First published in 1996, The Eyes of the Skin has become a classic of architectural theory. For every new intake of students studying Pallasmaas classic text, The Eyes of the Skin provides a totally fresh understanding of architecture and a new set of insights. This third edition is intended to meet students desire for a further understanding of the context of Pallasmaas thinking by providing a new essay by architectural author and educator Peter MacKeith. This text combines both a biographical portrait of Pallasmaa and an outline of his architectural thinking. The new edition will includes a new preface by the internationally renowned architect Steven Holl and a revised introduction by Pallasmaa himself.
FOREWORD Thin Ice by Steven Holl 6 INTRODUCTION Touching the World by 10 Juhani Pallasmaa PART ONE Vision and Knowledge 18 Critics of Ocularcentrism 22 The Narcissistic and Nihilistic Eye 24 Oral versus Visual Space 25 Retinal Architecture and the Loss of Plasticity 28 An Architecture of Visual Images 33 Materiality and Time 34 The Rejection of Albertis Window 37 A New Vision and Sensory Balance 40 PART TWO The Body in the Centre 43 Multi-Sensory Experience 44 The Signifi cance of the Shadow 50 Acoustic Intimacy 53 Silence, Time and Solitude 55 Spaces of Scent 58 The Shape of Touch 60 The Taste of Stone 63 Images of Muscle and Bone 64 Images of Action 67 Bodily Identification 69 Mimesis of the Body 71 Spaces of Memory and Imagination 72 An Architecture of the Senses 75 The Task of Architecture 76 A DOOR HANDLE, A HANDSHAKE An introduction to Juhani Pallasmaa and his work by Peter MacKeith 78 NOTES 110 INDEX 123 PICTURE CREDITS 127