IMAGEABILITY AS A FUNCTION OF HUMAN SENSORY PERCEPTIONS
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Authors: Siddharth Kanagavelu
Keywords: city image, human sensory perception, imageability, Juhani Pallasmaa, Kevin Lynch, mental Image
Abstract: When asked to describe a city, one usually recollects the mental picture of the spaces that constitute the city. This mental picture is an amalgamation of the environmental images, the sensory perceptions of the same and the memory of past experiences. Kevin Lynch’s book, The Image of the City introduced the world to the concept of imageability, and the role of major urban elements in making a place imageable, which actively helps in creating strong mental images in the observer. The theory of imageability is still discussed and applied as it widened the scope of urban design and planning. But Kevin Lynch restricted his work to visual perception alone, limiting the understanding of the imageability of a city. Juhani Pallasmaa discusses the importance of considering and including the five senses in the process of designing a space in his book: The eyes of the Skin. This sets the premise for the paper, i.e. the need to extend Kevin Lynch’s theory of imageability as a function of human sensory perceptions. This research paper aims towards establishing the role of human sensory perception in the process of image formation of a city. The study is done in Katpadi locality of Vellore city, through literature reviews, field reconnaissance surveys, and personal interviews. The paper discusses the understanding and the gap between the theory of imageability and human sensory perceptions, and the need to bridge the two for a more holistic approach towards urban design and planning.