(notes from Functionalism Revisited, written by Jon Lang & Walter Moleski, Ashgate Publishing, Farnham: 2010)
From the Chapter 'Experiencing Architecture' (pp 39-62)
Although the basic nature of our perceptual systems is generally universal, what we pay attention to in our environment differs, shaped by cultural and personality-bound differences which in turn shapes our motivations.
When we design buildings we focus on the visual world, its appearance, because that is what we simulate or model in our drawings. We speculate on what people will do in the building and on what it will smell, feel and sound like to them. Our understanding is biased by our own knowledge and also by how we value certain aspects of it.
p50
It is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that the configuration - the milieu - of the built world determines our social behaviour and aesthetic experiences. However, what we create is a potential environment for human activity patterns and aesthetic experiences. The effective environment consists of what people pay attention to and use. We look for 'affordances' that will enable us to fulfill our needs. (The 'affordances' of a space/surface/texture etc are simply what these things makes available for us to use or interpret)
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