Archi/Texture: Tactile Experiences
Rasa Chmieliauskaitė
Is an architect and promoter of architectural activism. Having worked in an architectural office for some time, researching heritage sites and adapting them to the contemporary context, Rasa is now immersed in a variety of cultural activities. Rasa is one of the initiators of the cultural river research platform “TẽKA”, as well as the curator of the projects “(NE)matoma architektūra” and “ECHOtektūra”.
Project “(NE)matoma architektūra”, implemented in 2019, together with Kaunas Artists’ House, sought to present the development of Lithuanian architecture from Gothic to postmodernism for the blind and partially sighted by non-visual means. The “ECHOtektūra” project is currently being implemented. It is a successive extension of the previous one and aims to create a series of sound architectural works that use sound as a means of representing space. The created works would be experienced not visually per se, but visually and immersively, and would spatially reveal architectural objects to the blind.
Archi/Texture: Tactile Experiences
Eyesight is the most dominant sensation for most people in this age and the main tool for understanding the environment. However, by neglecting other senses, not only do we miss much of the information broadcast by the environment, but we are also unable to assess the impact of that environment on us. Architecture is a multi-layered art and the aesthetics of architecture is manifested not only in the image of the work, but also in its sonic, tactile and other sensory properties.
How do architectural materials, their non-visual properties, affect the users of spaces, and how would we create architecture by understanding and consciously manipulating these sensations?
The aim of the project “Archi/Texture: Tactile Experiences” is to study and present the architecture of Kaunas between the wars and the Soviet era with new tactile means, to promote the participation of visually impaired residents in the knowledge of the architectural environment.
This project is part of the Kaunas 2022 – European Capital of Culture program “Modernism for the Future”. The project is implemented in cooperation with the Kaunas branch of the Lithuanian Union of Architects.
Tactile workshops. Photos by Ernestas Lylius, 2020.
Tactile workshops. Photos by Ernestas Lylius, 2021.
