Feeling

One of the things that stuck with me from the walking tour the other day in Alexandria, was when we were standing on the residential road behind the cafe and talking about the two sides of the street in relation to the way the cars were parked. Unless I am remembering incorrectly, Michael asked us how we "felt" about the space, and that how we feel about a space is generally a good indicator of its characteristics and design. I thought this was interesting, as it isn't something I have consciously asked myself regularly at all, although it is something that definitely informs how I use spaces and where I choose to position myself within a space or street. When analysing a space, I have rarely asked myself how I "feel" as I thought feeling is a more subjective, emotional method of looking at a space, rather than looking at the architectural details, or the way the light enters a room, or the use of materiality. But it makes sense - if you ask yourself "how do I feel in this space" and you decide you feel a certain way, whether you feel good, comfortable, claustrophobic, uneasy, subdued, excited etc., you can then ask yourself "why" you feel that way. Do I feel uncomfortable because of the low ceiling height? Do I feel subdued because of materiality allows for long reverberations which means any sound I make is amplified? Do I feel excited because when I enter the space (e.g. a night club), I can immediately see everyone below me interacting and dancing and having fun, and that I can't wait to go down the stairs to join them? 

For example right now sitting close to the base of the stairs of Surry Hills Library on the basement level, I can say that I feel tired but comfortable and slightly distracted. My tiredness has to do with staying up late to finish assignments, but the other two are more to do with where I am located in the library. I feel comfortable, because I am sitting at my own  small table next to a wall, and the way that I am facing means I can see the people (i.e. attractive boy) sitting in front of me, and also watch people coming and going down the stairs. It is interesting to note that 5 of the 6 people sitting at the 6 tables along this same line of desks are all orientated so they are facing the stairs.

I also have oblique, partial views towards the bookshelves, and large glazed facade to the stormy sky, which all give me a sense of my location. However my views are partially blocked by the wall I am sitting next to, the column and massing of the stairs in front of me, and a bookshelf to my left, which also make me feel enclosed and comfortable, almost like I am nested within a space. The colour scheme around me is black and white, with light shining on a beautiful timber double height ceiling. This means that I am not distracted visually by bright colours, but if I look up, the light reflected on the timber makes me feel warm and cosy, like I am in my lounge room. 

Finally I feel a bit distracted every so often from writing this post, because of the sounds of children playing on the level above travelling down the void above me. While for me the use of white noise or background noise is helpful to working, and the sounds of children playing is quite homely and comfortable, the sound of children fighting or crying are not. I feel it would be better if the children's play area were more acoustically separated from the study area, without blocking the visual access.