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St Barnabas CathedralThis Roman Catholic Church was designed by Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin and built between 1841 and 1844. The exterior of the church is bold with few decorative details which causes quite a shock when entering the church because the interior is the complete opposite. There is a lot of gothic detail within the church, including the stain glass windows and detailed stone masonry around the arches and the ceiling. As I walked into the building I immediately notice the standard stereotyped smell and silence expected from a church. This is something I did not get when visiting the other location as they were not how I anticipated them to be. The church has been constructed to last using very substantial materials such as large stone and thick curved wooden beams.
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The Park TunnelThe production of this tunnel was overseen by architect Thomas Chambers Hine however the idea was originally proposed in 1827 by Peter Frederick Robinson. The tunnel was never used as intended, to be a main through route to the park. Nonetheless it is still to this day one of the main features of the area because of its unusualness. Due to the similarities the tunnel has with a cave I wasn't surprised by how damp, dark and cold the tunnel was. When inside the tunnel there is a deadly silence that is broken by an echo of sudden noises. It is also hard not to notice the shire size of the tunnel and that the sandstone it is made from doesn’t look very structurally sound. It's almost as if pieces would fall off at any time.
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The Last Trip To JerusalemIt has been established that the caves connecting the brew house and the castle dates back to 1189AD however there are no official records of the Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem until 1618. From looking around the pub it is clear to see this is nothing like a traditional pub that many people visit today. The contrast between building and cave is quite unique and like the Park Tunnel a very cold, damp space is conveyed. The rough uneven walls aren’t something that I would directly relate to the interior of a pub and therefore without the direct visual appearance of the surrounding furnishings it would be hard to tell the immediate use of such a space.
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The Magistrates CourtThis building can be found on the site of Nottingham Carrington street railway station and was designed by Nottingham County Councils architect’s department. My first impressions of this building was that it looked very much like a less striking and aesthetically pleasing version of the rear of The White House. The inside is large, bright, open planned and extremely modern in comparison to the other locations. The high ceilings and wide columns give an impression of power and authority which is something I would expect from a magistrates court.
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Alberti, Pallasmaa and Hills text
In Pallasma’s section of chapter 4 it is clear he is in favour of architecture being acknowledged through all the senses and not just vision. He believes that vision detaches the other senses and that people do not get the opportunity to appreciate architecture for what it really is. I feel the following quote expresses this well “The loss of focus brought about the stream of images may emancipate the eye from its patriarchal domination and give rise to a participatory and empathetic gaze” (page 130 lines 16-18). I believe in this quote Pallasma is trying to convey that a true understanding of a building cannot be obtained purely by looking at images because not all the senses can be utilized. Instead people should visit architecture first hand and set themselves free to “gaze” and take in their surroundings. He feels that architecture is becoming too much for itself and less and less for the people. This makes it harder for architecture to be experienced through the senses i.e. feeling, listening and smelling. Using all the senses to build a strong first impression is important as this is the whole idea behind phenomenology and how we perceive a building/architecture.
Phenomenology
This is often related to the works of Husserl and Heidegger who studied this area of Philosophy and wrote about how we interpret architecture and structure. This is something that focuses on the consciousness of the body and how we perceive a space through the senses. Our initial awareness of our surroundings and the first judgements we make are often the most important and are what we remember a certain place by. Phenomenology shows us that we connect with a space not only through sight but also touch, sound and smell. We then use these senses to build our own understanding on scale, proportion, material, light and geometry within a space. If an architect is able to understand the concept behind phenomenology they will struggle to design a space that people can connect with and understand.