The Eyes of the Skin: Architecture and the Senses

First published in 1996, The Eyes of the Skin is a classic of architectural theory. It asks the far-reaching question why, when there are five senses, is one single sense—sight—so predominant in architectural culture and design? With the ascendancy of the digital and the all-pervasive use of the image electronically, the subject is all the more pressing and topical since the first edition’s publication. Juhani Pallasmaa argues that the suppression of the other four sensory realms has led to the overall impoverishment of our built environment, often diminishing the emphasis on the spatial experience of a building and architecture’s ability to inspire, engage and be wholly life enhancing.

For a student reading this text for the first time, The Eyes of the Skin is a revelation. It provides a fresh, compelling insight into architectural culture which continues to inspire more than a quarter-century after its initial publication.

The fourth edition of The Eyes of the Skin also features:

• The author’s latest views on the emphasis of place, unfocused perception and existential experience
• Updates and clarifications throughout, to reinforce how our sense of self in the world remains our most important sense with the greatest architectural impact
• An updated Foreword that touches on the current understanding of the seminal importance of the existential sense

The Eyes of the Skin is a must-read for all architecture students, who will find its insights transformative.