Sensing Spaces, a beautiful, “sense-provoking” architecture exhibition, is on at the Royal Academy of Arts in London. Consisting of 8 installations put together by some of the world’s leading architects in the RA galleries, it encourages the sensory exploration of space. A must-see for all I’d say.
What I experienced…
Interaction.
I have been welcomed to interact with space and people. We were invited to mould space with colours as we liked, in the installation where architecture is intended as a space for the community.
Looking for directions.
I got lost in enlightened wooden maze to then find myself contemplating the experience of space as defined by the sound of my steps.
Climbing for details.
Shifting sensations as the exhibition progressed, I “climbed” a “wooden” monument which put me in contact with the otherwise unexplored Neoclassical details of the gallery. Going up and down the monument making me also contemplate the greatness of the space and its relationship with time.
Uncertainty.
Or at least this is what I felt. Probably my favourite installation. Created with a clever combination of (what looked like) concrete and light, it made me feel “trapped” underground, reliant on destiny and its changes. It reminded me of the electric sounds of Alva Noto, of metallic, wet, underground smells.
The scent of Japanese aesthetics.
Marvellously put together, the shape and smell of imbued bamboo has raised my awareness of the invisible architectures found in a traditional Japanese space.
For more on space and senses, check posts on Invisible Architecture book, the smell of knowledge and Design With Scents course.
God bless architects!
