•  
  •  
 

Abstract

Phobia in its broadest sense is an irrational fear or feeling, created in a person toward an object or a certain situation that might happen around him or in his imagination and it can be related to natural elements such as animals, insects, oceans, fire and heights. Furthermore, it can be related to build environment and manmade spaces or more simply, to architecture. Unfortunately, architects shifted from the standardisation and regularity to creating innovative and irregular spaces that are reflected by the exterior and interior design of the building without having any concern of the negative consequences such as phobias and anxiety disorder among people. Therefore, this paper aims to detect the contemporary design elements and representations that generated types of phobias to the users of projects. To achieve the main aim, this paper will begin by literature review, based on desk research, defining the meaning of phobia, recognising its types and reasons. Then, the paper will highlight the historical background of phobia in architecture, browsing previous readings about the phobia in the contemporary architecture. After that, the research will analyse three case studies that are Roland Messner Museum in South Tyrol of Italy, The Musée des Confluences in Lyon, Lou Ruvo Centre for Brain Health in Las Vegas. Through the analysis, the research will detect the elements and representations that generated different types of phobias, it can be recognised if the spaces of these three projects targeted to generate phobia on purpose or it was a spontaneous feeling by some users. Another finding can be figured out, a judgment of criticism can determine if these designs were successful through using these thrilling elements or not. In conclusion, a set of contemporary design elements that stimulate phobia for users is defined.

Keywords

Phobia, Contemporary Architecture, Psychology, Architectural Space

Disciplines

Architecture | Arts and Humanities | Social and Behavioral Sciences

Share

COinS
 
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.