Mount Tom Self-Transformation Retreat: Designing Experiential Architecture to Provoke Stimulatory, Expressive and Sensory Self- Exploration
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University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Masters Theses Dissertations and Theses August 2014 Mount Tom Self-Transformation Retreat: Designing Experiential Architecture to Provoke Stimulatory, Expressive and Sensory Self- Exploration Kyle B. Young University of Massachusetts Amherst Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/masters_theses_2 Part of the Architecture Commons Recommended Citation Young, Kyle B., "Mount Tom Self-Transformation Retreat: Designing Experiential Architecture to Provoke Stimulatory, Expressive and Sensory Self-Exploration" (2014). Masters Theses. 55. https://doi.org/10.7275/5784026 https://scholarworks.umass.edu/masters_theses_2/55 This Open Access Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Dissertations and Theses at ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. 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MOUNT TOM SELF-TRANSFORMATION RETREAT: DESIGNING EXPERIENTIAL ARCHITECTURE TO PROVOKE STIMULATORY, EXPRESSIVE AND SENSORY SELF- EXPLORATION A Thesis Presented By KYLE BYRON YOUNG MASTER OF ARCHITECTURE May 2014 School of Architecture + Design MOUNT TOM SELF-TRANSFORMATION RETREAT: DESIGNING EXPERIENTIAL ARCHITECTURE TO PROVOKE STIMULATORY, EXPRESSIVE AND SENSORY SELF- EXPLORATION A Thesis Presented By KYLE BYRON YOUNG Approved as to style and content by: ________________________________________________ Kathleen Lugosch, Chair ________________________________________________ Carey Clouse, Advisor ________________________________________________ William Oedel, Chair Department Humanities and Fine Arts Kathleen Lugosch, Director Department Humanities and Fine Arts DEDICATION To Denny and Debbie Young for the endless years of encouragement and support. & To Jessica Brady for your willingness to go above and beyond, regardless of the time or place. ABSTRACT MOUNT TOM SELF-TRANSFORMATION RETREAT: DESIGNING EXPERIENTIAL ARCHITECTURE TO PROVOKE STIMULATORY, EXPRESSIVE AND SENSORY SELF-EXPLORATION MAY 2014 KYLE BYRON YOUNG, B.F.A., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST M.ARCH., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Directed by: Professor Kathleen Lugosch The environment evolved five human senses; through these receptors the majority of us experience life. Or do we? The a vast majority of our daily landscape resides enclosed, shut off from the exterior; separating people from the elements, organizing and distributing the multitude of functions that affect how we live and feel. The mental state of society is poor, the “daily dis-ease” of we wrestle with; stress, emotions, fatigue, exhaustion, disconnection suck the life out of the moments we live to barely even see. These interactions and experiences we encounter in, on, under and around the architectural forms we travel between are often so boring and ordinary we don’t even label them as experience. I challenge architecture can be more. The tangibles (senses) can be invigorated and spaces can be driven and designed by the senses, by the body and by the mind. The creation of unique experiences involves not only the measureable (light, smell, touch, taste & sound etc.) but also immeasurable effects on the body (memory, unity, serenity, etc.) The core of this project aims to cultivate an architecture that provides an array of nurturing and invigorating experiential and exploratory moments harmoniously placed throughout the natural landscape. Through this reintroduction to experience, the individuals attending the retreat will be engulfed in experiencing the moment and living each breath of sensation. For meditation is the existence in contemplation, relaxation and mental hygiene that provides the platform, the vessel for self-exploration and internal growth. Here the architecture becomes the marbles in the landscape, nestled into the site located in Mountain Park in Holyoke, Ma. “Come experience life, and energize your body and mind” iv CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................................ iv LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................................. viii CHAPTER 1. PROPOSAL ...................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1. Architecture and Experience .......................................................................................... 1 1.2. Light and the Seasons ........................................................................................................ 7 1.3. Built Environment and the Occupant .......................................................................... 9 1.4. Yoga and Meditation ....................................................................................................... 13 2. THEORY ........................................................................................................................................ 14 2.1. Humans and Nature......................................................................................................... 14 2.2. Evolution of Built Environment .................................................................................. 23 2.3. Senses ................................................................................................................................... 25 2.3.1 Touch ........................................................................................................................... 26 2.3.2 Sound ........................................................................................................................... 28 2.3.3 Smell............................................................................................................................. 31 2.3.4 Taste ............................................................................................................................. 34 2.3.5 Sight ............................................................................................................................. 35 2.4. Materiality and Texture ................................................................................................. 43 2.5. Ergonomics and Biometrics ......................................................................................... 44 2.6. Psychometric & Psychology of Space ....................................................................... 46 v 3. MINDFULNESS AND WELL-BEING .................................................................................... 51 3.1. Meditation ........................................................................................................................... 51 3.2. Yoga ....................................................................................................................................... 51 3.3. Prana (Life Force Energy) ............................................................................................. 54 4. HISTORY ....................................................................................................................................... 55 4.1. Region and Location ........................................................................................................ 55 4.2. Holyoke History ................................................................................................................ 58 4.3. Mountain Park History ................................................................................................... 62 4.4. Existing Conditions .......................................................................................................... 66 4.4.1 Climate ........................................................................................................................ 69 4.4.2 Topography ............................................................................................................... 71 4.4.3 Hydrology .................................................................................................................. 73 4.4.4 Solar Mapping .......................................................................................................... 75 4.4.5 Vegetation .................................................................................................................. 81 4.4.6 Trails and Connections ......................................................................................... 84 4.5. Opportunities ..................................................................................................................... 86 5. CONCEPT ...................................................................................................................................... 88 5.1. Proposal ............................................................................................................................... 88 5.2. Exploration ......................................................................................................................... 89 5.3. Inspiration ........................................................................................................................... 96 5.4. Programming………………………………………………………………………….………...111 vi 5.5. Concept…………………………………………………………………………………………….126 5.5.1. Siting………………………………………………………………………………….......126 5.5.2. Parti…………………………………………………………………………………….....132