Pallasmaa, Juhani

Bio Sketch

Juhani Pallasmaa (b. 1936) is a Finnish architect, theorist, and former professor, one of the leading voices of the phenomenological critique of ocularcentric, image-driven architecture. He is known for his advocacy of haptic, multisensory, and atmospheric architecture, and for his critique of the "architecture of the eye." His work underpins Geoffrey's phenomenology of place research area (alongside Norberg-Schulz, Heidegger, Harries, Böhme).

Key Works

• The Eyes of the Skin: Architecture and the Senses — the central critique of visual/retinal architecture; the call for a multi-sensory, haptic approach.
• The Thinking Hand: Existential and Embodied Wisdom in Architecture (2009) — the sequel to The Eyes of the Skin; the hand and embodied, sensory thought as the ground of creativity and dwelling, with a critique of the computerised hand.
• "Space, Place, and Atmosphere: Peripheral Perception in Existential Experience" (in Borch ed., Architectural Atmospheres) — atmosphere as the overarching perceptual, sensory, and emotive impression of a space.

Key Concepts

Concepts associated with this author that have pages in this wiki:

• Atmosphere
• Embodiment
• Dwelling

Relevance to Geoffrey's Research

Pallasmaa matters to Geoffrey's phenomenology of place research: his distinction between the "architecture of the eye" (which detaches and controls) and "haptic and atmospheric architecture" (which engages and unites) gives a phenomenological counterpoint to the spectacular, image-driven iconicity Geoffrey studies, and connects to the atmospheric/affective turn's relation to power.

Source Support

Source notes in this wiki drawn from this author's work:

• The Thinking Hand (2009)
• Architectural Atmospheres (Borch ed.)
• The Big Rethink Part 4: The Purposes of Architecture
• The Ethical Function of Architecture
• Embodied Spaces in Digital Times: Exploring the Role of Instagram in Shaping Temporal Dimensions and Perceptions of Architecture