The eyes of the skin : architecture and the senses / Juhani Pallasmaa.

Includes bibliographical references.

Preface : thin ice / Steven Holl -- Introduction : touching the world / Juhani Pallasmaa -- Vision and knowledge -- Critics of ocularcentrism -- The narcissistic and nihilistic eye -- Oral versus visual space -- Retinal architecture and the loss of plasticity -- An architecture of visual images -- Materiality and time -- The rejection of Alberti's window -- A new vision and sensory balance -- The body in the centre -- Multi-sensory experience -- The significance of the shadow -- Acoustic intimacy -- Silence, time and solitude -- Spaces of scent -- The shape of touch -- The taste of stone -- Images of muscle and bone -- Images of action -- Bodily identification -- Mimesis of the body -- Spaces of memory and imagination -- An architecture of the senses -- The task of architecture.

"First published in 1996, The Eyes of the Skin has become a classic of architectural theory and is required reading on courses in schools of architecture around the world. It consists of two extended essays. The first surveys the historical development of the ocularcentric paradigm in western culture since the Greeks, and its impact on the experience of the world and the nature of architecture. The second examines the role of the other senses in authentic architectural experiences, and points the way towards a multi-sensory architecture which facilitates a sense of belonging and integration." "Since the book's first publication, interest in the role of the body and the senses has been emerging in both architectural philosophy and teaching. This new, revised and extended edition of this seminal work will not only inspire architects and students to design more holistic architecture, but will enrich the general reader's perception of the world around them."--BOOK JACKET.

Machine converted from AACR2 source record.