The Eyes of the Skin

Junichiro T,1.nizaki describes impressively the spatial qualities of thesense of taste, and the subtle interaction of the senses in the simple actof uncovering a bowl of soup:\Vith lacquerware there is a beauty in that moment between removingthe lid and lifting the bowl to the mouth when one gazes at the still, silentliquid in the dark depths of the bowl, its colour hardly differing from thebowl itself. \Vhat lies within the darkness one cannot distinguish, but thepalm senses the gentle movements of the liquid, vapor rises from withinforming droplets on the rim, and a li'agrance carried upon the vaporbrings a delicate anticipation .... A moment of mystery, it might almostbe called, a moment of trance. 120A fine architectural space opens up and presents itself with the same fullnessof experience as Tanizaki's bowl of soup. Architectural experiencebrings the world into a most intimate contact with the body.Images of Muscle and BonePrimitive man used his own body as the dimensioningand proportioningsystem of his constructions.traditionalThe essential skills of making a living incultures are based on the wisdom of the body stored in thehaptic memory. The essential knowledge and skill of the ancient hunter,fisherman and farmel~ as well as of the mason and stone cutter, was animitation of an embodied tradition of the trade, stored in the muscularand tactile senses. Skill was learned through incorporatingof movements refined by tradition, not through words or theory.the sequenceThe body knows and remembers. Architectural meaning derives fromarchaic responses and reactions rememberedby the body and the senses.Architecture has to respond to traits of primordial behaviour preservedand passed down by the genes. Architecture does not only respond to thefunctional and conscious intellectual and social needs of today's citydweller;it must also remember the primordial hunter and farmer concealedin the body. Our sensations of comfort, protectionand home are19A tactile ingredient is concealed in vision.The Buddhist goddess Tara possesses fiveadditional eyes, on the forehead and in herhands and feet. These are considered assigns of enlightenment. Bronze figure fromMongolia. 15th century.State Public Library, Ulan Bator, MongoliaVISION AND HAPTICITY20The door pull is the handshake of a building,which can be inviting and courteous,or forbidding and aggressive.Alvar Aalto, The Iron House, Helsinki,1954. Doorpulls.Museum of Finnish Architecture/PhotoHeikki HavasPART 2 6160 THE EYES OFTHE SKIN~