Scale Shifting: How the Familiar Becomes Strange
MArch Y2, The University of Greenwich

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This thesis examines the human sensorium in an architectural context, specifically how the sensual experience of the physical spaces we inhabit could become more multi-sensory. The visual sense is the principal method of perceiving space; however, by implementing haptic, olfactory, auditory, and gustatory stimuli through physical methods in architecture, the human sensorium can become further multi-sensory. Furthermore, this diversification can also be achieved via digital sensory integration methods, such as soft-body wearables and augmentation devices.

There is an examination and analysis of critical literature and case studies of work in the domain of the human sensorium in physical space. Examples include The Eyes of the Skin, by Juhani Pallasmaa, academic and professional journal entries, and design-led research. The exploration of this research will lead to an extrapolation of the human sensorium concerning the physical spaces we inhabit, specifically how the sensorium may be made more multi-sensory and how this knowledge can be integrated into architectural design practice.

The thesis utilises a range of methods to analyse the relationship of the human body and mind to the spaces they inhabit. Secondary research on the human sensorium and its relation to space is discussed. Primary research has also been analysed, such as the literature noted previously and recorded performance investigations to speculate how these relationships could develop in the future