Nuevos medios gráficos para una arquitectura de la visión

Abstract

Many pathological aspects of the current architecture can be understood through a critical analysis of the trend that emphasizes visual aspects excluding the other senses in the architectural practice. The eye has conquered the dominant role in architecture in a gradual manner from the Albertian paradigm of perspective to the appearance of an observer which abandons a corporeal relationship with the environment through the technological extensions of the eye. In this paper we will argue that the inhumanity of the architecture and the city today, is being promoted in a sort of abstract thinking dominated by vision. Since the Modern Movement an intellectual and visual emphasis has been given to the perception and the conception of the architectural space that has displaced the body and the rest of the senses. The instrumental rationality of our culture and the technological nature of our society have not only continued this process but have also reinforced the experiences of alienation, estrangement and loneliness. In our technological world in which endless images are produced and multiplied, we seem to be mere spectators. This issue is directly linked to the media of architectural production. In the graphic representations and models, as we know, the shapes and colours represent spatial relations which symbolize physical, psychological, or logic relationships of the architectural work. The materials and vehicles used in the drawing have specific characters among which one can distinguish directly sensorial media and indirect media such as electronic information resources. The symbols, signs and operations of these last ones do not describe the properties of the human being. Their indirect and abstract nature favors an attitude of reflective detachment. In such a way, the nature of the means and materials determine the physical and psychological conditions of the architectural creation. That vital experience is interpreted in the formal and spatial experience of architecture. Therefore, although in nowadays architecture the tactile and plastic qualities are neglected, they are strongly present in the working materials and means that connect with the tacit knowledge of the body instead of being visually and conceptually dominated. Given that the architectural image must be the final product where the receiver recognizes the essence of human experience, the space configuration entails giving visual shape to a form of existence or meaningful behavior through the properties of shape. Therefore, when teaching the space configuration the teacher should encompass different areas of human knowledge in order to achieve a broader and deeper understanding of what is, specifically, the architectural issue, and should question the endorsement of technical means when they are above the conception level of the learner.