On a recent ski trip to Squaw Valley I was reminded of a simple truth of architecture and of life…the environment we are in shapes who we are and how we feel. As I sat listening to the sounds of Etta James, Nina Simone, and Otis Redding courtesy of a friend with impeccable music taste, my brain was simply overwhelmed with a sense of calm and peace.
It was impossible to be anything but placid, as these melodious sounds burst over the home’s integrated sound system. Sure, there is no calm like the rest after a long day of skiing, a brief visit to the hot tub, and a drink with friends, but the music had a profound effect as well. I found myself entering a state of relaxation that I had previously only felt on the massage table.
It didn’t stop there though. Not only was the music a contributor to full relaxation, but it was also a catalyst for healthy living. The mundane tasks of cooking and cleaning became fun. The attention sucking TV box gave way to a background for group conversation, reading, and simply reflecting on the beauty of the place and the space that we were in… and it was beautiful.
This begs a question. If music can have such a profound effect, what about our other senses? What happens when your eyes take note of the dancing pattern of shadows and light created by a unique windowscape? When your hands brush across a familiar material that recalls childhood memories of playing in the woods? When a fragrance reminds you of grandma’s house and the wonderful times you had there?
The senses are a direct road to our soul, and similar to an artist, a good architect uses the palette of tools before him to evoke specific emotions and feelings. Unique use of scale, light, proportion, and material, combined with proper planning, can produce environments that are tailor-made to the activities that take place there and the people that experience them.
Ask someone about a space that they love and chances are you won’t get a report on the exact temperature, the dimensions of the room, and scientific properties of the materials that were used. You’ll get an answer like “It felt so cozy” or “I always felt at peace there”. It is the call of an architect to use building science in an artistic way to create spaces of lasting memory and significance.