Presented at the 6th International Symposium on Innovation in Architecture, Planning and Design (SIAP2024), Ankara, Türkiye, Nov 09, 2024

SETSCI Conference Proceedings, 2024, 20, Page (s): 1-7 , https://doi.org/10.36287/setsci.20.1.001

Published Date: 19 November 2024    | 238     0

The act of engaging in architectural 'reading' entails the discernment of constructed realities within the context of the built environment. The newly introduced dance studio, Sandi Simon Center for Dance, has chosen to be read in architectural dimensions to reveal the concealed meanings in the form of interpretations and anticipations. The study aims to analyze an architectural narration that involves the understanding of conceptual features together with the interpretation of perceptual understanding, thus the messages perceived by the constructed reality will be illuminated through the architectural storytelling. It dwells upon Marshall McLuhan’s pioneering statement of ‘medium is the message’. It is posited that the architectural reading of the Sandi Simon Center for Dance reveals a multilayered understanding of the constructed reality within the built environment by revealing the intricate relationship between the physical environment, human experience, and the intentions of the architect. Furthermore, it showcases how the design choices, spatial arrangements, and materiality of a building contribute to its narrative, meaning, and significance within its cultural and social context.

Keywords - Architectural reading, Space experience, Architectural storytelling

[1] Frascari, Marco. “An Architectural Good-Life Can Be Built, Explained and Taught Only through Storytelling.” Reading Architecture and Culture Researching Buildings, Spaces and Documents, edited by Adam Sharr, Routledge, 2012, pp. 225–234.

[2] Åman, Anders. “What Do Buildings and Cities Tell and How Do They Do It.” International Review of Sociology, vol. 16, no. 2, 2006, pp. 379–394, doi:10.1080/03906700600709301.

[3] Pallasmaa, Juhani. The Eyes of the Skin. Wiley, 2005.

[4] Sharr, Adam. Reading Architecture and Culture: Researching Buildings, Spaces, and Documents. Routledge, 2012.

[5] McLuhan, Marshall. “The Medium Is the Message.” Understanding Media: The Extention of Man, Sphere Books, 1967, pp. 1–5.

[6] Sarah, Amelar. “Lorcan O'Herlihy Packs the House for a New Dance Center.” Architectural Record, 1 May 2023. https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/16211-lorcan-oherlihy-packs-the-house-for-a-new-dance-center

[7] McKnight, Jenna. “LOHA creates dance school within historic orange-packing building in southern California.” Dezeen, 31 May 2023, https://www.dezeen.com/2023/05/31/loha-sandi-simon-center-dance-warehouse-california/

[8] Psarra, Sophia. “Intoduction.” Architecture and Narrative: The Formation of Space and Cultural Meaning, Routledge, 2009, pp. 1–15.

[9] Jencks, Charles. “Semiology & Architecture.” Meaning in Architecture, Braziller, 1969.

[10] Holl, Steven. “Porosity.” Architecture Spoken, Rizzoli, 2007, pp. 104–146.

[11] Holl, Steven, et al. “An Architecture of the Seven Senses.” Questions of Perception: Phenomenology of Architecture, William Stout, 2006, pp. 27–37.

[12] Wigley, Mark. “Untitled: The Housing of Gender.” Sexuality & Space, edited by Beatriz Colomina and Jennifer Bloomer, Princeton Architectural Press, 1992, pp. 327–389.

[13] Botton, Alain De. The Architecture of Happiness. Pantheon Books, 2006.

[14] Eco, Umberto. “Function and Sign: The Semiotics of Architecture.” (1973), reprinted in Rethinking Architecture: A Reader in Cultural Theory, edited by Neil Leach, London and New York: Routledge, 1997, pp. 173-93.

[15] Murray, Scott. “Transparency / Translucency / Opacity.” Translucent Building Skins: Material Innovations in Modern and Contemporary Architecture, Routledge, 2013, pp. 1–8.

[16] Coleman, Nathaniel. “Material as Reality Preserve: History, Thory, Design.” Materials and Meaning in Architecture. Essays on the Bodily Experience of Buildings, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2020, pp. 1–13.

[17] Baudrillard, Jean, and Chris Turner. The Intelligence of Evil or the Lucidity Pact. Bloomsbury, 2013.

[18] Grosz, Elisabeth A. Architecture from the Outside: Essays on Virtual and Real Space. The MIT Press, 2001

[19] Colomina, Beatriz. Photography; Window. Princeton Architectural Press, 1988, 127-139; 289-335.

[20] Debord, Guy. Society of the Spectacle. Black and Red, 1977.

[21] Lefebvre, Henri. Rhythmanalysis: Space, Time, and Everyday Life. Continuum , 2004.

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.