sensescape (2019)
harvard gsd core studio - elements of urban design
fall 2019
instructor: mark heller
in collaboration with woowon chung & youngju kim
The project starts with defining 'autonomy' within an urban environment. Since it is hard for urban designers or planners to control various sensory stimulations generated from all over the city, human bodies function autonomously along with their sensory system; visual, olfactory, auditory, gustatory, and somatosensory. By categorizing 42 sensory factors within the five systems, the project creates a matrix of simulations based on the survey taken. It tries to measure the numeric value of stimuli, from -10 to +10, which people experience in the city. The matrix redefines the hierarchy of intensity and preference of such stimulation. With a new classification system of stimulations, the city of Boston could be reinterpreted and visualized by mapping five sensory factors. Various stimulations create new boundaries of specific senses, which show clear discrepancies from the physical boundaries formed by previous urban planning or zoning process. For example, Chinatown and Backbay, which are considered as totally separated areas, are well connected via olfactory and gustatory stimulations. By focusing on the ‘sense’ as an instrument to understand the city, the project tries to seek how the city is actually experienced by people, by diving into a neighborhood scale, and human scale.