Majed Awadh Alghaemdi
PhD student at the University of Nottingham
Nottingham, UK
Majed is a PhD student in the Architecture, Culture, and Tectonics research group in the Department of Architecture at the University of Nottingham under the supervision of Professor Jonathan Hale and Dr Laura Hanks. In 2010, Majed received a bachelor's degree in architecture and Building Sciences from King Saud University. In 2015, Majed received his M.Arch 2 degree from the Southern California Institute of Architecture. Currently, he is involved in the Doctor of Philosophy PhD program at the University of Nottingham. His project focuses on the role of movement in the perception of architectural space. Majed has more than ten years of experience working as a practitioner and an educator at the architecture department at King Saud University, Saudi Arabia.
Steven Holl's Concept Of Parallax As A Tool For Motivating The Visitors' Movement
A Space Syntax Analysis of the Kiasma Museum, Helsinki
This research investigates how motion parallax has influenced Steven Holl's (1947-) approach to the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Arts design in Helsinki. It examines how this technique motivates visitors to explore and engage with the complex spaces within the museum. Motion parallax arises as individuals move, providing cues for navigating built environments — an effect the French philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1908–61) referred to as responding to the "solicitations of the world". The study addresses two questions: How does Holl's application of parallax theory affect the design of Kiasma? How does the public engage with and respond to the museum's experiences?
Merleau-Ponty emphasised the moving body's role in experiencing the world, introducing 'Motor Intentionality' to explain our initial bodily awareness in new situations (Ponty, 1962, p. 110). This bodily grasp facilitates a seamless flow of behaviour aligned with ongoing experiences. Similarly, Gibson's Motion Parallax suggests that visual field changes due to viewing position alterations create depth cues during locomotion. This idea aligns with Merleau-Ponty's "solicitations of the world" (Dreyfus, 2014). The paper also assesses works on embodied cognition, focusing on Alva Noë's theory on the action-perception relationship. In Kiasma, visitors are seen as active meaning-makers driven by movement, connecting personal, social, and physical domains.
Using Space Syntax tools, the study investigates bodily experience's role in visitors' engagement with objects and spaces at the museum, focusing on Holl's Parallax design principles and the significance of movement in perceiving architectural spaces. Drawing on Merleau-Ponty's and Gibson's writings, Holl identified the 'parallax' concept, explaining that movements unveil shifting patterns through varied viewpoints and lighting conditions(2000, p. 26). In Kiasma, Holl designed a circulatory system to embody his concept, aiming for a multi-perspective phenomenal experience and creating complex visitor loops between the museum's two volumes. The ambiguity and gaps created by parallax in Kiasma entice visitors, sparking mystery, curiosity, and exploration. Holl's parallax design decisions create interconnected experiences, sequential experiences of spaces, and depth perception, urging visitors to understand their surroundings through movement.
Enactive Approach, Architectural Experience, Embodiment, Body Schema, Affordances