Elective Research Paper 1

Reality and Perceived Reality

The Eye, Brain and Architecture add depth

Godo Zabur Singh

MID - Facade Design
Technische Hochschule Ostwestfalen-Lippe. 

Abstract- Vision has throughout history been ranked the highest of our senses, one of the reasons for that can
be that the act of seeing is made from a distance, no other contact is needed. But to see is also to be deceived,
the expression “you see what you want to see” is eminent because it is the brain that processes the images into
knowledge. Since vision is our main source of input, first impressions are of utmost importance giving us a quick
superficial idea. With first impressions comes also judgement, and subjective understandings of reality. The act
of seeing, which can be quite passive, can also spring curiosity to explore what you see or what you think you
see. There comes the importance of moving the body, connecting other senses and body-functions to out-smart
the perception made by the eyes. This Paper explores the understanding of how we see and how do the brain
perceive in the context of architecture space. It will explore the works of Ancient Greeks with focus on their
strategies to make their buildings visually perfect. It will further explore the works of some famous artists
which will be foundation of our understanding Reality vs Perceived Reality.
A designer decides what the user will see and how your experience will be. So this paper will be a guide to create
a different experiences than reality.
Keywords- Eyes, Brain, Visual Reality, Cognitive Architecture, Neuroarchitecture, Illusions.

I. INTRODUCTION

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Table 1.1 Relation of Reality and Perceived Reality

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II. BACKGROUND

Throughout history vision has been ranked the highest of our five basic senses. The others are not as important
in a first meeting. Hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching then come in a hierarchical order, as read in Eyes of
the Skin (Pallasmaa, 2012).

It’s no wonder that vision is our highest valued sensory organ. The act of viewing is in a way different from the
other senses. Reaching out for physical touch, or tasting in contact with liquid, or to hear when vibrations
through air reaches our ears; these senses can all more or less be felt. Vision is perceived at a distance. You see
through an invisible energy and do not experience the same contact as our other senses in perceiving our
surroundings. Hearing, smelling, tasting and touching are all subjective perceptions and senses that are
happening within ourselves, but seeing is almost entirely projected outside ourselves. But one can argue that
the five basic senses aren’t enough to describe how we perceive our surroundings.

Aristotle, the recognized philosopher active during the antiquity, was the first to argue that humans only
possess five senses. This is outdated and neuroscientists and philosophers of today argue for the possession of
between 22 up to 33 different human senses, explained by the British philosopher Barry C. Smith (Quinn, 2016).
Senses that are not as generally known and not as frequently mentioned is the ones that has to do with the
body. Such as the sense of balance, equilibrioception, which means the collaboration of mechanisms inside the
body that keeps us upright, or proprioception, that without having to watch you know where your body parts
are in relation to each other; you can close your eyes and still touch your nasal tip with your finger. The sense
kinaesthesia means the sense of moving, the knowledge of body position together with the muscular tensions.
Helping us being able to sense variety in temperature is called thermoception. Chronoception is our ability to
perceive duration of time and that time is passing. The sense nociception is the notion of pain or the potential
experience of pain (Grey, 2017). Barry C. Smith speculates further about the importance of not dividing the
senses into separate acts of perception. The senses do not happen independently from each other. Perceiving
our surroundings is a multisensory experience where the different sense mechanisms work together to
coordinate one unified experience.

III. METHODOLOGY

As this paper explores the

https://openpress.usask.ca/introductiontopsychology/chapter/seeing/
Whereas other animals rely primarily on hearing, smell, or touch to understand the
world around them, human beings rely in large part on vision. A large part of our cerebral
cortex is devoted to seeing, and we have substantial visual skills. Seeing begins when light
falls on the eyes, initiating the process of transduction. Once this visual information reaches
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the visual cortex, it is processed by a variety of neurons that detect colours, shapes, and
motion, and that create meaningful perceptions out of the incoming stimuli. [2]

[1]Openstax Psychology text by Kathryn Dumper, William Jenkins, Arlene

Lacombe, Marilyn Lovett and Marion Perlmutter licensed under CC BY
v4.0. https://openstax.org/details/books/psychology
IV. VISION
The visual system constructs a mental representation of the world around us (figure below). This contributes to
our ability to successfully navigate through physical space and interact with important individuals and objects in
our environments. This section will provide an overview of the basic anatomy and function of the visual system.
In addition, we will explore our ability to perceive color and depth.

Fig 1.1 Our eyes take in sensory information that helps us understand the world
around us. (credit “top left”: modification of work by “rajkumar1220″/Flickr”;
credit “top right”: modification of work by Thomas Leuthard; credit “middle
left”: modification of work by Demietrich Baker; credit “middle right”:
modification of work by “kaybee07″/Flickr; credit “bottom left”: modification of
work by “Isengardt”/Flickr; credit “bottom right”: modification of work by
Willem Heerbaart)

EYE-ANATOMY OF THE VISUAL SYSTEM

As you can see in Figure 1.2, “Anatomy of the Human Eye,” light enters the eye through the  cornea, a clear
covering that protects the eye and begins to focus the incoming light. The light then passes through the pupil, a
small opening in the centre of the eye. The pupil is surrounded by the iris, the colored part of the eye that
controls the size of the pupil by constricting or dilating in response to light intensity. When we enter a dark
movie theatre on a sunny day, for instance, muscles in the iris open the pupil and allow more light to enter.
Complete adaptation to the dark may take up to 20 minutes.
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Behind the pupil is the lens, a structure that focuses the incoming light on the retina, the layer of tissue at the
back of the eye that contains photoreceptor cells. As our eyes move from near objects to distant objects, a
process known as visual accommodation occurs.

Figure 1.2 Anatomy of the Human Eye.

The retina contains layers of neurons specialized to respond to light (see Figure 1.3, “The Retina with Its
Specialized Cells”). As light falls on the retina, it first activates receptor cells known as rods and cones. The
activation of these cells then spreads to the bipolar cells and then to the ganglion cells, which gather together
and converge, like the strands of a rope, forming the optic nerve. The optic nerve is a collection of millions of
ganglion neurons that sends vast amounts of visual information, via the thalamus, to the brain . Because the
retina and the optic nerve are active processors and analyzers of visual information, it is appropriate to think of
these structures as an extension of the brain itself.

Rods are visual neurons that specialize in detecting black, white, and gray colors. There are about 120 million
rods in each eye. The rods do not provide a lot of detail about the images we see, but because they are highly
sensitive to shorter-waved (darker) and weak light, they help us see in dim light — for instance, at night.
Because the rods are located primarily around the edges of the retina, they are particularly active in peripheral
vision (when you need to see something at night, try looking away from what you want to
see). Cones are visual neurons that are specialized in detecting fine detail and colors. The five million or so
cones in each eye enable us to see in color, but they operate best in bright light. The cones are located primarily
in and around the fovea, which is the central point of the retina.

Figure 1.3 The Retina with Its Specialized Cells. When light falls on the retina, it
creates a photochemical reaction in the rods and cones at the back of the retina.
The reactions then continue to the bipolar cells, the ganglion cells, and
eventually to the optic nerve.
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THE BRAIN

As you can see in Figure 1.4, “Pathway of Visual Images through the Thalamus and into the Visual Cortex,” the
sensory information received by the retina is relayed through the thalamus to corresponding areas in the visual
cortex, which is located in the occipital lobe at the back of the brain. Although the principle of contralateral
control might lead you to expect that the left eye would send information to the right brain hemisphere and
vice versa, nature is smarter than that. In fact, the left and right eyes each send information to both the left and
the right hemisphere, and the visual cortex processes each of the cues separately and in parallel. This is an
adaptational advantage to an organism that loses sight in one eye, because even if only one eye is functional,
both hemispheres will still receive input from it.

Figure 1.4 Pathway of Visual Images through the Thalamus and into the Visual
Cortex. The left and right eyes each send information to both the left and the
right brain hemisphere

To demonstrate the difference between rods and cones in attention to detail, choose a word in this text and
focus on it. Do you notice that the words a few inches to the side seem more blurred? This is because the word
you are focusing on strikes the detail-oriented cones, while the words surrounding it strike the less-detail-
oriented rods, which are located on the periphery.
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[3] HTTP://SCECINFO.USC.EDU/GEOWALL/STEREOHOW.HTML

PERCEPTION OF DEPTH

We are 3D creatures, living in a 3D world but our eyes can show us only two dimensions.  The depth that we all
think we can see is merely a trick that our brains have learned; a byproduct of evolution putting our eyes on the
front of our faces.  To prove this, close one eye and try to play tennis.

The miracle of our depth perception comes from our brain's ability to put together two 2D images in such a way
as to extrapolate depth.  This is called stereoscopic vision.Something to think about: Most predators have
stereoscopic vision in order to gauge distance to their prey as they hunt.  Most herbivores' eyes are on the sides
of their heads so that they can see as much of their environment as possible.  They don't see depth the way we
do.It works like this.  Because your eyes are separated on your face, each retina produces a slightly different
image.  That difference in images is a direct result of the depth of the objects that we are looking at.
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Forced Perspective in Architecture

The special feature in the field of architecture is the use of optical illusions in order to make buildings appear
different from what they actually are. In ancient Greece an ideal building was seen as a whole object, with parts
that fit perfectly. Today, this approach is still valid. Architects see buildings as a whole — and keep the human
eye as experiencing factor in their mind. Elements such as windows, doors and the facade can never be
considered in isolation, but how they work together in their overall arrangement. This task becomes all the
more complex the bigger buildings are. If a person stands directly at the foot of a building, they will perceive it
differently than if they look at it from far away. Forced perspective can be used to make buildings and objects
look taller than they actually are, they can manipulate perceived distance between objects. In many cases
architects use forced perspective as a means due to the lack of physical space.
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PARTHENON -

Greek and Romans wanted to achieve certain architectural effects with temples. Primarily the goal in antiquity
was to reflect ideal forms of nature, for example by following the concept of Golden proportions and creating
symmetrical structures. They quickly understood that buildings either are perfect, or look exactly perfect

Tilt to Fix Perspective

The Roman architect Vitruvius said that all parts above the column of a Doric building should be tilted
downward so that they would appear to be vertical when viewed from below. If viewed from afar, these tilted
elements would appear flush.
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View Correctly From A Certain Distance

Why a tilt of 1/12? The roof eave overhang was usually about 1/12th the height of the column (for example, the
Temple of Athena at Priene). This was deliberately the same proportion as the entablature tilt, so that it would
relate each element of the entablature with the columns below.
If we form an equilateral triangle from the tilt of the columns and overhang, we discover that this plane appears
flush to someone standing back six times the height of the columns. This point of the triangle will be at eye
height, just the right point from which to view the building. To someone standing at this distance, the roof eave
will appear the same distance away as the base of the column.

It also creates an angle of ten degrees. The numbers six and ten, Vitruvius said, are the best numbers to use
because they are related to most other numbers.
The Parthenon has columns of 10.45m height and the overhang is less than 1m. It will therefore be viewed with
perfect proportions at a distance of about 60m or 200ft.
This provided precise points on the surrounding topography that related to the building, engaged the
landscape, and makes the viewer an active participant. An important function of these buildings was to relate of
the human body with the temple, finding the “calculated proportions that could be applied to the human body
and temples alike.” 6 “Since nature has designed the human body so that its members are duly proportioned to
the frame as a whole, it appears that the ancients had good reason for their rule, that in perfect buildings the
different members must be in exact symmetrical relations to the whole general scheme.” 5
Temples don’t just reference the viewer’s body and the outlaying topography- it directly interacts with them,
giving explanation for the design of the body and finding its place in the natural landscape.

Incline Columns Inward

The facade elements are tilted outward, but the columns are actually tilted inward. This emphasizes their ability
to hold up the ceiling. Vertical columns under the heavy weight of the entablature appear like they are about to
tip over toward the viewer, but an inward tilt to the columns make them look more stable when viewed from
below. This gives “the whole building an appearance of greater strength.” 7
In this case Greek architects did not seek to counteract perspective distortion but to use it to their advantage.
This “imposing effect of high relief” suggests structural stability, something more important than strict
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proportion. This inclination is very subtle; on the Parthenon the columns lean inward just 2 3/8 inches. The
tilted axis of these columns converge 1 1/2 miles into the sky. 7

The stylobate floor of the Parthenon is curved upward. A

perfectly flat floor would appear to sag inward. The face of the earth is curved and the hill on which
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the Parthenon stands is curved, therefore viewers instinctively expect a slight curvature to all
horizontal planes. Straight edges look off.

“This horizontal curvature actually begins not in the stylobate, but below the stylobate in the
foundations. But the curvature is most noticeable in the stylobate, which directly receives the
downward thrust of the column drums.” 8

The curve reaches 2 3/8 inches on the end facades and 4 5/16 inches on the long facades, a radius
of 3 1/2 miles. 7
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RESULTS

REFERENCES
[1] G. O. Young, “Synthetic structure of industrial plastics (Book style with paper title and editor),” in Plastics, 2nd ed. vol. 3, J. Peters, Ed. New
York: McGraw-Hill, 1964, pp. 15–64.
[2] W.-K. Chen, Linear Networks and Systems (Book style). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1993, pp. 123–135.
[3] H. Poor, An Introduction to Signal Detection and Estimation. New York: Springer-Verlag, 1985, ch. 4.
[4] B. Smith, “An approach to graphs of linear forms (Unpublished work style),” unpublished.
[5] E. H. Miller, “A note on reflector arrays (Periodical style—Accepted for publication),” IEEE Trans. Antennas Propagat., to be published.
[6] J. Wang, “Fundamentals of erbium-doped fiber amplifiers arrays (Periodical style—Submitted for publication),” IEEE J. Quantum Electron.,
submitted for publication.
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AUTHORS
First Author – Author name, qualifications, associated institute (if any) and email address.
Second Author – Author name, qualifications, associated institute (if any) and email address.
Third Author – Author name, qualifications, associated institute (if any) and email address.

Correspondence Author – Author name, email address, alternate email address (if any), contact number.

Reality

Eye
s

Perceived
Brain
Reality

Perception of Perception of Perception of Perception of

Colors Form Depth Motion