THE RADICAL #31

FOUNDER’S NOTE VOLUME 31

The senses of space are often described in terms of sight. We understand buildings with our eyes and what we see in front of us. How does the light fall onto the wall? Where is the bathroom? Two left turn past the bar. The signs tell us where to find the bathroom and we can see how many stairs we have to walk up but only as far as we can see. There might be 1000 stairs in a building but without knowing in advance you can only prepare yourself for 10. At what point do you start to use other senses to figure out how to navigate a building, and more importantly, how to feel a building. My point here is that buildings have the opportunity to emote. They smell based on both materials used to build them and the people in them. Buildings have texture to touch, and sounds that bounce throughout the volumes. Some buildings could be described as instruments even. We can even point to Ed Ruscha’s, “Chocolate Room”, which is made up of 360 screen prints made from Nestlé’s chocolate. Ruscha assesses the physical and psychological properties of chocolate and how he could manipulate these qualities as a deliberate act of provocation. We are in search for something similar at M-Rad. That moment when all you can focus on is that moment. When all senses are engaged and exercised simultaneously all that is left is experience and emotion. It’s time to start designing for five senses.

To better buildings,
Matthew Rosenberg, Founder + CEO

THE RADICAL

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