Juhani Pallasmaa – författare

Leading neuroscientists and architects explore how the built environment affects our behavior, thoughts, emotions, and well-being.

Although we spend more than ninety percent of our lives inside buildings, we understand very little about how the built environment affects our behavior, thoughts, emotions, and well-being. We are biological beings whose senses and neural systems have developed over millions of years; it stands to reason that research in the life sciences, particularly neuroscience, can offer compelling insights into the ways our buildings shape our interactions with the world. This expanded understanding can help architects design buildings that support both mind and body. In Mind in Architecture, leading thinkers from architecture and other disciplines, including neuroscience, cognitive science, psychiatry, and philosophy, explore what architecture and neuroscience can learn from each other. They offer historical context, examine the implications for current architectural practice and education, and imagine a neuroscientifically informed architecture of the future.

Architecture is late in discovering the richness of neuroscientific research. As scientists were finding evidence for the bodily basis of mind and meaning, architecture was caught up in convoluted cerebral games that denied emotional and bodily reality altogether. This volume maps the extraordinary opportunity that engagement with cutting-edge neuroscience offers present-day architects.

ContributorsThomas D. Albright, Michael Arbib, John Paul Eberhard, Melissa Farling, Vittorio Gallese, Alessandro Gattara, Mark L. Johnson, Harry Francis Mallgrave, Iain McGilchrist, Juhani Pallasmaa, Alberto Pérez-Gómez, Sarah Robinson

This book, first published in Finnish in 1985 under the title Aalto, is a critical introduction to Finnish architect Alvar Aalto (1898–1976), written by one of Aalto’s Finnish architectural contemporaries, Kirmo Mikkola (1934–1986). The book is divided into six sections dealing with different aspects of Aalto’s architecture, from his classical beginnings to urban planning, as well as his various professional and intellectual associates.

Mikkola debunks the common opinion of a reticent Aalto to determine the roots of his thinking, seeing him as a mediator of influences from a wide variety of sources. The book was originally targeted at a Finnish audience, and so its translation requires ‘interpreters’, two architect-scholars who knew Mikkola well, Juhani Pallasmaa, and Aino Niskanen. The book also sheds light on a young generation of Finnish architects that distanced itself from Aalto as a role model, pinpointed here by the inclusion of the essay ‘Snowballs’ (1948) by Aulis Blomstedt.

Often quoted by Finnish architectural scholars, the publication finally of an English translation of Mikkola’s book will appeal to those international scholars and students who have been aware of the lack of critical perspectives from Aalto’s Finnish architect contemporaries.

This book, first published in Finnish in 1985 under the title Aalto, is a critical introduction to Finnish architect Alvar Aalto (1898–1976), written by one of Aalto’s Finnish architectural contemporaries, Kirmo Mikkola (1934–1986). The book is divided into six sections dealing with different aspects of Aalto’s architecture, from his classical beginnings to urban planning, as well as his various professional and intellectual associates.

Mikkola debunks the common opinion of a reticent Aalto to determine the roots of his thinking, seeing him as a mediator of influences from a wide variety of sources. The book was originally targeted at a Finnish audience, and so its translation requires ‘interpreters’, two architect-scholars who knew Mikkola well, Juhani Pallasmaa, and Aino Niskanen. The book also sheds light on a young generation of Finnish architects that distanced itself from Aalto as a role model, pinpointed here by the inclusion of the essay ‘Snowballs’ (1948) by Aulis Blomstedt.

Often quoted by Finnish architectural scholars, the publication finally of an English translation of Mikkola’s book will appeal to those international scholars and students who have been aware of the lack of critical perspectives from Aalto’s Finnish architect contemporaries.

A collection of the writing of the highly influential architect, Juhani Pallasmaa, presented in short, easily accessible, and condensed ideas ideal for students

Juhani Pallasmaa is one of Finland’s most distinguished architects and architectural thinkers, publishing around 60 books and several hundred essays and shorter pieces over his career. His influential works have inspired undergraduate and postgraduate students of architecture and related disciplines for decades. In this compilation of excerpts of his writing, readers can discover his key concepts and thoughts in one easily accessible, comprehensive volume.

Inseminations: Seeds for Architectural Thought is a delightful collection of thoughtful ideas and compositions that float between academic essay and philosophical reflection. Wide in scope, it offers entries covering: atmospheres; biophilic beauty; embodied understanding; imperfection; light and shadow; newness and nowness; nostalgia; phenomenology of architecture; sensory thought; silence; time and eternity; uncertainty, and much more.

Inseminations: Seeds for Architectural Thought will appeal to undergraduate students in architecture, design, urban studies, and related disciplines worldwide.

First published in 1996, The Eyes of the Skin has become a classic of architectural theory. It asks the far-reaching question why, when there are five senses, has one single sense – sight – become so predominant in architectural culture and design? With the ascendancy of the digital and the all-pervasive use of the image electronically, it is a subject that has become all the more pressing and topical since the first edition’s publication in the mid-1990s. Juhani Pallasmaa argues that the suppression of the other four sensory realms has led to the overall impoverishment of our built environment, often diminishing the emphasis on the spatial experience of a building and architecture’s ability to inspire, engage and be wholly life enhancing.

For every student studying Pallasmaa’s classic text for the first time, The Eyes of the Skin is a revelation. It compellingly provides a totally fresh insight into architectural culture. This third edition meets readers’ desire for a further understanding of the context of Pallasmaa’s thinking by providing a new essay by architectural author and educator Peter MacKeith. This text combines both a biographical portrait of Pallasmaa and an outline of his architectural thinking, its origins and its relationship to the wider context of Nordic and European thought, past and present. The focus of the essay is on the fundamental humanity, insight and sensitivity of Pallasmaa’s approach to architecture, bringing him closer to the reader. This is illustrated by Pallasmaa’s sketches and photographs of his own work. The new edition also provides a foreword by the internationally renowned architect Steven Holl and a revised introduction by Pallasmaa himself.

First published in 1996, The Eyes of the Skin has become a classic of architectural theory. It asks the far-reaching question why, when there are five senses, has one single sense – sight – become so predominant in architectural culture and design? With the ascendancy of the digital and the all-pervasive use of the image electronically, it is a subject that has become all the more pressing and topical since the first edition’s publication in the mid-1990s. Juhani Pallasmaa argues that the suppression of the other four sensory realms has led to the overall impoverishment of our built environment, often diminishing the emphasis on the spatial experience of a building and architecture’s ability to inspire, engage and be wholly life enhancing.

For every student studying Pallasmaa’s classic text for the first time, The Eyes of the Skin is a revelation. It compellingly provides a totally fresh insight into architectural culture. This third edition meets readers’ desire for a further understanding of the context of Pallasmaa’s thinking by providing a new essay by architectural author and educator Peter MacKeith. This text combines both a biographical portrait of Pallasmaa and an outline of his architectural thinking, its origins and its relationship to the wider context of Nordic and European thought, past and present. The focus of the essay is on the fundamental humanity, insight and sensitivity of Pallasmaa’s approach to architecture, bringing him closer to the reader. This is illustrated by Pallasmaa’s sketches and photographs of his own work. The new edition also provides a foreword by the internationally renowned architect Steven Holl and a revised introduction by Pallasmaa himself.

Explore the relationship between architecture and the sensory experience with the fourth edition of this groundbreaking work

First published in 1996, The Eyes of the Skin is a classic of architectural theory. It asks the far-reaching question why, when there are five senses, is one single sense—sight—so predominant in architectural culture and design? With the ascendancy of the digital and the all-pervasive use of the image electronically, the subject is all the more pressing and topical since the first edition’s publication. Juhani Pallasmaa argues that the suppression of the other four sensory realms has led to the overall impoverishment of our built environment, often diminishing the emphasis on the spatial experience of a building and architecture’s ability to inspire, engage and be wholly life enhancing.

For a student reading this text for the first time, The Eyes of the Skin is a revelation. It provides a fresh, compelling insight into architectural culture which continues to inspire more than a quarter-century after its initial publication.

The fourth edition of The Eyes of the Skin also features:

The Eyes of the Skin is a must-read for all architecture students, who will find its insights transformative.

Explore the relationship between architecture and the sensory experience with the fourth edition of this groundbreaking work

First published in 1996, The Eyes of the Skin is a classic of architectural theory. It asks the far-reaching question why, when there are five senses, is one single sense—sight—so predominant in architectural culture and design? With the ascendancy of the digital and the all-pervasive use of the image electronically, the subject is all the more pressing and topical since the first edition’s publication. Juhani Pallasmaa argues that the suppression of the other four sensory realms has led to the overall impoverishment of our built environment, often diminishing the emphasis on the spatial experience of a building and architecture’s ability to inspire, engage and be wholly life enhancing.

For a student reading this text for the first time, The Eyes of the Skin is a revelation. It provides a fresh, compelling insight into architectural culture which continues to inspire more than a quarter-century after its initial publication.

The fourth edition of The Eyes of the Skin also features:

The Eyes of the Skin is a must-read for all architecture students, who will find its insights transformative.

Discover the insights and lessons of architect Juhani Pallasmaa

In Rootedness: Reflections for Young Architects, Juhani Pallasmaa delivers an insightful and expansive collection of his most compelling ideas into architecture’s position among arts and culture. Pallasmaa speaks to architecture students and young professionals, discussing each topic with sincerity and openness, suggesting what can be learned from areas of culture beyond the boundaries of familiar professional disciplines. He outlines the growing need for an architecture based in self-awareness, reconnection to the environment, and a sense of ethical responsibility.

Each essay in Rootedness was initially conceived and presented as an educational lecture and has been carefully edited with clarifications, refinements, and valuable expansions. Accompanying sketches by the author emphasize the personal and intimate nature of the essays. The book also includes:

Designed for students of architecture at any age, Rootedness: Reflections for Young Architects will also inspire professional architects, designers, and those in other creative professions.

Discover the insights and lessons of architect Juhani Pallasmaa

In Rootedness: Reflections for Young Architects, Juhani Pallasmaa delivers an insightful and expansive collection of his most compelling ideas into architecture’s position among arts and culture. Pallasmaa speaks to architecture students and young professionals, discussing each topic with sincerity and openness, suggesting what can be learned from areas of culture beyond the boundaries of familiar professional disciplines. He outlines the growing need for an architecture based in self-awareness, reconnection to the environment, and a sense of ethical responsibility.

Each essay in Rootedness was initially conceived and presented as an educational lecture and has been carefully edited with clarifications, refinements, and valuable expansions. Accompanying sketches by the author emphasize the personal and intimate nature of the essays. The book also includes:

Designed for students of architecture at any age, Rootedness: Reflections for Young Architects will also inspire professional architects, designers, and those in other creative professions.