Draft Two

I was raised in Yangon, Burma, a country that has experienced constant conflicts, and under extreme control. I have always experienced and seen the obstacles and the struggles of Burmese people have encountered. People are restricted to think or act freely. The lives of people function in a disorderly manner due to the continual chaotic situations in the city. The quality of life that the military government provides for the people in the city is very limited.

There is a lack of tranquility within the city after the government had put people under control. The peace of mind that all Burmese people long for does not exist in the city anymore. The built environment that we live in deteriorated our emotions and our lives. Burma has approached its turning point. Transformations have started to take place in the country. In Yangon, the financial and commercial capital of the country, the dramatic changes are undeniably occurring.

How can we be creative as architects to heal the emotional pains of Burmese people, and how can architecture fix the broken dreams and revive the moment of tranquility that they long for?

            Why is emotion a critical factor in creating a piece of architecture that can enhance people’s lives? This question gets asked often. Man-made space can refine human feelings and perceptions. A well-designed space can define and control the actions of people who are in it.

Ergo, the emphasis of my research will be about the reactions and the emotions we have for defined spaces and forms of buildings, and how our built environment enhance the lives of people who reside in it. Why do human beings respond differently to different spaces? The different reactions we have for spaces are dependent upon the individual and our cultural backgrounds. The built environment has either positive or negative effects on our lives and our memories of those places.

Architecture creates a set of experiences and those experiences involve the brain activity of remembering, recalling and comparing. The emotional activities we experience in built environments are based on subjective memories, and other brain activity coupled with new sensory inputs.

The major five senses are linked to the brain by the nervous system, while awareness perceives the five senses and memory recalls the five senses.  Therefore, five senses, memories, and awareness are all interconnected. Awareness in its multiple definitions and iterations enables human beings to feel the emotions that buildings provoke and how they begin to form connections and attachments with various building spaces and forms through our psychological, philosophical and cultural ties.

My research will emphasize on why and how awareness affects our emotions triggered by built spaces. In addition to spaces, the use of materiality, colors, lighting and construction within the space are also critical factors to delineating emotions we garner from experiencing architecture, both real and virtual. The quality of the materials, colors, light, and the type of construction contribute to our awareness of the of inhabited spaces, whatever the time or use thereof.

According to John Zeisel, “the ultimate meaning of any building is beyond architecture; it directs our consciousness back to the world, and towards our own sense of self and being. Significant architecture makes us experience ourselves as complete embodied and spiritual beings” (Zeisel). Therefore, if we understand how brains and minds work or how they function in different spaces and how they develop over time to respond to our built environment, we as architects, should be able to deliver the intent of our designs and provide the quality of space that can help to improve people’s lives.

Studying the human brain and its response to different spaces, materials, geometric shapes, forms, colors, and light will assist me in designing a space that could satisfy the albeit momentary needs of people and potentially mitigate their psychological and/or pains enhancing their lives for that moment, and the memory thereto.