De Humani Corporis Fabrica – Fabricating Emotions through Architecture

De Humani Corporis Fabrica – Fabricating Emotions through Architecture
Maria da Piedade Ferreira, Andreas Kretzer, José Pinto Duarte, Didier Stricker, Benjamin Schenkenberger, Markus Weber, Takumi Toyama
34th eCAADe Conference - Volume 1 Education and Research in Computer Aided Architectural Design in Europe (eCAADe-34), August 22-26, Oulu, Finland

Abstract:

This paper describes an experiment that took place as the last day of the elective course "De Humani Corporis Fabrica - Fabricating Emotions through Architecture". The goal of the Experiment was to evaluate the emotional experience of 1:1 scale architectural settings. The Experiment was part of the research for a PhD thesis which describes the relationship between architecture and the body since Vitruvius until the current theories of embodiment. The referred to thesis proposes the incorporation of the corporeal practices of performance art in the teaching of Architecture and combines these with the use of emotion measurement methodologies in order to evaluate the experience of architectural space and design objects during the design process. Psycho-physiological changes in the body's sensory perception during the performances were evaluated through the combined use of biometric technology (e-health platform), a Presence Questionnaire and a SAM chart. The course was attended by 4 students who participated as subjects in the Experiment. The Experiment had the technical support of the DFKI - Deutsches Forschungszentrum für Künstliche Intelligenz, which provided the machinery necessary to collect the biometric data during the Experiment and the knowledge needed to process them.

Keywords:

Corporeal Architecture; Performance Art; Emotion Measurement; Pedagogy