An Experiential Approach to Architecture: Design of an Architecture School and Student Housing

"The architectural experience silences all external noise, it focusses attention on one's very existence."

• An architecture of the Seven Senses: Juhani Pallasma

As I sat down thinking about this quote images of the courtyard of the Salk institute, the central reading area of the Library of Congress, Tadao Ando's Church on Water and light, the step wells of Adalaj in India, Peter Zumthor's Therme Vals came to my mind.

I feel that the scale and being part of something larger than what man could create such as the sky, the ocean and an experience that appeals to the senses, one that is a perfect orchestration of the color of light, the pattern of shadows, the materiality of the wall, the feeling of warmth, the sound of waves, the reflection of the waters creates a sense of calm within.

Drawing from my personal experiences, the thesis shall explore the above idea in a school of architecture with a public interface located along the waterfront.

"Buildings should be monumental and spiritually inspiring."

• Louis Kahn