Perception and the design of interior spaces

Abstract

The Architect is a participator in a functional art. His art is not something to be only looked at. contemplated and admired but the product of his work has a function and utility. Architecture is a communicator. It passes messages to people about themselves and about other people. These messages are received and interpreted. Often actions and feelings are modified by these messages. Architects need to be aware of how these messages are received and interpreted to be able to have an idea of the potential of their own designing. This idea is best expressed by Walter Gropius when he wrote, "if we can understand the nature of what we see and the way we perceive it. then we will know more about the potential influence of man-made design on human feelings and thinking." (Lang. 1974) This being the case, I wish to set out in this report to look at how people do perceive the environment around them. The operation of the human perceptual system is the key to this. Hence in the first part ot this report I will look at the way the perceptual system operates, how it collects and processes information and then will briefly look at some of the phenomena of human perception.