Movies are the best narrators of how psychologically important architectural design is.
We say only humans can speak to each other. Is that so? Then some would raise their hands and say, of course not. Animals also communicate in their own languages. The third says, that even plants do, otherwise how else would they survive? And the list ends. Nobody has any more suggestions since we almost included the whole of living beings and they are the only ones who communicate. Right? What about air? Or maybe water or stone or fire? Do they communicate with us in some way or the other? What about all other non-living things?
“Realizations lead to research. The primary objective of this research paper would be to understand more about Psychology and its implications in the field of Architecture and Cinema.”
When you feel it, you believe it. It is the case with most of us. Let alone architecture, rarely that we believe, that even a single piece of non-living thing in this world could affect us psychologically or rather control our emotions. Then it happens, like for a year after staying in the small and congested room, we finally move into a larger space, and suddenly that change revamps the whole routine, making life a whole lot easier.
Realizations lead to research. The primary objective of this research paper would be to understand more about Psychology and its implications in the field of Architecture and Cinema. When these two topics are brought together the inevitable task of dealing with many unsolved and untouched mysteries remains valiant in front. Being researchers and learners we could not ask for more than ample opportunities to explore and expose ourselves to new horizons of knowledge.
Hypothesis
Research in this theme relating to Psychology, Cinema, and Architecture would enable deriving a well-defined formula on how they work together and how well can they complement each other. Especially for the generations to come, architecture should not be merely for shelter and cinema for entertainment. They must be tools to create, innovate and improve human psychological development through understanding the approaches made by each of them upon us. Silver screens can be the best canvas to portray the diversity of colors and experiences that these three together can bring to the audience- Psychology, Architecture, and Cinema.
Literature Review
Environmental psychology is the key to understanding architecture’s relation with psychology and its significance. A vast subject within itself it plays a major role in understanding how architecture stimulates behavioral and social changes. What does a person feel in an environment? What stimulates the feeling? How does it change with change in environment? How coherent and legible the environment is? What motivates them to seek places where they feel competent and confident? The bar of behavioral effectiveness in people can be pushed by the design of the environment in accordance with the inhabitants.
So where does cinema or moving media fit in here? When we watch a scene from a movie what we actually perceive from it depends on the ambiance of the scene and space. That is where architecture comes into play. There is no better replacement in the industry of cinema for creating appropriate ambiance in a particular shot, other than architecture. The kind of architecture, the landscape, urban sprawl, etc. convey a fair idea of the mood of that particular scene or shot. I happened to see a compilation of clips by James Munn from movies, which beautifully portrays, the emphasis of modern residential architecture’s open spaces, transparency, and simple materials in making appealing cinema. Movies are the best narrators of how psychologically important architectural design is.
Architizer magazine recently had an article published which travels through the history of modern architecture through movies. Starting off with Art Nouveau, the curvilinear forms and biophilic designs, are portrayed with complete beauty in movies like Midnight in Paris. The movie treats us with sinuous lines and surfaces of Art Nouveau. Then coming to the Futurist approach in movies like ‘The Fifth Element, echoes the urban aspirations of Futurists, through dense skyscrapers and rapid transportation. Architect Antonio Sant’ Elia also envisioned towering and interconnected forms that a futurist society could inhabit. The Art Deco depictions in Metropolis, of a dystopian future, also contained elements of Gothic to Futurist. Another movie North by Northwest features a house based on the work of Prairie School master Frank Lloyd Wright. Fascist Architecture, Modernism, Brutalism, Parametric designs, etc. all had their own significant roles to play in various movies.
Recently, the involvement of architecture in visual communication has increased so much that even styles in the name of artists have started emerging. ‘Daft Punkitecture’ is one of those which characterizes architecture that captures the Daft Punk retro feel. From ‘Phantasy Landscape’ by Verner Panton to ‘Shell house’ by Artechnic and Libeskind’s ‘The Crystal’, architecture has taken the role of protagonist in this contemporary world of cinema.
There is an essential banality in saying that architecture is something experienced from the outside. Scottish filmmaker Murray Grigor once said: “To comprehend architecture, one needs to move through its spaces. After all, that’s how we all experience buildings; inside and outside: we walk, we cook, and we pass through space. Perspectives are revealed. Corners turned. Scale changes. The depth dimension is revealed. Details can be explored.” Carl Jung, the father of analytical psychology, once described architecture as analogous to the human psyche. It is often serving as a vehicle for conveying our deepest thoughts and that is exactly what moving media require.
When we closely analyze the Psychology in Architecture we find that mathematical philosophies and interpretations have a lot to contribute. Earlier mathematicians with an understanding of Platonic philosophies, Pythagorean maxim, and Golden ratio had managed to produce designs that were timeless. Many studies and research have shown that these two fields- Mathematics and Architecture- are indistinguishable disciplines. ‘Gestalt’ kind of concepts contribute much to the otherwise considered more minimalist approach in modern architecture. Psycho-evolutionary framework by Roger Ulrich and prospect and refuge theory by Jay Appleton are a few of the many theories that enable a movie maker to instigate certain feelings in the audience through architecture. Kaplan’s Attention Restoration theory (ART) explains how natural settings suit more ideally for restoring directed attention, another involvement of psychology in both architectures as well as cinema.
References
Creating Architectural Theory: The role of behavioral sciences in Environmental design; by Jon Lang
Salingaros N.A. 1999, “Architecture, Patterns and Mathematics” Nexus Network Journal 1 No. 2
Le Corbusier: Towards a New Architecture, Translated by Frederick Etchelles, London: Architectural Press
Jay Appleton (born 1919) is a British geographer who proposed 'habitat theory' and advanced the notion of 'prospect-refuge'.
Kaplan, R., & Kaplan, S. (1989). The experience of nature: A psychological perspective. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
Ulrich, R. S. (1981). Natural versus urban scenes— Some psychophysiological effects. Environment and Behavior, 13, 523–556.
Eaton, L. (1998). Fractal geometry in the late work of Frank Lloyd Wright. In K. Williams (Ed.), Nexus II: Architecture and Mathematics 1998 (pp. 23– 38). Florence, Italy: Edizioni Dell’Erba.
A Report on Psychology & Architecture by W. Bro. Victor G. Popow, Dec 2000. V1
Edelson Z. 2013, A Brief History Of Modern Architecture Through Movies, [online] https://architizer.com, Available at: https://architizer.com/blog/history-of-modern-architecture-through-movies [Accessed 21 April. 2017]
Jorge Luengo Ruiz , Architecture in Cinema. 2017, video, [online] https://vimeo.com, Available at: https://vimeo.com/213544574, viewed 15 2017
James Munn, Design in Film- The Modern house, 2014, video, viewed 12 April 2017, <https://vimeo.com/72833868>
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