Chloë Hébert
The development of this topic began with an interest in the sensory experience of architecture. When considering the sensory relationship between people and the built environment, it quickly becomes evident that architecture is an ocularcentric discipline that disproportionately revolves around sight. However critical this sense is to architecture, sight unfortunately does overshadow the remaining senses. To neglect the other senses threatens the immersive bodily experience within our built environment.
In the event that architecture is designed with careful consideration of more of the human senses, the result can be impactful on both the physiological and the psychological levels. The sense of touch, in particular, is under-represented within the discipline of architecture. The reason for this discrepancy can largely be attributed to a lack of specific research and knowledge related to the haptic experience of architecture. Although the topic has been reflected upon by architects such as Juhani Pallasmaa within architectural theory, these ideas are sparsely engaged within the practical side of the discipline.
It is evident that there is a need for a more extensive approach to studying the relationship between architecture and the sense of touch. This relationship can be elaborated upon through multidisciplinary research and experimentation that is based in both theory and practice. With the knowledge acquired through this exploration, it is possible to work towards developing a new architectural typology for the sense of touch.