Sequential experience of spaces through multi-sensory approach in design: a case study of an Indian temple

Abstract

The purpose of visiting a temple is to gain the positive energy and feel refreshed, through an exchange of emotions and association with the spaces there, for which, the space needs to be personalized. To understand and experience a space, one must perceive information, from the surrounding and interprete it for a better understanding of the environment. The spaces in a Hindu temple are the best examples with a multi-sensory approach, which can potentially nourish both emotional and spiritual needs, but it has to be experienced with proper sequential perception. The study is trying to understand how to perceive a space in temples sequentially, through multi-sensory approach. To study the same, the methodology adopted is identification of a temple and visiting and experiencing the same. The temple identified is Brihadeeswarar Temple, Tanjaore, Tamil Nadu, India; as it is a fine example of Dravidian temple architecture during its peak, and the most ambitious structural temple with a very different ambience altogether. The study will be focusing on how a space is perceived, do all senses respond to that one particular space, and why is it so. Contemporary architecture is having an ocular centric paradigm. An architectural work is not to be experienced as a series of isolated retinal pictures, but in its fully integral material, embodied and spiritual essence. This aspect is emphasized through the study, and also the involvement of all senses in space perception was hence purposeful, and an important aspect in temple design. The study may conclude with how senses help in connecting spaces directly between the individual and the surrounding, making it a sanctified approach.