How our Visual System Works? Experiencing a Space with Muqarnas
One example of neuroscience research that can be applied to design is about understanding how our visual system works.
When we look around us, we tend to see regularities and organize what we see (1). This refers to a latent sense of order that most people have. I talk more about this is this article (link).
Certain design features are well processed in our brain, this means that we can understand them without much effort. Our brain agrees with them, and that gives us pleasure and a calming effect. (1)
There are examples of designed environments where simple and repeated patterns create a complex whole. We see one part of it, and we can understand the whole with certain ease.
Visiting the Alhambra in Granada, specially the Nasrid palaces, was a beautiful and memorable experience. I didn’t have any knowledge about neuroscience back then, but now I understand a bit more why I liked it, why I felt calm and excited at the same time, and why I felt engaged with the spaces. Partly, it was to do with my brain relating to the design and connecting to the sense of order that the spaces project.
There is one pattern I felt attracted to the most. It is called ‘Muqarnas’, and it consist of repetitions of prisms joined together, creating a three-dimensional pattern that hangs from the ceiling, resembling stalactites.
I remember looking at it in the Hall of the Abencerrajes and trying to figure out the intricate geometry. I didn’t analyse it fully, but this didn’t seem to matter, because I felt I got it (more or less), and this was enough to feel the aesthetic pleasure of the space.
Then on top there was the actual atmosphere of the place, with the rest of the architecture, the materials, the colours, with the light coming in from the different apertures above, creating different lighting effects, making shadows, changing the colours of the surfaces, with the sound of water coming from the fountain on the floor and the ones in the outdoor patios, which are an important element for climate control. It was the combination of all these elements that made it a unique experience.
Notes:
1. Albright, Thomas D. “Neuroscience for Architecture” in Robinson, Sarah, and Juhani Pallasmaa, Eds. Mind in Architecture. Neuroscience, Embodiment, and the Future of Design. The MIT Press, 2015: 206-215
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