Architecture Can Trigger Emotion
If structures are made for us to occupy and serve its function to provide a space, why do people spend long time and give much effort to plan the look, design, and color of their structure?
You are given a chance to choose what color do you want but you are having hard time to choose what shade of blue. You want to consider bright artificial lights but you also want the vibe that natural lighting gives. And yes, these moments and feelings are valid. Believe it or not, architecture affects human emotions. This is a huge factor to why you feel and act those that were mentioned earlier in relation to architecture.
According to Maria Lorena Lehman, an author, designer and an artist, architecture can trigger emotion.
Photo Credit: BBC
Architecture is More Than Just Buildings
Even the simplest details in architecture, like shapes, lines, color, can bring meaning and affect one’s emotions. There is a feeling of emotional ‘connection’ to the occupant. In architecture, people design not just to express, but also arouse emotions.
For example, a colorful playground automatically gives off a bright, cheerful vibes.
Burial architectures like cemeteries may give peace and calmness, but can also trigger emotions like sadness.
Colorful Playground
Photo Credit: Pinterest and Dezeen (from Trendhunter)
Tunnel of Light
“We want to make a journey for people to meet nature in another way,” Architect Yosuke Hayano of MAD Architects stated regarding the ‘Tunnel of Light’ installation as part of Echigo-Tsumari Triennale 2018 at the Kiyotsu Gorge Tunnel in Niigata, Japan.
It manifests emotional connection more when the path of beautiful nature in the location was regenerated into “a journey for people to meet nature in another way”.
‘Tunnel of Light’ Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale
Photo Credit: Osamu Nakamura
The principal architect explained that with their creation, people will not remember who designed it, but the day they came and filmed the space and nature and the emotions they had. They are then going to go back to their daily life, but he thinks it will make a difference for their tomorrow.
Architectural works like this truly bring emotional connection to nature and to people.
Emotions and Aspects of the Structure’s Architecture
The following are some aspects of the structure’s architecture that designers consider to express and stir up emotions:
Color
May it be the exterior or interior, a structure’s color can set the mood. It affects and invokes a person’s emotion.
For example, bright colors like orange and yellow give off a happy and energetic vibe.
Lighting
Lighting also affects one’s emotions and feelings. For example, some studies have shown that brighter light can intensify emotions.
Height and Space
The space we choose to occupy and not to, the distance between people within the space, affects a person’s mood, feeling and even behavior.
For example, expansive spaces invite openness and positive energy.
Truly, architecture is more than just buildings. It brings emotional connection, which can make a structure more special and likable. One’s emotions can also affect the architecture of a structure, the way one wants to express emotions through architecture.
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