EXHIBITION

[Sense] Scape

January. 2025
PhD Research Project


Sense-scape is a design tool that investigates the interplay between architecture, sensory perception, and storytelling, rooted in contemporary theoretical discourses. It builds upon Jacques Rancière’s concept of the distribution of the sensible, examining how architecture structures sensory hierarchies that dictate inclusion and exclusion within spatial and social frameworks. Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology of perception provides a critical lens, emphasizing the body’s centrality in spatial experience and the relational dynamics between sensory stimuli and perception. Additionally, Derrida’s notions of absence and presence inform the game’s exploration of spatial thresholds, while Deleuze’s Logic of Sensation shapes its focus on affective atmospheres and the reconfiguration of sensory interactions. The game reinterprets the lexicon as a dynamic, multisensory methodology. Unlike traditional lexical tools, Sense-scape introduces a sound dictionary composed of auditory fragments and a texture dictionary encompassing diverse tactile materials, enabling players to engage with spaces through hybrid sensory experiences. Players navigate a game board that represents six urban fragments of Istanbul, each chosen for its historical, cultural, and sensory richness. As they encounter commands like selecting texture or sound cards, telling stories, or responding to questions, participants are prompted to create layered, embodied narratives that reveal the aesthetic, tectonic, and political dimensions of architecture. The fiction of the game integrates these theoretical frameworks into a participatory, collaborative experience. It encourages players to reflect on architecture’s role in mediating sensory relationships and reimagining the boundaries of perception. By combining sensory engagement with storytelling, Sense-scape transforms familiar spaces into sites of critical inquiry, enabling players to uncover hidden layers of meaning and challenge conventional architectural narratives. This project exemplifies a transformative approach to design research, bridging theory and practice to explore architecture’s capacity to shape human experience in profound, multisensory ways.

Figure 1.  A glimpse of the game, a moment of discussion.

Figure 2.  Game box.

Figure 3.  Game instruction manual.

Figure 4.  Game board.

Figure 5.  Story cards.

Figure 6.  Sound, texture, question, and transcript cards.

Figure 7.  A glimpse of the game, a moment of storytelling.

Figure 8.  A glimpse of the game, a moment of reflection.

Figure 9.  Transcriptsare generated after each step in the game.