BUILDING ILLUSION
-deception as a tool for greater understanding
Vision has throughout history been ranked the highest of our senses, one of the reasons for that can be that the act of seeing is made from a distance, no other contact is needed. But to see is also to be deceived, the expression “you see what you want to see” is eminent because it is the brain that processes the images into knowledge. Today in our so-called information society, great importance is attached to the sharing of information through technology. One of last year’s new words enlisted into the Swedish dictionary was “popcorn-brain”, which means quick visual information constantly stimulating the brain. Much of this type of information also requires trust in the perception one gets through one’s eyes. Since vision is our main source of input, first impressions are of utmost importance giving us a quick superficial idea. With first impressions comes also judgement, and subjective understandings of reality. The act of seeing, which can be quite passive, can also spring curiosity to explore what you see or what you think you see. There comes the importance of moving the body, connecting other senses and body-functions to out-smart the perception made by the eyes. Art is a stepping stone into this theory since artwork or art-installations often lead to interactions with the visitors which is something that will be explored in this thesis and recreated in architecture.
The design proposal will explore a bath house complex where various forms of illusions will deceive the first impression of the spaces, since a large part of the architecture can be found “in between the lines”. Perspective, movement and understanding of the ocular system plays a big part in the research. The developed concept is to position the intended visitors in the middle of geometrical illusions. Moving through sequences of space will hopefully create a curiosity regarding movement and an activation of the senses in order to experience the full context of the building. Undermining the eyes by using them will hopefully induce a deeper awareness that allows for a deeper connection between body and space.
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