27/06/2014

Pritzker Architecture Prize Jury Member Juhani Pallasmaa Gives Talk at UIC as Part of ESARQ Forum

On Thursday, 10 May 2012, architect Juhani Pallasmaa, who was a member of the jury for the Pritzker Architecture Prize, gave a talk about the key role played by personal perceptions and emotions in the architectural experience, as part of the 2012 ESARQ Forum lecture series.

On
Thursday, 10 May 2012, Finnish architect Juhani Pallasmaa
delivered a lecture to an audience made up of about a hundred students and
Barcelona-based architects. His talk focused on the importance of space, site,
atmosphere and personal perception in one's experience of architecture, and
above all, the importance of living architecture.

At
the beginning of his lecture, the speaker said, “Architecture professionals
have an amazing ability to instantly grasp an atmosphere”. For that reason, Pallasmaa stated that the unconscious,
peripheral and unfocused perception of reality plays a crucial role in our
understanding of architecture and concluded that it is important to realize its
value.

Pallasmaa,
who was mentored by Professor Aulis
Blomstedt, has written numerous
articles on cultural philosophy, architecture and artistic theories, and is the
author of the books The Eyes of the Skin and
The Thinking Hand, which are both
published by Gustau Gili. The renowned architect is also responsible for
architectural works in 30 countries.