The Power of Architectural Storytelling: Shaping Our Perception of Spaces

Welcome to?Design Insights, our daily newsletter on?LinkedIn, featuring studios and projects selected each day by our editors as well as a roundup of articles and news on architecture and design.

Visit?www.re-thinkingthefuture.com?for our top stories and breaking news.?First time seeing this? Please subscribe.

By Sakshi Srivastava

‘Amma, tell me a story. Please!’

I cannot imagine the number of times I have spoken this sentence in my life span of 24 years. While Amma received it with adoration at first, she tells me that storytelling is for children; the real world relies on facts and not fiction. However, when does an adult abandon the world of stories? The truth is, we never surmount stories because our lives revolve around them. We connect with our surroundings through stories, most of which are passed down over time. They constitute us and continue to live within us. For over 27,000 years, since the earliest cave paintings, telling stories has been our most fundamental communication method.

Architecture and Storytelling

Storytelling is a strategic system of composition edited to transmit a message. In architecture, it represents a specific approach to design related to the human experience and the structuring and montage of spatial sequences with specific communicative aims. Architecture is a complex phenomenon. One can interpret it in various manners. For example, it can be understood by simple abstractions like plans and sections or as the relationship between more significant concepts of form-space-context. Alternatively, concepts of geometry, symmetry, rhythm, order, and other such principles can explain it. It is an act of storytelling, an unfolding of a mystery that conditions one through a sequential unfolding of spaces (Pandya, 2014).

Adrian Forty says that the meaning of architecture lies solely in the immanence of its perception. He adds that architecture could represent nothing beyond its immediate presence. But what if the form follows feelings, and we amuse visitors with architectural stories? While it might seem erratic to discuss architecture as a form of fiction or vice versa, both have always made excellent companions. To support this notion, French philosopher Paul Ricoeur figured that architecture and narrative are two different ways of telling stories and making what is absent present.

Our education, still subdued with the Bauhaus principles, stresses that the form should follow function. However, 2000 years ago, Vitruvius proposed that ‘delight’ comes before ‘firmness’ and ‘commodity’. And any connection between architecture and fiction was unimaginable. While a writer tells a story in time, an architect builds a story in space. On both occasions, it manifests something in the physical or mental space that inhabits memories and experiences. It originates from the maker’s intellect, who has to plot it, structure it, and become part of somebody else’s life, establishing a relationship with it (www.smartcitiesdive.com, n.d.).

Architecture constantly tells stories, but often these narratives are one-dimensional, ‘flat’ representations. These stories comprise a single layer – style – a layer that reveals nothing of culture, history, or pride in a place but is instead rooted in economics and the desire to build things cheaply and quickly. For visual storytelling to occur in architecture, one must develop a multiple-layered language. A spatial language is required to fill in the story of a certain place. It is possible to say the appropriate stories – of the people who inhabit or have inhabited a place, the cultural history of a site, and the evolution of use, building materials, and technology through this language.

Click the link to read the entire story.

Top Reads

• Islamic Architecture adopted the dome as one of its main features after getting influenced by the model of the pre-existing Byzantine domes in Ottoman architecture. Read more about distinctive elements of Islamic Architecture here.
• S.H. Raza was an Indian painter who lived and worked in France. His works feature landscapes and townscapes. Read more about such famous artists that architects must know about.
• Over two decades ago Rwanda saw radical population shifts due to the war and political turmoil in the country. Read about the rebuilding of Rwanda here.

Book Review: Concise Townscape by Golden Cullen

Gordon Cullen was a well-known urban planner and architect from England who played a significant role in the townscape movement. Cullen introduced a novel theory and approach to urban visual analysis and design founded on the psychology of perception, including human perceptions of time and space and the need for visual stimulation. The Concise Townscape is the name given to later versions of Townscape. Through this book, he significantly contributed to the Townscape’s structure.?

The Architectural Press initially released the book’s First Edition in 1961, and Elsevier Ltd. owns the copyright. The idea of Townscape was invented in this work. Townscape is the visual arrangement and coherence of the urban environment’s chaotic collection of structures, roadways, and open areas. It has had a significant impact on those who are concerned with the design of cities, such as architects and planners.

According to Gordon Cullen, the layout of the city’s structures, including its streets, trees, and other natural elements, is known as Townscape. One approach to identifying a city’s physical shape using physical images is through the Townscape. The layout of the buildings and roads, which elicits a range of emotions in the viewer, may also be used to identify a townscape. The townscape idea is a foundation for architects, planners, and anyone concerned with the city’s appearance. The structure’s shape and mass impact and affect the physical form of urban space. The relationship between the physical condition of the urban environment and the body of the building mass is sensed by the spectator on a psychological and physical level. Additionally, the link between urban space’s size, form, and configuration and a city’s quality may be observed aesthetically.

Additionally, the link between urban space’s size, form, and configuration and a city’s quality may be observed aesthetically.

The author contends that values should be included in urban architecture for individuals to experience a pleasant urban environment emotionally through psychological and physical senses. This book focuses on four ideas: serial vision, place, content, and functional tradition. Each of the four main townscapes has specific characteristics, which are illustrated throughout the book as instances.?

Read the complete article here.

Project Feature: The Putih Tiny Villa by BALITECTURE

This distinctive creation embodies a modern tropical essence, capturing the serene allure of its surroundings. Seamlessly fusing the warmth of tropical aesthetics with meticulous spatial planning and inventive material application, this one-bedroom sanctuary reimagines the concept of contemporary living.

Nestled in the emerging Nyanyi area of Bali, Indonesia, this villa which was designed and built by Balitecture, encompasses a compact 65 sqm. The design ingeniously maximizes its limited footprint, resulting in an unexpectedly spacious villa highlighted by a double-height living room and expansive floor-to-ceiling glass facade. Situated on a modest 90 sqm plot, the villa integrates beautifully landscaped gardens, a terrazzo pool, an outdoor shower, and multiple entertainment zones.

The exterior fa?ade exemplifies tranquil sophistication with a pristine white palette, complemented by artfully integrated large glass and tropical hues. Inside, sleek lines and tactile textures adorn the interior, striking a delicate balance between minimalism and sensory allure. With a captivating interplay of light and shadow, the visual experience throughout the villa is elevated.

The asymmetric slanted roof and double-height ceiling are the distinctive features. Not only is it unique, but also adds visual interest that creates a sense of spaciousness with its double-height ceilings, inviting abundant natural light and ventilation.

“It is a testament to Balitecture’s commitment to innovative design. By integrating the slanted roof and double-height ceilings, the design optimizes natural airflow, reducing the reliance on mechanical ventilation systems,” said Yusuf, Architectural Coordinator at Balitecture.

The incorporation of locally sourced materials further minimizes the project’s ecological footprint while supporting the local economy. The structure features elegant Jimbaran stone, adding a touch of organic warmth and texture to the exterior fa?ade. Inside, the refined beauty of wooden flooring enhances the interior spaces, reflecting serenity.

“Combining 3 color palettes from white paint, warm woods, and black aluminum ensures this tropical concept design stands out,” added Yusuf.

Check out the complete project here.

Want to get your project or story featured?

Write to us at [email protected] or submit your story here.

Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and website. Know someone who might be interested in this newsletter? Share it with them.