J uhani P allasmaa

The Eyes of T he S kin

A nalysis of Theory

Monica Marie Blain

Professor Mark Wigley
History of Theory
Columbia University
Gsapp 2013
T he E yes of T he S kin
A r ch i t e c t u r e and the Senses

A nalysis of T heory

J uhani P allasmaa
The Eyes of T he S kin
A nalysis of Theory

Monica Marie Blain

Professor Mark Wigley
History of Theory
Columbia University
Gsapp 2013
T he E yes of T he S kin
A r ch i t e c t u r e and the Senses
By J uhani P allasmaa

A nalysis of T heory
By Monica Marie Blain
Professor Mark Wigley
History of Theory
Columbia University
Gsapp 2013

First published in 1996, The Eyes of the Skin: Architecture and the Senses is a seminal piece of

architectural theory that grew out Finnish architect, philosopher and professor Juhani Pallasmaa’s

concern over the disappearance of the physical, sensual, embodied experiences of architecture in

the contemporary world. Referencing a Western history of ocularcentrism and the hegemony of

vision in the present, his primary concern is what he observes to be the “...dominance of vision

and the suppression of other senses in the way architecture [is] taught, conceived and critiqued.”1

Unlike the prescriptive and didactic architectural theories of, for example, Laugier, Vitruvius and

Le Corbusier, Pallasmaa’s work is conceived as a thoughtful, open-ended dialogue. The Eyes of the

Skin has been touted as a “gentle manifesto”2 intended to question the status quo of architectural

thinking, to incite curiosity on the part of his audience, to stimulate questioning in one’s own

conception of the self in the world. Pallasmaa bemoans the separation between architectural

philosophy and practice, criticizing both the “current overemphasis on the intellectual and

conceptual”3 in academia, and in education and practice, a superficial emphasis on form and image,

lacking in tectonic logic and neglecting the human experience.4

1 Pallasmaa, Juhani. The Eyes of the Skin: Architecture and the Senses. 3rd Edition. John Wiley & Sons LTD, Registered
office: West Sussex, United Kingdom. E-book. loc. 155
2 Book review by Morgan, William. October 2012. Architectural Record online site.
http://archrecord.construction.com/features/critique/books/2012/1210-The-Eyes-of-the-Skin.asp Accessed 2014 - 2015.
3 Pallasmaa, Juhani. loc. 603
4 Pallasmaa, Juhani. loc. 431

Monica Blain History of Theory | Professor Mark Wigley GSAPP 2013 1

 Pallasmaa’s field of study, call it ‘architecture as a phenomenal experience’, is shared and

respected by a great number of notable architects, academics, philosophers and intellectuals. And

yet, Pallasmaa has clearly eschewed writing an academic discourse aimed at his contemporaries,

or writing theory for theory’s sake.5 Viewed holistically, it is evident that the overall mission of

Pallasmaa’s “humble book”6 is educational - not in the sense of ‘giving instruction’ but in distilling

a seemingly complex web of interrelated and transdiscliplinary ideas into a tangibly accessible

resource; inciting curiosity, questions and critical thought in the hopes of fomenting change.

Steven Holl, in his foreword to this third edition of The Eyes of the Skin, says of Pallasmaa, “[He]

is not just a theoretician ; he is a brilliant architect of phenomenological insight. He practices

the unanalysable architecture of the senses whose phenomenal properties concretise his writings

towards a philosophy of architecture.” In the slightly ironic and somewhat opaque second sentence,

Holl is testifying as to Pallasmaa’s innate sense of architecture as fundamentally inextricable

from existential human questions, as well as his ability and ardour in unifying theory with praxis.

Pallasmaa confirms this intent: “As the ocularcentric paradigm of our relation to the world and

of our concept of knowledge - the epistemological privileging of vision - has been revealed by

philosophers, it is also important to survey critically the role of vision in relation to the other senses

in our understanding and practice of the art of architecture.” Pallasmaa frequently7 connects

architectural practice with intellect: When developing theoretical premises he references and

quotes philosophers - Sartre, Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty among others - but subsequently locates

these ideas in a specific work of a specific architect, identifying how it embodies the conceptual in

physical design.

Given his desire to marry philosophy and praxis, it is safe to make an assumption about one of

Pallasmaa’s ‘ideal outcomes’. He wishes for tectonic logic to arise from clarity in the philosophical

5 Pallasmaa, Juhani. loc. 311

6 Pallasmaa, Juhani. loc. 192
7 note: more so in his introduction and Part 1, which provide more context than Part 2

2 Monica Blain History of Theory | Professor Mark Wigley GSAPP 2013

and conceptual considerations of sensual experience; that the physicality, materiality and tectonic

itself speak to the dialogical nature of the architectural experience. Pallasmaa’s is a call to

responsibility, a challenge to engage in a new legacy of architectural teaching and practice.

Both the physical organization of The Eyes of the Skin and Pallasmaa’s means of delivering content

support the book’s identity as ‘accessible’ theory; excluding neither the stranger, the novice nor the

erudite. This intention is made clear not only through his own declarations,8 but is communicated

in his choice of language, syntax and structure in the presentation of his ideas. Clarity, brevity

and breadth over depth make the text easy to follow, as despite numerous reference to a number

philosophy’s ‘greats’, he is highly cognisant of being neither pedantic or overtly academic.

Pallasmaa’s pairing of one-liner quotations - powerful in nuance and implication - with simple

translations of the salient point, makes these references relatable and expressly relevant to the

present conversation. He uses language derived from philosophical writing (for example ‘being in

the world’9, ‘the horizon of things’10) in the context of his own discourse rather than as stand-alone

‘quotes’ whose origin and implications are presumed familiar to the reader. The subtle presentation

of these concepts actually allows the opportunity for one to develop their own sense of the meaning

of the word; an outcome directly tied to Pallasmaa’s intent of raising questions and critical thinking.

The more knowledgeable readers recognize these ‘easter eggs’ and their potential implication in

the greater realm of phenomenological thought. Pallasmaa provides them with a great directory of

resources, opening the door for deeper research. The ‘literary devices’ he uses in delivering content

(notably juxtaposition and dualities, as we shall later see), not only help deepen one’s conceptual

understanding, but in form actually parallel the philosophical schools of thought on which his

theories ride. This nuanced sophistication, the subtle references to philosophy’s ‘heavy-hitters’11

8 loc. 665
9 loc. 245
10 loc. 902
11 Morgan, William.

Monica Blain History of Theory | Professor Mark Wigley GSAPP 2013 3

 and a veritable library of notes and references make this book a resource of equally great value to

those seeking further insight or even comprehensive study.

The third edition of The Eyes of the Skin, published in 2012, contains a revision of Pallasmaa’s

original introduction as well as a companion essay by Peter Mackeith and a new foreword by

Steven Holl. Holl’s introduction, Thin Ice, is rich in sensual, evocative detail and the contemplation

of memories, setting the poetic tone so evident in the nature of Pallasmaa’s philosophy. Peter

Mackeith’s essay, A Door Handle, A Handshake, contains an analysis or explanation of Pallasmaa’s

book and philosophy. Of course, Pallasmaa’s is an open-ended theory, posing numerous questions

and asking the audience to reflect for themselves. As beginning with an analysis undermines

his intent to open a dialogue, this essay is naturally situated at the end of the text: Holl’s and

Mackeiths’s writing frame Pallasmaa’s as complementary bookends.

Pallasmaa’s revised introduction, titled Touching the World, is a concise yet thorough ‘primer’

to the text, explaining the premise of his philosophy, its main tenets, and origins in what he

describes simply as intuitions based on personal experiences, views and speculations.12 However,

he also notes that not only philosophical but scientific, medical and psychological study have, in

the years that followed, provided evidence in support of his theory. He identifies it as part of a

larger transdiscliplinary conversation, providing context and weight that underlines his book as

particularly relevant to the science and study of our time.

In his introduction, Pallasmaa reveals that parts 1 and 2 of the book have their origins in different

sources. It is telling that, despite the facility with which he could have done so, Pallasmaa chose

not to integrate the two into a seamless whole. This decision undoubtedly speaks to Pallasmaa’s

goal of producing an accessible13 educational resource with a highly navigable structure. The main

sources of his work - a seminar on Architectural Phenomenology he conducted at the Royal Danish

12 loc. 155
13 Note: Intellectually accessible and available to those with little or no background context.

4 Monica Blain History of Theory | Professor Mark Wigley GSAPP 2013

Academy of Fine Arts, and an essay in a publication produced jointly by he, Steven Holl and

Alberto Pérez-Gómez14 - take on two different forms of communication, presumably delivered

to different audiences with a different degree of insight.15 Part one, which grew primarily from

his seminar on Architectural Phenomenology,16 is arguably the more ‘informative’ of the two:

It frames the material within a historical and philosophical context, introducing the concept of

‘ocularcentrism’ in the Western world (seen as far back as ancient Greece)17 and touches on related

philosophical theories and critiques. It posits that architecture is the ‘primary instrument’ with

which we relate to space and time, and consequently to existential questions of self.18 It asks the

fundamental question of why, when we have a multitude of senses, does our society privilege

vision above the rest? What is the psychological pathology of this fracturing of senses? What effect

does this separation between the self and the world have on human consciousness, memory and

understanding of space19?

Though a number of these concepts and questions may be familiar to some, his concise phrasing

of the absolute essentials - in concept and in context - is easily grasped, allowing the novice

to enter and engage in the discussion. In fact, several times Pallasmaa refers to this work as a

survey,20 inarguably proclaiming itself an overview - an introduction to a much larger topic. Part

two, says Pallasmaa, reads much like a collection of musings,21 a series of interconnected ideas

free of absolutism and prescription. Part 2 of The Eyes of the Skin can most certainly be read

independently of the first; it opens with a brief overview of the preceding section. One cannot

ignore the fact that Pallasmaa opens the more information-heavy Part 1 with a series of poetic

14 Note: The three collaborated on ‘Questions of Perception’ published in 1994 by A+U. Pallasmaa refers to his own
essay titled ‘An Architecture of the Seven Senses’. loc.147
15 Note: Pallasmaa held the seminar for students of the Academy, while the collaborative ‘Questions of Perception’ was
published in a special edition of A+U magazine specifically for its relevance to architects.
16 Pallasmaa, Juhani loc
17 Pallasmaa, Juhani loc
18 Pallasmaa, Juhani loc
19 From Pallasmaa’s reference to Walter J Ong, Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the World (1991). loc. 457
20 loc. 863 and 864 for example
21 Pallasmaa, Juhani loc.

Monica Blain History of Theory | Professor Mark Wigley GSAPP 2013 5

 and evocative quotations, while the ‘musings’ and ‘questions’ of Part 2 are framed by a concise

articulation of his theory. Beyond its value as the direct summation of his theories, this inclusion

of this ‘brief’ prime the reader (whether or not they have read Part 1), to recognize the most salient

concepts of Pallasmaa’s theory and make connections within the content he delivers in Part 2:

“As the preceding brief suggests, the privileging of the sense of sight over the other
senses is an inarguable theme in Western thought, and it is also an evident bias
in the architecture of our century. The negative development in architecture is, of
course, forcefully supported by forces and patterns of management, organisation and
production as well as by the abstracting and universalising impact of technological
rationality itself. The negative developments in the realm of the senses cannot, either,
be directly attributed to the historical privileging of the sense of vision itself. The
perception of sight as our most important sense is well grounded in physiological,
perceptual and psychological facts.22 The problems arise from the isolation of the eye
outside its natural interaction with other sense modalities, and from the elimination
and suppression of other sense, which increasingly reduce and restrict the experience
of the world into the sphere of vision. This separation and reduction fragments
the innate complexity, comprehensiveness and plasticity of the perceptual system,
reinforcing a sense of detachment and alienation.23”

In addition, the introductory statement directly informs the reader as to the nature, or intent, of the

prose to come:

“In this second part, I will survey the interactions of the senses and give some
personal impressions of the realms of the senses in the expression and experience
of architecture. In this essay I proclaim a sensory architecture in opposition to the

22 Pallasmaa is referencing loc. 73

23 Pallasmaa, Juhani. loc. 863

6 Monica Blain History of Theory | Professor Mark Wigley GSAPP 2013

 prevailing visual understanding of the art of building.24”25

In further distilling parts 1 and 2 into a number of clearly labeled ‘chapters’, Pallasmaa goes one

step further in increasing the accessibility and potential appeal of his text. Unlike most academic

papers, which develop their arguments as a continuous ‘reel’ of text, the brevity and obvious focus

of each chapter, along with their informative and often intriguing headlines, allows one to dive into

the conversation at any point without feeling completely and utterly lost. Furthermore, Pallasmaa

consistently opens each section with a straightforward and articulate statement of its contents. The

following summation of each chapter heading with their opening sentences is illustrative of just

how rigorously Pallasmaa follows this form - read chronologically, these arguably summarize the

most salient points of his book:

Part I

Vision and Knowledge “ In Western culture, sight has historically been regarded as the
noblest of the senses, and thinking itself thought of in terms of
seeing.” (278)

Critics of Ocularcentrism “The ocular centric tradition and the consequent spectator theory
of knowledge in Western thinking already had their critics
among philosophers before today’s concerns. “ (353)

The Narcissistic and Nihilistic Eye “The hegemony of sight first brought forth glorious visions,
in Heidegger’s view, but it has turned increasingly nihilistic in
modern times.” (413)

Oral vs Visual Space “But man has not always been dominated by vision. In fact,
a primordial dominance of hearing has only gradually been
replaced by that of vision.” (432)

24 Pallasmaa, Juhani. loc. 864

25 A somewhat humorous reflection: One (almost) need not read anything else to understand Pallasmaa’s theory!

Monica Blain History of Theory | Professor Mark Wigley GSAPP 2013 7

 Retinal Architecture and the Loss “It is evident that the architecture of traditional cultures is also
of Plasticity essentially connected with the tacit wisdom of the body, instead
of being visually and conceptually dominated.” (481)

An Architecture of Visual Images “The ocular bias has never been more apparent in the art
of Architecture than in the past half century, as a type of
architecture, aimed at a striking and memorable visual image,
has predominated.” (552)

Materiality and Time “The flatness of today’s standard construction is strengthened by

a weakened sense of materiality.” (585)

The Rejection of Alberti’s Window “The eye itself has not, of course, remained in the monocular,
fixed construction defined by Renaissance theories of
perspective. The hegemonic eye has conquered new ground for
visual perception and expression. (629)

A New Vision and Sensory Balance “Perhaps, freed of the implicit desire of the eye for control and
power, it is precisely the unfocused vision of our time that is
again capable of opening up new realms of vision and thought.”
(654)

Part II

The Body in the Centre “I confront the city with my body; my legs measure the length
of the arcade and width of the square; my gaze unconsciously
projects my body onto the facade of the cathedral, where it roams
over the moldings and contours, session the size of recesses and
projections; my body weight meets the mass of the cathedral
door, and my hand grasps the door pull as I enter the dark void
behind”. (875)

Multi-Sensory Experience “A walk through the forest is invigorating and healing due to the
constraint interaction of all sense modalities; Bachelard speaks
of the ‘polyphony of the senses’.” (902)

8 Monica Blain History of Theory | Professor Mark Wigley GSAPP 2013

The Significance of the Shadow “The eye is the organ of distance and separation, whereas touch
is the sense of nearness, intimacy and affection.” (998)

Acoustic Intimacy “Sight isolates, whereas sound incorporates; vision is directional

whereas sound is omni-directional.” (1048)

Silence, Time and Solitude “The most essential auditory experience created by architecture
is tranquillity.” (1090)

Spaces of Scent “We need only eight molecules of substance to trigger an impulse
of smell in a nerve ending, and we can detect more than 10,000
different odours.” (1127)

The Shape of Touch “ ‘[H]ands are a complicated organism, a delta in which life
from the most distant sources flows together surging into the
great current of action.’ ” (1168)

The Taste of Stone “In his writings, Adrian Stokes was particularly sensitive to the
realms of tactile and oral sensations: ‘In employing smooth and
rough as generic terms of architectural dichotomy I m better
able to preserve both the oral and the tactile notions that underlie
the visual. There is a hunger of the eyes, and doubtless there has
been some permeation of the visual sense, as of touch, by the
once all-embracing oral impulse.’ ” (1212)

Images of Muscle and Bone “Primitive man used his own body as the dimensioning and
proportioning system of his constructions.” (1239)

Images of Action “Stepping stones set in the grass of a garden are images and
imprints of footsteps.” (1277)

Bodily Identification “The authenticity of architectural experience is grounded in the

tectonic language of building and the comprehensibility of the
act of construction to the senses.” (1310)

Monica Blain History of Theory | Professor Mark Wigley GSAPP 2013 9

 Mimesis of the Body “A great musician plays himself rattan than the instrument, and
a skillful soccer player plays the entity of himself, the other
players and the internalized and embodied field, instead of
merely kicking the ball.” (1343)

Spaces of Memory and Imagination “We have an innate capacity for remembering and imagining
places.” (1364)

An Architecture of the Senses “Various architectures can be distinguished on the basis of the
sense modality they tend to emphasize.” (1402)

The Task of Architecture “The timeless task of architecture is to create embodied and
lived existential metaphors that concretise and structure our
being in the world.” (1425)

Simply in considering these chapter headings one may experience that infinitesimally tiny shock of

insight in which obscurity becomes illumination. In a manner both general and highly specific, the

chapter headings alone astutely describe the book’s contents and offer a window into Pallasmaa’s

philosophy.

While introducing him as the Kenneth Frampton Endowed lecture’s Inaugural Speaker at Columbia’s

Graduate School of Architecture Planning and Preservation in 2012, Mark Wigley observes that

Juhani Pallasmaa is a thinker “for whom a kind of classic opposition between embodied image,

understood perhaps as an authentic relationship to architecture; and image, [understood] as

disconnected, suspect in relation to [the embodied].” He continues - perhaps paradoxically - that

“[Pallasmaa’s] is a kind of thinking that does not allow that kind of separation.”26 Pallasmaa may

make use of opposing ideas in articulating theory, but by the very nature of his theories, these

26 Dean Mark Wigley; opening remarks at the Inaugural Kenneth Frampton Endowed Lecture, GSAPP 2012 (https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFwrmIljdqo, 11:58 - 12:26.)

10 Monica Blain History of Theory | Professor Mark Wigley GSAPP 2013

‘opposite’ elements are inseparable. Contradictory yet inseparable. Like two sides of the same coin

it is impossible to conceive of one without the other.

‘Dualisms’ such as this one make frequent appearances in Pallasmaa’s prose. Without outright

saying it, duality is (as Wigley so astutely observes) central to the nature and founding of his

theory. As a reader, each encounter with duality incites an inner dialogue and the questioning of

what seemed to be immutable truths. Like a teaser to a movie, Pallasmaa dangles a number of

these in his opening paragraphs; self and the world, interiority and exteriority, time and duration,

life and death.27

Pallasmaa employs duality not for the sake of passing judgement or stating ‘truths’, but rather

as a way to engage in a discourse with his reader; eliciting critically thinking and questioning.

Dualities as employed by Pallasmaa are far from black and white; they unfold in shades of grey

(50 to be exact). Even in the comparing and contrasting examples of architectural precedents,

Pallasmaa stays away from statements of ‘absolutes’. He criticizes much of the development

of Modern architecture as contributing to the hegemonic eye28 and yet speaks of the sensual or

experiential qualities in the architecture of Mies or Le Corbusier. Of course, he never posits an

evaluation as immutable and universal, as seen in the following discourse regarding Modernism

and Le Corbusier:

“The dominant sense of vision figures strongly in the writings of the Modernists. Statements by

Le Corbusier - such as: ‘ I exist in life only if I can see’; ‘I am and I remain an impenitent visual -

everything is in the visual’; ‘One needs to see clearly in order to understand’; ‘I urge you to open

your eyes. Do you open your eyes? Are you trained to open your eyes? Do you know how to open

your eyes, do you open them often, always, well?’; ‘Man looks at the creation of architecture with

his eyes, which are 5 feet 6 inches form the ground.’; and, ‘Architecture is a plastic thing. I mean

27 Pallasmaa, Juhani, loc. 450

28 Pallasmaa, Juhani, loc. 367

Monica Blain History of Theory | Professor Mark Wigley GSAPP 2013 11

 by “plastic” what is seen and measured by the eyes’ [SIDE BAR]

- make the privileging of the eye in early Modernist [While I cannot confirm the veracity of this

theory very clear. Further declarations by Walter claim, I have repeatedly heard it said that in

Gropius - ‘He [the designer] has to adapt knowledge scholarly writing one should strive to present

of the scientific facts of optics and thus obtain a arguments or evidence in groups of three; the

theoretical ground that will guide the hand giving potential ‘duality’ latent in pairs subconsciouly
suggesting contradiction, manipulation and/or
shape, in an objective basis’; and by László Moholy-
suspicion in the mind of the reader. For reasons
Nagy: ‘The hygiene of the optical, the health of the
I cannot entirely articulate, I find it absurd to
visible is slowly filtering through’ confirm the central
imagine Pallasmaa ‘writing in threes’. Threes
role of vision in Modernist thought. Le Corbusier’s
would shatter the careful balance Pallasmaa
famous credo, ‘Architecture is the masterly, correct
acheives while offering one thing in one hand
and magnificent play of masses brought together in
and, whether similar or dissimilar, something
light’ unquestionably defines an architecture of the
else in the other. The symmetry with which he
eye.”29
composes his writing, delivers his arguments

This criticism would seem to suggest that Pallasmaa and, for that matter integrates images,

holds Modernist architecture in a negative light, and serves only to strengthen his position and,

yet he immediately counters: paradoxically, evoke unity. Moving ‘between

hands’, Pallasmaa succeeds in subtely and

“Le Corbusier, however, was a great artistic talent
non-verbally reinforcing the plasticity of
with a moulding hand, and a tremendous sense
perception and experience that suffuse his
of materiality, plasticity and gravity, all of which
philosophy.]
prevented his architecture from turning into sensory

reductivism. Regardless of Le Corbusier’s Cartesian

ocularcentric exclamations, the hand had a similar

fetishistic role in his work as the eye. A vigorous

29 loc 504-520

12 Monica Blain History of Theory | Professor Mark Wigley GSAPP 2013

element of tactility is present in Le Corbusier’s sketches and paintings, and this haptic sensibility

is incorporated into his regard for architecture.”30 For Pallasmaa, the world is never absolute but

rich in ambiguity and a polyphony of sensory and cognital inputs which allow for the infinite

multiplicity that characterizes architectural experience and place-making.

While illuminating opposition within one’s argument may seem equivocal to some (and yes, it

can prove deadly in pushing an agenda) a dialectical ambiguity in either the sentence structure or

concept at hand actually strengthens Pallasmaa’s case. A surface, for example, considered in light

of a phenomenological theory of perception, cannot be deemed either rough or smooth - as either

one thing or the other. Holding a latent potential for each, a surface is experienced, embodied and

consequently defined through the lens of memory, imagination, setting, culture, identity.

While not directly quoting this particular element of philosophy, it is evident in the structure of his

writing that Pallasmaa has been greatly influenced by the French philosopher Maurice Merleau-

Ponty. In Merleau-Ponty’s study of perception and consciousness and the experience of ‘self’ in

the world, he too rejects absolute determinacy, positing instead that something can be both the

reverse and the observe of itself: What we call ‘opposites’ are actually two sides of the same coin.

One cannot be conceived of without awareness of the other. One cannot evaluate smoothness

without also understanding the rough.

The choice of title, The Eyes of the Skin, (besides expressing the importance of the tactile in

architectural experience,) was intentionally conceived to “...create a conceptual short circuit

between the dominant sense of vision and the suppressed sense modality of touch.”31 The

technique of ‘short-circuiting’ is also present in a number of chapter headings - The Taste of Stone,

Acoustic Intimacy, Spaces of Scent, The Shape of Touch, Images of Action. Each of these headings

juxtapose an idea with a sensory modality or other concept that at first glance seems disingenuous:

30 loc 522
31 Pallasmaa, Juhani loc.162

Monica Blain History of Theory | Professor Mark Wigley GSAPP 2013 13

 Stone is not tasted it is touched or seen, spaces aren’t composed of scent, intimacy is tactile not

acoustic, and how can a still image be active?32 33 This device is a distortion of what we known as

the logical, immediate manner of relation; it creates an intentional confusion of the senses that,

whether through reflection or intuition, we nonetheless come to accept and understand as part of

the human experience.

When I think ‘stone’ I think about what it looks like, what its texture, color, temperature is. But

without actually licking it, I ‘know’ exactly what it tastes like, how it feels on my tongue. In my

mind I feel stone on my tongue, I react to its taste. The imagined is an embodied experience.

It is critical to point out Pallasmaa’s imagery; always delivered in pairs, the images serve either to

juxtapose contrasting ideas or reinforce the universality of concepts across cultures and disciplines.

Pallasmaa’s images, along with their captions, the chapter heading and the critical first sentence of

the dialogue, are organized in the following pages as evidence, as well as for evocation.

With extensive notes and poignant imagery, The Eyes of the Skin is both deeply felt and highly

intellectual. With countless philosophical and architectural references, Pallasmaa’s book contains

a broad range of highly sophisticated ideas, and yet refuses to be academic for the sake of academia.

The accessibility of his ideas, proved to be intentional and well executed, accounts for this book’s

renown across a versatile and transdiscliplinary community.

32 Note: One might even say that Pallasmaa is telling us to accept the Green Cheese Theory Of Architecture.
33 Let it be Green Cheese Architecture for that matter!

14 Monica Blain History of Theory | Professor Mark Wigley GSAPP 2013

Chapter - Vision And Knowledge

Vision And Knowledge

In Western culture, sight has historically

been regarded as the noblest of the

senses, and thinking itself thought of in

terms of seeing.

Chapter - Oral vs Visual Space

Oral vs Visual Space

But man has not always been dominated

by vision. Intact, a primordial dominance

of hearing has only gradually been

replaced by that of vision. loc. 432

Monica Blain History of Theory | Professor Mark Wigley GSAPP 2013 15

 Chapter - Retinal Architecture and the Loss of Plasticity

Retinal Architecture
and the Loss of Plasticity

It is evident that the architecture of

traditional cultures is also essentially

connected with the tacit wisdom of

the body, instead of being visually

and conceptually dominated.

loc. 481

Chapter - Materiality and Time

Materiality and Time

The flatness of today’s standard

construction is strengthened by a

weakened sense of materiality. loc. 585

16 Monica Blain History of Theory | Professor Mark Wigley GSAPP 2013

Chapter - The Rejection of Alberti’s Window

The Rejection of Alberti’s Window

The eye itself has not, of course,

remained in the monocular, fixed

construction defined by Renaissance

theories of perspective. The hegemonic

eye has conquered new ground for visual

perception and expression. loc. 629

Chapter - Multi-Sensory Experience

Multi-Sensory Experience

A walk through the forest is invigorating

and healing due to the constraint

interaction of all sense modalities;

Bachelard speaks of the ‘polyphony of

the senses’. loc. 89

Monica Blain History of Theory | Professor Mark Wigley GSAPP 2013 17

 Chapter - The Significance of the Shadow

The Significance of the Shadow

A walk through the forest is invigorating

and healing due to the constraint

interaction of all sense modalities;

Bachelard speaks of the ‘polyphony of

the senses’. loc. 89

Chapter - Silence, Time and Solitude

Silence, Time and Solitude

The most essential auditory experience

created by architecture is tranquility.

18 Monica Blain History of Theory | Professor Mark Wigley GSAPP 2013

Chapter - The Shape of Touch

The Shape of Touch

‘[H]ands are a complicated

organism, a delta in which life
from the most distant sources flows

together surging into the great

current of action.’ . loc. 1168

Chapter - Images of Muscle and Bone

Images of Muscle and Bone

Primitive man used his own body as

the dimensioning and proportioning

system of his constructions. loc. 1239

Monica Blain History of Theory | Professor Mark Wigley GSAPP 2013 19

 Chapter - Bodily Identification

Bodily Identification

The authenticity of architectural

experience is grounded in the

tectonic language of building and
the comprehensibility of the act of
construction to the senses. loc. 1310

Chapter - Spaces of Memory and Imagination

Spaces of Memory and Imagination

We have an innate capacity for

remembering and imagining places.

loc. 1364

20 Monica Blain History of Theory | Professor Mark Wigley GSAPP 2013

Monica Blain History of Theory | Professor Mark Wigley GSAPP 2013 21