IS IT A HOUSE OR A SCHOOL? INTERDISCIPLINARY REFLECTIONS ON THE IMPORTANCE OF MEANING IN ARCHITECTURE
Aurora SAIDI QAZIMI
Abstract
A young girl feels uncertainty upon encountering a newly erected building in her neighborhood. Although the structure is, in fact, a private residence, she is not inclined to recognize it as such, as its architectural form evokes the appearance of a school for her. Many passersby exhibit a comparable response, reinforcing the collective belief that the building deviates from the conventional image of a house. This instance of perceptual ambiguity exposes a wider, frequently neglected phenomenon in architectural practice: the divergence between a building's intended purpose and its perceived identity.
Many authors assert that the capacity to read and interpret the built environment profoundly influences individual interactions and the experiences it generates. Architectural experiences are most positively evaluated when situated near the midpoint of the continuum between the unfamiliar and the familiar. Encounters that are excessively foreign to interpret or overly familiar to engage can reduce the richness and depth of spatial experience. Accordingly, this article draws on theoretical perspectives from neuroscience, psychology, sociology, philosophy, and architecture to explore the importance of meaning in architecture, the challenges faced by the young girl in interpreting the building's identity, and the potential impact of these experiences on future engagements with the built environment broadly.
Pages: 49 - 62