Perception of Space

Desde o final do séc. XX, os dados relativos à evolução da população idosa apresentam um crescimento, verificado nos países desenvolvidos bem como nos países em desenvolvimento. O envelhecimento, de uma forma generalizada, é tratado como um estado classificado de terceira idade ou quarta idade. No entanto, o envelhecimento não é um estado, mas sim uma degradação progressiva e diferencial, que afeta todos os seres vivos.  Neste processo, a visão é especialmente sensível, por ser um órgão que é afetado de todas as suas formas – internas e externas, por estar exposto à luz, vento, poeira, produtos e situações diversas, inclusivamente por doenças do próprio organismo. Há uma redução na acuidade visual, na velocidade de perceção e um aumento no tempo necessário à adaptação, principalmente na passagem de um ambiente mais claro para um mais escuro. Há, também, uma diminuição na habilidade de perceber movimentos no campo visual periférico e uma diminuição na resistência à perturbação por ofuscamento ou contrastes excessivos.  A iluminação é, por isso, um dos fatores necessários e importantes no intuito de compensar a diminuição da acuidade visual, permitindo a identificação dos planos verticais e horizontais do espaço, contribuindo para manutenção do equilíbrio, na redução do risco de quedas e na interação entre o sistema visual e o sistema percetual. O objetivo desta proposta de investigação consiste na análise crítica e no reconhecimento de parâmetros relativos à qualidade da luz – natural e artificial – nos espaços habitacionais, no intuito de proporcionar uma melhor vivência e promover a interação entre os indivíduos idosos e o ambiente doméstico. O reconhecimento do significado da luz deve ser uma constante no desenvolvimento dos projetos de design de interiores, em geral, e nos projetos de Lighting design, em particular, com uma visão abrangente sobre a relação entre a iluminação e o envelhecimento, e com o foco centrado em quem vivência o espaço, privilegiando o conforto e a segurança, requisitos básicos para a promoção de uma melhor qualidade de vida, e na manutenção desses indivíduos nos seus ambientes sociais.

The paper intends to analyse the common ground between the field of visual perception and architectural design. The architectural product always addresses an user, who will react in a certain way towards the architectural object, towards built space, towards her/his environment in general. This relationship is bidirectional and its effects are visible both ways: we modify the environment through the designing process (architecture, urban planning, design in general) and the (built) environment modifies our behaviour. In this context, it is crucial that we understand the functioning mechanisms of the perceptual processes - which will be detailed throughout the first part of the paper. Perception is indeed a very complex process, that involves gathering information through our senses; processing it - which implies analysing the received information and comparing it against previously gathered knowledge, based on past experiences -; and formulating particular responses - also based on previous experiences. Perception is in essence a highly creative process: although we relate to the same reality, we will perceive it in a different way according to what that environment means to each of us. The second part of the paper will study several parallel theories on perception developed by architects, urban planners and psychologists. We will also pay special attention to several conclusions reached by Jean Piaget and Bärbel Inhelder upon the way in which perception develops from an early age. These studies are essential in establishing a growth and progression pattern throughout childhood, relating it to the different stages of the development process of space perception. Finally, the third part will present two case studies focusing on the manner in which users, with different cultural backgrounds, perceive the space they inhabit and, another two case studies, which show how and why users change their environment - cases in which the designer failed to produce spaces with meaning according to the users’ paradigm.

"Concerning the design of contemporary public open urban spaces, much debate has taken place since modernism, on the evaluation of the levels of perceptual security scrutinized upon
since the time of Camillo Sitte, who studied concepts of enclosure, groupings, open and closed structures, and irregularity of peripheral vision as means of perceptual security and pleasure. The problem becomes more complicated with the more synthetic and hybrid characteristics of modern city development, where enclosure, irregularity and proportion come in contrast with values of openness, minimalism, and cubist interpretations of design solutions. The following paper is an analysis aimed at providing a more in-depth understanding of the psychology of perception within a space, through the investigation of interpersonal functions and their relationships to the visitors, through evaluation of bound spaces (where someone may feel either comfortable, safe and protected, or restricted and smothered) and unbound spaces, (where someone may feel either free or vulnerable
and exposed). The end result is a syntactic coherence including elements of structure, theme, information availability, framing,  articulation, and path."

Çocuklarda mekan algısının, bireyin bilişsel gelişiminin tamamlanmadığı erken evrelerde başlıyor olması sebebiyle, keşfedilemeyen çok sayıda disiplinler arası potansiyeli içinde barındıran ve artan bir ilgiyle anlaşılmayı bekleyen bir konu olduğu söylenebilir. Bu anlamda, İsviçreli psikologlar Jean Piaget ve Barbel Inhelder’in birlikte yazmış olduğu “The Child’s Conception of Space (Çocuğun Mekan Kavramı)” adlı kitap, çocukların mekan algısında bilişsel süreçleri konu alan çalışmaların önde gelenlerinden biri olması sebebiyle önemlidir. Piaget ve Inhelder’a göre, çocukta mekan algısı, mantıksal bir gelişim izlemektedir ve ilk olarak ‘Topolojik’, daha sonra ‘Projektif’, en sonunda ise ‘Metrik’ bir kavrayışa bürünür. Başka bir ifadeyle, çocuğun ‘Topolojik Mekan’ kavrayışı, doğumundan itibaren algısal olarak oluşmaya başlasa da, zihinsel olarak yeniden-canlandırma evresi 2 yaşında başlar ve 7 yaşına kadar gelişmeye devam eder. Çocuğun ilk zihinsel mekan algısının oluşmaya başladığı dönem olarak bilinen 2 ile 7 yaş aralığı, Piaget’in bilişsel gelişim dönemleri sınıflandırması içerisinde ‘İşlem Öncesi Dönem’ olarak tanımlanmaktadır. ‘Topolojik Mekan’, perspektif kavramının kazanılmasıyla ‘Projektif Mekan’ kavrayışına, sonrasında ise oran, uzaklık ve büyüklük kavramlarının dahil oluşuyla ‘Metrik Mekan’a dönüşür. Bu bağlamda, ‘Projektif’ ve ‘Metrik Mekan’ın, ‘Topolojik Mekan’ anlayışının üzerine kurulu olduğu ve çocuğun mekan kavrayışının temelini oluşturduğu kabul edilebilir. Çocuğun mekan kavrayışındaki bu dönüşümü, Piaget ve Inhelder’in kabulleri üzerinden yeniden yoruma açmayı deneyen bu çalışma, sonuçlar bağlamında çocuk - mekan ikiliği üzerine keşfedilmemiş/arada kalmış yeni kavram kümelerine ulaşmayı hedefler.

Perception of space during a sleepwalking episode is one of the least observed aspects of somnambulism. Since sleepwalking occurs in a low/altered state of consciousness, a study of spatial cognition during a somnambular event can be used to identify parts of consciousness that are left awake and then, their correlation with mental processing of space. We studied 10 experiments and 20 scientific papers on parasomnia phenomena and sleepwalking to map out varying degrees of consciousness through analysis of movement patterns, level of spatial cognition skill and interaction with the environment. In addition, we used a questionnaire focused on somnambular behavior and activities to complete the analysis. Collected data was sorted, evaluated and classified according to path length, path shape, duration and frequency of sleep disorder episodes, patterns of spatial physical activity and type of interaction with the environment. Overlap of spatial cognition data with different sleep related properties such as phases, waves and neural oscillations showed distinct connections between the two levels of research. The results indicated specific patterns of spatial perception and orientation according to neural activity and neurotransmitters. Results have also shown that while the majority of sleepwalkers stay within a known environment during a somnambular episode, the ones who wander into a previously unknown space seem to have approximately the same level of spatial orientation and coordination. Therefore, the part of consciousness that remains awake during this non-REM phase of sleep may be linked to mental visualization, mapping and wayfinding, as well as spatial cognition in general.

L'ultimo ventennio ha conosciuto un incremento degli studi su Heidegger relativi alle scienze cognitive, almeno per quanto riguarda il versante filosofico di lingua anglofona. A partire dagli importanti contributi di Hubert Dreyfus (Dreyfus 1991), molti altri studiosi hanno intrapreso la strada della rilettura delle sue opere ravvisando importanti analisi che, benché esposte con un linguaggio non scientifico e a tratti oscuro, potevano essere formalizzate e risultare produttive per le scienze cognitive (Kiverstein & Wheeler 2012), ma anche in altri campi interdisciplinari come l'ergonomia (Norman 1988; Turner 2005). In particolar modo l'interesse si è innestato attorno al riconoscimento in Heidegger di un illustre antecedente del sempre più esplorato campo di ricerca dell' ¿affordance¿, termine coniato alla fine degli anni '70 dallo psicologo americano Gibson per definire le proprietà relazionali e non qualitative degli oggetti di permettere un certo tipo di azione o uso ad un soggetto, non necessariamente umano (Dreyfus 1991; Heft 2001; Kadar & Effken 1994). Tuttavia in tutti questi studi è del tutto tralasciata la relazione, effettivamente esistente, tra l'affordance e la spazialità. La spazialità stessa, forse complice la fuorviante impostazione di Essere e Tempo che vuole dare una priorità ontologica alla temporalità, ma in cui tutta la prima sezione è dominata dalla problematica dello spazio, è sempre poco indagata nonostante la sua effettiva rilevanza nell'opera (Malpas 2012). Spazialità e affordance non sono solo strettamente legate nella visione di Heidegger ma la prima presuppone la seconda.

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The last two decades have seen an increase in studies on Heidegger relating to cognitive sciences, at least as far as the English-speaking philosophical side is concerned. Starting from the important contributions of Hubert Dreyfus (Dreyfus 1991), many other scholars have embarked on the path of rereading his works, recognizing important analyzes that, although exhibited in a non-scientific and sometimes obscure language, could be formalized and be productive for the sciences cognitive (Kiverstein & Wheeler 2012), but also in other interdisciplinary fields such as ergonomics (Norman 1988; Turner 2005). Particularly the interest has been grafted around the recognition in Heidegger of an illustrious antecedent of the increasingly explored research field of the "affordances", a term coined in the late 1970s by the American psychologist Gibson to define relational and non-relational properties qualitative of the objects to allow a certain type of action or use to a subject, not necessarily human (Dreyfus 1991; Heft 2001; Kadar & Effken 1994). However, in all these studies the relationship that actually exists between affordance and spatiality is completely neglected. Spatiality itself, perhaps aided by the misleading approach of Being and Time that wants to give an ontological priority to temporality, but in which the whole of the first section is dominated by the problematic of space, is always little investigated despite its actual relevance in the work (Malpas 2012). Spatiality and affordance are not only closely linked in Heidegger's vision but the former presupposes the latter.

The question of space is twofold: seen from the point of view of its creator and from the point of view of its user. In addition, in between is the question of perception, of space perception. How do we relate to space? How do we read it? What is its meaning? Is perception a cultural issue or just a biological function? In order to formulate an opinion on these issues, we have to start at the very root of the problem, namely the development of the perceptual process.

Thus, based on the extensive studies undertaken by Jean Piaget, the paper intends to detail the action of acquiring and developing the perceptual process, linking it to the different stages of growth. The second part of the paper tries to look into the similarities between the structure of the social environment and its relation to space, and the way in which the same type of structure can be extracted from or applied to the children’s games of “hide and seek”. Its complexity, its many variables make it a very interesting process of spatial learning. Consequently, the game is reproducing and exercising the features, the meanings of the environment and the way in which the child should relate to similar real life situations.

The aim of this theoretical quest is to emphasise the importance of games in developing and nurturing a proper way of perceiving and relating to the environment and to its social and cultural particularities.

Der geografische Zusammenhang der Donau war seit der Zeit des römischen Kaisers Augustus bekannt, dennoch ist sie erst im 19. Jahrhundert als Einheit gedacht und als solche auch wahrgenommen worden. Gegenwärtige Monografie stellt die These auf, dass es die Dampfschifffahrt war, die diese Einheit hervorbrachte und versucht den Zusammenhang zwischen einem technischen Apparat (dem Dampfschiff) und der Wahrnehmung einer Naturlandschaft (der Donau)
zu ergründen. Sie stützt sich dabei auf Einsichten und Perspektiven der Umweltgeschichte, die Natur nicht lediglich als eine Rahmenbedingung, sondern auch als ein Objekt menschlichen Handelns betrachtet, doch im Gegensatz zu etwa David Blackbourn versteht sie die großangelegten Landschaftsumgestaltungen des 19. Jahrhunderts nicht einfach als die »Eroberung« der Natur, sondern als die Anwendung moderner Steuerungsprogramme auf diese; und beschreibt sie mit Hilfe von Foucaults Dispositivbegriffs.
In den Texten von Ingenieuren und Politikern, die für die Regulierung des
Flusses im Dienste der Dampfschifffahrt plädierten, wurde die Donau zu jenem Element, das durch weise Fürsorge und Disziplinierung gefügig und menschlichen Bedürfnissen dienstbar gemacht werden sollte. Ihre Pläne wurden in erster Linie von dem Wunsch getragen, natürliche Verhältnisse kalkulierbar zu machen.
Auch aus ökonomischer Sicht war die Regulierung des Stromes wünschenswert, zumal sie der Belebung des Handels diente.
Es ist ein Anliegen der Monografie nachzuzeichnen, dass die technische und ökonomische Diskursivierung des Stromes mit seiner ästhetischen Verfügbarmachung einherging. Hierzu werden neben technischen Beschreibungen vor allem Mappenwerke, Reisebeschreibungen und Donau-Prachtbände des 19. Jahrhunderts untersucht.
Eine Durchsicht der unterschiedlichsten Gattungen und Medien zeigt, dass die Vorstellung vom einheitlichen Donauraum immer schon von Wiedersprüchen und Brüchen gekennzeichnet war.
Die Darstellungsmuster reichten von der symbolischen Aufladung einer Grenze bis zu dem Konzept einer stufenweisen Veränderung von Land und Leute. Für die Darstellung der letzteren eignete sich die Dampfschifffahrt besonders gut, weil sie eine entsprechende Perspektive dazu lieferte. Das Schiff als Steuerungsapparat
bot eine ganz besondere Perspektive auf die zukünftige Entwicklung
der Region. Der Blick des Donaureisenden, der donauabwärts gleitet, gab
einen Standpunkt in Sachen des technischen Fortschritts und der zivilisatorischen Entwicklung vor und ließ komplexe Unterschiede fließend erscheinen. Hierbei diente die Vorstellung von der Donau als Band auch dazu, den symbolischen Ort verschiedener sich aus dem Verband des osmanischen Reiches lösenden Länder zu verhandeln. Um die nachhaltige Bedeutung dieses Raumkonzeptes zu zeigen, wurden die Verbindungen zu späteren Großraumvorstellungen wie »Balkan« und »Mitteleuropa« herausgearbeitet.
Auch wenn die verschiedenen Wissensformationen eine Einheit des Donauraumes zu konstruieren versuchten, entwarfen sie ihre jeweils eigene Donau. Diese verschiedenen Wahrnehmungen und Diskursivierungen des Stromes gingen miteinander die sonderbarsten Koalitionen und Kombinationen ein. Besonders im Falle der Eröffnung des Eisernen-Tor-Kanals lässt sich eine solche Verbindung zwischen einander widersprechenden Konzepten der Donau nachzeichnen. Einerseits stellte die erhabene Landschaft des Kazanpasses und
der Insel Ada-Kaleh an der unteren Donau jene Kulisse bereit, die das Wunder der Technik und die unsichtbare Macht des Souveräns überhaupt erst sichtbar machte, andererseits war es auch jener Ort, an dem die Regeln der von ihnen regierten Welt nicht mehr gültig zu sein schienen. Wenn staatliche Zeremonien Landschaften zu Kampfarenen des menschlichen Fortschritts verwandelten, bot die Literatur erfolgreiche Gegenmodelle.

According to the decomposition thesis, perceptual experiences resolve without remainder into their different modality-specific components. Contrary to this view, I argue that certain cases of multisensory integration give rise to experiences representing features of a novel type. Through the coordinated use of bodily awareness—understood here as encompassing both proprioception and kinaesthesis—and the exteroceptive sensory modalities, one becomes perceptually responsive to spatial features whose instances couldn’t be represented by any of the contributing modalities functioning in isolation. I develop an argument for this conclusion focusing on two cases: 3D shape perception in haptic touch and experiencing an object’s egocentric location in crossmodally accessible, environmental space.

The dynamism and complexity associated with the notion of place can be understood from the linguistic multiplicity of the word itself. The word place has dynamic as well as static connotations. It is an image as well as spatio-temporal phenomena. Time renders a place its transient qualities. It is fleeting. The studio intends to make students understand architectural panorama as a 'place' through spatial interventions and also get exposed to the multiplicity associated with the notion of place. Also, making students realize how the concepts of Space and Place reside on mutual frontiers; the demarcation which shall act as labyrinth which is not just dividing the ideas but also connecting them. The expected learning's of the students are divided into the following layers: Exploring the dimensions of a place It is of a prime necessity to understand and acknowledge place of its multiple dimensions viz.-Physical The physical elements that contribute to the making of the place can be divided into two categories, natural and man-made, which arecollectively understood as 'built environment'. Natural elements refers to the topography, flora-fauna the climatic phenomena such as wind, sun light, heat, humidity and rain. The man made elements refers to any built intervention in a natural place which is to be understood at its elemental role and its total spatial construct (steps, plinth, wall, roof etc.)-Temporal andTrans-physical Temporal and trans-physical refers to those dimensions of a place which exist in the realm beyond the physical and static presence; for example, human activities and movements, sensory qualities, zeitgeist and socio-cultural aspects.-Psycho-semantic This refers to the noematic structure of people which renders them their subjectivity, identity and individuality, which acts as filter to objective phenomena sculpts the individual perception. For example, memories, behavior, nature.

In this article the problem of perception is highlighted from a philosophical, physiological and psychological point of view. The essay (second update) is followed by a list of publications, journals and websites about perception. The author would be delighted to receive comments. He can be contacted at j[underscore]kuijper[at]online[dot]nl.

This work examines the commentary of Alexander of Aphrodisias on Aristotle's De Sensu concentrating on Alexander's own physiology of perception and his attack on the atomists' theory. Alexander wrongly reads into the text an attempt to discredit materialist explanation by disproving the existence of imperceptible times and magnitudes. Alexander's denial that periods occupied by perceptions can be dissolved into periods that are not themselves perceptible underpins his own view of perceptions as irreducible facts about the world and can be related to his views on the nature of time. The elimination of imperceptible times is fundamental to his general approach to physiological explanation.

Many researchers have proposed that the near space immediately surrounding the body is represented differently than more distant space. Indeed, it has often been suggested that near space encompasses that within arm's reach. The present study used a line bisection task in healthy adults to investigate the effects of tool use on space perception, and the nature of the transition between near and far space. Subjects bisected lines at four distances controlled for both veridical and angular size using a laser pointer and a set of sticks. When the laser pointer was used, a left to right shift in bias was observed as stimuli were moved from near to far space. When a tool was used, however, a leftward bias was observed at all distances, similar to that observed with the laser pointer in near space. These results suggest that the tool expanded the range of near space. Additionally, the transition from near to far space was gradual, with no abrupt shift at arm's length (or at any other distance). In contrast to theories describing near space as that within arm's reach, these findings suggest that the representation of near space is less rigid, extending with tool use and gradually transitioning into far space.

I defend Kant's view that the perceptual representation of space is pre-modal: that (contrary to Molyneux) it is common to all of the modalities, and that it is part of the form of perceptual representation, not learned from it. This is required, it is argued, by active perception, which requires that perceptual location be coordinated among the modalities.

У роботі представлено метод дослідження пізньосередньовічних та ранньомодерних назв вулиць Львова за допомогою геоінформаційної системи. На основі укладеної бази даних таких назв вдалося з'ясувати, що змінювалися не лише власні назви, а й саме поняття «вулиця». Враховуючи тезу дослідників «просторового повороту», що назви в місті відображають уявлення людей про простір, вказано, що сприйняття простору вулиці до середини XVI ст. було площинним; протягом другої половини XVI-першої половини XVII ст. уявлення простору почало формуватися як лінійне.

Traditionally, the right cerebral hemisphere has been considered to be specialized for spatial attention and orienting. A large body of research has demonstrated dissociable representations of the near space immediately surrounding the body and the more distance far space. In this study, we investigated whether right hemisphere activations commonly reported for tasks involving spatial attention (such as the line bisection and landmark tasks) are specific to stimuli presented in near space. In separate blocks of trials, participants judged either whether a vertical transector was to the left or right of the centre of a line (landmark task) or whether the line was red or blue (colour task). Stimuli were seen from four distances (30, 60, 90, 120 cm). We used EEG to measure an ERP component (the 'line-bisection effect') specific to the direction of spatial attention (i.e., landmark minus colour). Consistent with previous results, spatial attention produced a right-lateralized negativity over occipito-parietal channels. The magnitude of this negativity was inversely related to viewing distance, being largest in near space and reduced in far space. These results suggest that the right occipito-temporal cortex may be specialized not just for the orientation of spatial attention generally, but specifically for orienting attention in the near space immediately surrounding the body.

Much evidence suggests that common posterior parietal mechanisms underlie the orientation of attention in physical space and along the mental number line. For example, the small leftward bias (pseudoneglect) found in paper-and-pencil line bisection is also found when participants "bisect" number pairs, estimating (without calculating) the number midway between two others. For bisection of physical lines, pseudoneglect has been found to shift rightward as lines are moved from near space (immediately surrounding the body) to far space. We investigated whether the presentation of stimuli in near or far space also modulated spatial attention for the mental number line. Participants bisected physical lines or number pairs presented at four distances (60, 120, 180, 240cm). Clear rightward shifts in bias were observed for both tasks. Furthermore, the rate at which this shift occurred in the two tasks, as measured by least-squares regression slopes, was significantly correlated across participants, suggesting that the transition from near to far distances induced a common modulation of lateral attention in physical and numerical space. These results demonstrate a tight coupling between number and physical space, and show that even such prototypically abstract concepts as number are modulated by our on-line interactions with the world.

To read full version of the article, visit the journal website: http://www.dmd27.org/avetisian.html

"The perception of narrative time and space is a complex cognitive process. During the act of reading, a reader interacts with the narrative world by perceiving its temporal and spatial dimensions. Due to the human ability to perceive narrative time and space, the reader can understand deeper meaning of fiction.
The article presents a comparative study of the perception of time and space in Russian and Georgian émigré literature of the 20th century. The article deals with the concept of time and space in Vladimir Nabokov’s 'Mary' and in Grigol Robakidze’s 'The Snake’s Skin'. The author of the article has presented an analysis of the reader’s perception of narrative time and space taking into account the protagonists’ experience and their perception of time and space in the novels."

This article introduces a research carried out in eight Central European countries (which were considered “Central European” by the authors and referred to as Central European in the most relevant literature), where students marked the borders of Central Europe using mental maps based on their subjective perception. The article presents the resulting region delimitation, aggregated on the basis of these maps, compares the differences in the delimitation of Central Europe in individual countries and suggest some explanations of these differences.

Objects on a collision course with an observer produce a specific pattern of optical expansion on the retina known as looming, which in theory exactly specifies the time-to-collision (TTC) of approaching objects. It was recently demonstrated that the affective content of looming stimuli influences perceived TTC, with threatening objects judged as approaching sooner than non-threatening objects. Here, the neural mechanisms by which perceived threat modulates spatiotemporal perception were investigated. Participants judged the TTC of threatening (snakes, spiders) or non-threatening (butterflies, rabbits) stimuli, which expanded in size at a rate indicating one of five TTCs. Visual-evoked potentials (VEPs) and oscillatory neural responses measured with electroencephalography were analysed. The arrival time of threatening stimuli was underestimated compared with non-threatening stimuli, though an interaction suggested that this underestimation was not constant across TTCs. Further, both speed of approach and threat modulated both VEPs and oscillatory responses. Speed of approach modulated the N1 parietal and oscillations in the beta band. Threat modulated several VEP components (P1, N1 frontal, N1 occipital, early posterior negativity and late positive potential) and oscillations in the alpha and high gamma band. The results for the high gamma band suggest an interaction between these two factors. Previous evidence suggests that looming stimuli activate sensorimotor areas, even in the absence of an intended action. The current results show that threat disrupts the synchronization over the sensorimotor areas that are likely activated by the presentation of a looming stimulus.

The paper intends to analyse the common ground between the field of visual perception and architectural design. The architectural product always addresses a user, who will react in a certain way towards the architectural object, towards built space, towards her/his environment in general. This relationship is bidirectional and its effects are visible both ways: we modify the environment through the designing process (architecture, urban planning, design in general) and the (built) environment modifies our behaviour. In this context, it is crucial that we understand the functioning mechanisms of the perceptual processes - which will be detailed throughout the first part of the paper. Perception is indeed a very complex process, that involves gathering information through our senses; processing it - which implies analysing the received information and comparing it against previously gathered knowledge, based on past experiences; and formulating particular responses - also based on pre...

The interaction between people and built environment has been examined in the field of architectural psychology since the 1960s. In this field, “spaciousness” has been one of the most significant concepts which have been frequently reported in the semantic differential scales, such as Spaciousness-Crampedness Scale (S-C-S) developed by İmamoğlu (1975) and used in several experimental studies via real rooms and scale models in 1970s and 1980s. However, there are still crucial architectural dimensions which have not been studied yet. The main aim of this thesis is to assess spaciousness factors in buildings via S-C-S, and within this framework, the second aim is to test the reliability of computer simulations as current research tools in architectural psychology research. This thesis is composed of a preliminary study and two groups of experimental studies (each group consisting of four consecutive experiments). In literature survey, the last 45 years of architectural psychology was reviewed, and as a developing research tool, computer simulations were examined with their current and potential features. The first group of experiments was conducted through computer simulations to develop a procedure for the second group, which aimed to test the effects of permanent components of rooms on spaciousness. Ceiling height, types of ceiling and floor (flat and stepped), and plan geometry (rectangular and trapezoidal) were assumed to have an effect on spaciousness (appeal, planning, and space freedom). 350 participants, composed of both students and staff at METU, participated in the experiments. Sample spaces were selected from METU classrooms, and their detailed computer simulations and derivatives were used as stimuli. The results of the experiments indicated that higher ceiling made the room more spacious. The types of ceiling did not affect spaciousness in general. Flat ceiling indicated higher levels of space freedom compared to stepped ceiling. Classrooms with stepped floors were evaluated as better planned than those with flat floors. Plan geometry did not affect participants’ evaluations of spaciousness significantly. Results of the experiments demonstrate that the effects of some components of rooms on spaciousness can be identified via computer simulations.

This study aims to determine if, in children, subjective perception of space is modulated by the experience of reaching distal objects by means of tools and verbal labels. We
presented 7–15-year-old participants with objects located in the
near and far space, and in the threshold area between these spaces
(border space). Before and after a training session, separate groups
of participants estimated objects’ location by providing a verbal
estimation of their distance ( n D 12) or by rolling a toy car to
match their location (motor-based estimation; n D 16). The training session required interaction with the targets (i.e., actively
experiencing the perceived distance) and included use of a rake or
a linguistic label when far objects were involved. A control condition in which training implied use of a short, ineffective tool was
also tested ( n D 6). Results showed that verbal estimations were
not affected by the training phase ( p > .05). In contrast, training
modulated motor-based estimations relative to border space. Specifically, maximal distance of toy car displacements was reduced
following all kinds of training ( p < .01). These results indicate
that, similarly to adults, the boundary between near and far space
is not fixed in children and that both active tool use and verbal
labels can modulate this uncertain boundary.

The distinction between near space and the space farther away has been well established, as has the relation of this distinction to arm length. Recent studies provide evidence for the plasticity of near space, showing that it is possible to expand its extent ("size") through tool-use. In the present study, we examine the converse effect, whether contraction of near space results from increasing the effort involved on a line bisection task. Adult participants bisected lines at different distances, while, in some cases, wearing weights. In Experiment 1, the arms, specifically, were weighted (wrist weights), and in Experiment 2, more general body weights were used (heavy backpack). As in previous studies, unencumbered participants showed leftward bias when bisecting lines at the closest distances and a rightward shift in bias with increasingly farther distances. With wrist weights, but not a heavy backpack, participants showed more rightward bias at the closest distances, and a more gradual rightward shift with increasing distance, as if the nearest locations were represented as being farther away. These results suggest that increased effort, when specifically related to the arm, can serve to reduce the size of near space, providing support for the generally symmetrical plasticity of near space representations.

Architecture is an element or a form of space that constantly and continuously connects people, creating a relation between a particular space and its user. Whilst an individual needs to communicate with a space, a space should evoke a physical, psychological and an emotional human response. Architecture surrounds us, however it depends on each and every individual’s point of view towards explaining such a vast and vague topic. Different opinions exist towards defining what ‘real architecture’ actually is, hence the different types of existing buildings that surround us in the world that we are actually living in. Temporary structures, installations, art, spaces... these all generate a certain feeling in an individual once experienced, evoking a sense of serenity, confusion, happiness, anger or otherwise.
This study provides a focus on the analysis of particular spaces, including the works of several architects who interpret a multi-sensory approach towards architecture. Apart from researching well-known architects such as Juhani Pallasmaa, Peter Zumthor and Steven Holl, this dissertation shall mainly focus on the work of these architects in contrast with the work of Amedeo Schiattarella. Each space will be studied and interpreted in relation to the human senses, how different individuals perceive a space, both psychologically and emotionally, finding out whether the feeling and emotions one experiences when entering a space is instinctual or not.
A primary objective is to find out how an individual can experience a particular space or building, what is his or her perception about that space, what feelings this space evokes on the person, and what affects his or her perception: light, colours, shadows, materials, textures and sounds.
In relation to a particular architectural experience in a given space, what really affects the perception of an individual experiencing it, and how does this perception vary from an individual to another?
The conclusion to this dissertation was drawn after a thorough study of various research related to the human perception of space and architectural experiences. This was backed up by taking into consideration several related case studies, which were then compared and contrasted with respect to the theme being investigated throughout this dissertation.

Neglect patients’ performance during cancellation tasks is characterized by left sided omissions and, in many cases, by the production of inappropriate material of various kinds in the ipsilesional space, e.g. additional marks over already cancelled targets, marks drawn away from targets, scribbles, irrelevant drawings. It is unclear whether these behaviours, which have collectively been called perseverative, are functionally and anatomically connected and whether they correlate with the severity of neglect. Here we report a retrospective study on 33 right brain damaged patients with neglect after right hemisphere lesions in whom we measured the intensity of perseveration of the three following kinds: (1) ‘additional marks’ (AM) perseveration where patients cancelled a target with two or more well separated marks; (2) ‘scribble’ perseveration, where patients, instead of cancelling the target with a single pen stroke as required by the task, performed multiple pen strokes without breaking the pen-to-paper contact, with the final product being a scribble; (3) ‘flying marks’ (FM) perseveration where patients produced cancellation marks well away from the targets. We found that AM and FM perseveration correlated with neglect severity, while ‘scribble’ perseveration did not. The lesion-symptom mapping showed three separate anatomical areas in the right hemisphere: ‘scribble’ perseveration was associated with lesions of the orbitofrontal cortex and caudate nucleus; AM perseveration was associated with damage to the rolandic operculum, superior temporal gyrus and inferior frontal gyrus; FM perseveration was associated with damage to the dorsal premotor cortex and the temporal pole. Neglect severity followed damage to a region which grossly corresponds to the sum of the regions associated with AM and FM perseveration respectively. This complex behavioural and anatomical pattern is interpreted in terms of a three-factor model, in which AM perseveration is caused by a deficit of disengagement of attention from the right side (also causing omissions), FM perseveration is caused by directional hypokinesia (also causing left-side omissions), and ‘scribble’ perseveration is the consequence of a failure to inhibit an initiated motor act, which is completely separate (both anatomically and functionally) from the disorder inducing omissions.

Cities of today rest on technological foundations that drive entire
economies and socio-cultural systems. The traditional meanings of
space have tremendously changed since the advent of technology.
This change is a product of technology. We argue for the need of a
technological perspective to the designer in orger to find their relevence
in a world riddled with Globalization and Digitalization.