Analyzing Hearing Although hearing can be passive, hearing incidental sounds, this sense is almost entirely active. We are able to block out sound with our brains and can even sleep through commotion. We are able to affect how people hear by masking or blocking sound, enhancing sound, or combining sound to create new possibilities. These… Continue reading Hearing Sense Overview II

Sound is the vibration of matter at particular frequencies. We are able to hear sound because animals evolved a mechanism to absorb and interpret these vibrations with a mechanical assembly including the tympanic membrane and ossicles made up of the malleus or hammer, incus or anvil, and stapes or stirrup, leading to the cochlea with… Continue reading Hearing Sense Overview I

Uncle Billie installed the small window that just out over the driveway. The small shelf that subdivides the window reminds me of the herbs my stepmother tried to grow there in the minimal Midwestern light. Beyond the window, the neighbor’s porch peaks out of a cache of juniper, a determined jaw on the face of… Continue reading Kitchen

Creating Because vision is so relied upon, a good strategy in design is to not address site as the primary sense when experiencing a space or building. There are several other senses to explore instead. Ultimately, we don’t need to ignore sight, but initially it could be better to highlight another sense to heighten the… Continue reading Vision Sense Overview III

Analyzing Vision Vision is both active and passive, physical sensing with the eye and also the processing of the image in the brain. We can affect how people see by playing with how things are viewed and by making associations in the brain. By doing either or a combination of these we are capable of… Continue reading Vision Sense Overview II

Brief Overview Vision uses sensors in our eyes to accept and process light which is transmitted to the brain to interpret as information and forms. Through our lenses, we receive an upside down image on our retina that is put right-side-up by our brain; this is the first operation that we see, but it is… Continue reading Vision Sense Overview I

To reduce releasing more carbon and pollutants into the environment, we should reuse existing structures, instead of building new from a tabula rasa. There is enough building inventory in the urban environment for our uses, especially after COVID, and reusing a building requires less energy and gives the architect a chance to creatively work with… Continue reading RenoReuse

1. Introduction of phrase. In the final example of the preposition game, let’s zoom back in to something relatively small–an architectural detail. In this way, we will have looked at the various scales most architects use on their projects. For the detail, we will look at a door and how it connects to the wall–the… Continue reading Let’s Play the Preposition Game IV

1. Introduction of phrase. For the next example, let’s zoom out and look at the urban scale. Architects need to look at buildings and their context at multiple levels to draw meaning and connection, and the use and choice of prepositions can help this process. Again, we will use simple terms for the objects as… Continue reading Let’s Play the Preposition Game III

1. Introduction of phrase. In this example, we will look at a smaller scale design–a seat that is in context with a wall. The additional details are not accounted for, because we can use the preposition to define the detailing. The starting phrase is: The seat is at the wall. This relationship could be very… Continue reading Let’s Play the Preposition Game II