UX of Senses

We were subdivided into nine groups and each of us allocated a sense and place of exploration. Ours was tasked with thermoception as our sense and St. Cathedral as our place of research, and we were to exaggerate and document our experiences as we explored the location.

Being a scientific term, we had to do some research on what thermoception was to get an insight into what to look for when on location. From the research, we learnt that thermoception is the ability to detect heat of varying degrees in the world, and in some cases inside the bodies of other creatures (Parrish A.C. 2021).

More simply put, the sensation and perception of temperature. The way we feel temperature is by a stimuli, which triggers nerves which are called thermoceptors. The information detected by the nerve detects the skins sensititivity to the stimuli, therefore triggers a reaction depending on what it’s found. The way we can view thermoception is through infrared thermography. Thermography is also a way for us to look at colour as an indicator of temperature.

Capturing the moment

We set out for St. Paul’s Cathedral and took some photos to document the exploration. Here are some of the photos that we took which would then be our guiding factor for for the design process.

Highlights

An aspect that stood out was the minimal use of technology but rather as much architectural methodolody as possible for example the vents encased within the floor (left) and the view as seen from above (right).

We set out to tell a story about our experience at St. Paul’s Cathedral in regards to thermoception. We highlighted the following:

• The presence of spiral stairs which generate body heat as one goes up the stairs to the dome.
• Presence of vents for air circulation and natural light.

• Presentations are much better with a physical prototype.
• Make your audience experience your presentation.
• Should have had the physical experience before embarking on theoretical research.

Parrish, A.C., 2021, Thermoception In: The Sensory Modes of Animal Rhetorics, Palgrave Studies in Animals and Literature, Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-76712-9_8.