Towards an architecture of experience

Abstract

Many urban and architectural designs bring about a different experience in its visitors than the designer originally intended. Typical architectural qualities such as ‘dynamism’, ‘harmony‘, ‘lightness’ are often guiding themes in the de- sign, but hardly ever experienced in reality when the design has been built. Especially the notorious grand schemes of sixties and seventies, intended to give lots of open green space and fresh air to its inhabitants, are experienced differently — nowadays people mostly experience them as unsafe and cheap. Luckily, there are also some examples of designs that are able to bring about positive experiences in its visitors, some of which are included in this research. The fact that many designs do not afford a positive experience is the problem that is addressed in this project, of which this written research is a part. It is due to a lack of knowledge of experience and a decent method for designing an architectural experience that designers fail in their attempts to create a positive experience. This research aims to fill that hiatus by providing relevant knowl- edge of perception and experiencing and a preliminary method for design. This is the design for a peaceful subway station on Kottbusser Tor, Berlin. It includes an urban design for the circus, a design for the underground station which is sustainable.