main reaction to the church is surprised. This is because I have only
been in a small number of churches in my lifetime and the only reason I tend to
be in one is because it is a tourist destination or for a funeral and therefore I am
used to very grand and decorative churches. I had not considered that really any
building can be a church and that it is really whats inside that makes it special to
the worshippers.
The scale of the church inside was also a surprise as the worship room used to be
two floors but the second fell down and so it is incredibly tall and very light. It had
the ability to be a beautiful room.
It reminded me of a number of childrens parties that were held in my local church
hall because of the smell and the organisation of the inside.
c. Discuss and compare your experiences with one or more colleagues do
you respond to both buildings in the same way?

I had a discussion with Hannah (Watson) because she is a Christian and I thought
this would mean I could get a different opinion on her perception of the building.
She also comes from Nottingham so knew of the building before visiting.
She was also surprised by the fact it was on a traffic island and that it stood out as
rather a sore thumb because of the different render. She said as she has her own
church it did not make her feel particularly spiritual walking up to it, any more
than she would to another building, perhaps because of its non-church like
appearance. Inside she agreed that it was not what a typical person would
imagine a church to be like and liked my point about anything being a place of
worship because really that comes from within.
d. Draw your impressions.

e. Make a small model based on your experience and how you feel in the
site, rather than of its actual form (see the reading and information
about phenomenology above).