THE RAW AND THE COOKED : A SENSORIAL FRAMEWORK FOR EVALUATING ARCHITECTURE

Abstract

The essence of the architectural experience lies in its multisensory nature. Architectural quality is transcendental and does not lie in the material itself; the latter only serves as a corporeal medium through which we experience the effable qualities of space. The way of thinking and making architecture has very much to do with materiality and it is in this respect that this dissertation seeks to examine the experiential qualities of space. Architecture can be viewed as a way of thinking about materials – not just their sensory qualities and the way of assemblage, but also how the way in which they are expressed shift the perception of space. The disciplines of architecture and gastronomy, both seen as a way of making, require an extensive knowledge of materials and undergo similar procedures of production. This paper attempts to prove that the art of eating and cooking can be a valuable interrogatory tool for the holistic examination of the sensory aspect of architecture and its way of making. Food is used as a vehicle to explore ideas of material and spatial expression; food categories of “raw” and “cooked” are employed to investigate the emergent characteristics and experiential qualities of architectural works by Peter Zumthor and Herzog & de Meuron respectively, whose works are selected because they operate on the same sensorial level dealing with materiality. Apparent extremes between “raw” and “cooked” are evaluated not as simple oppositions or measures of success, but as equally rich modes of design approach to architecture of materiality.