Juhani Pallasmaa is one of Finland's most distinguished architects and architectural thinkers. He has held a number of prestigious positions throughout his career, including: Rector of the Institute of Industrial Arts, Helsinki; Director of the Museum of Finnish Architecture, Helsinki; and Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Architecture at Helsinki University of Technology. As well as, a member of the Jury of the Pritzker Prize (2008-2014). He has also held visiting professorships at several universities worldwide.

Foreword vi
 
Introduction Touching the World 2
 
by Juhani Pallasmaa
 
Part One Vision and Knowledge 10
 
Critics of Ocularcentrism 14
 
The Narcissistic and Nihilistic Eye 16
 
Oral Versus Visual Space 17
 
Retinal Architecture and the Loss of Plasticity 20
 
An Architecture of Visual Images 24
 
Materiality and Time 25
 
The Rejection of Alberti's Window 28
 
A New Vision and Sensory Balance 30
 
Part Two The Body in the Centre 33
 
Multi- Sensory Experience 34
 
The Significance of the Shadow 39
 
Acoustic Intimacy 42
 
Silence, Time and Solitude 43
 
Spaces of Scent 46
 
The Shape of Touch 48
 
The Taste of Stone 50
 
Images of Muscle and Bone 51
 
Images of Action 54
 
Bodily Identification 55
 
Mimesis of the Body 56
 
Spaces of Memory and Imagination 60
 
An Architecture of the Senses 61
 
The Task of Architecture 62
 
A Door Handle, A Handshake An introduction to Juhani Pallasmaa and his work by Peter MacKeith 64
 
Apertures 72
 
Poetics 81
 
Notes 88
 
Index 99
 
Picture Credits 103

THE EYES OF THE SKIN
 
Explore the relationship between architecture and the sensory experience with the fourth edition of this groundbreaking work
 
First published in 1996, The Eyes of the Skin is a classic of architectural theory. It asks the far-reaching question why, when there are five senses, is one single sense--sight--so predominant in architectural culture and design? With the ascendancy of the digital and the all-pervasive use of the image electronically, the subject is all the more pressing and topical since the first edition's publication. Juhani Pallasmaa argues that the suppression of the other four sensory realms has led to the overall impoverishment of our built environment, often diminishing the emphasis on the spatial experience of a building and architecture's ability to inspire, engage and be wholly life enhancing.
 
For a student reading this text for the first time, The Eyes of the Skin is a revelation. It provides a fresh, compelling insight into architectural culture which continues to inspire more than a quarter-century after its initial publication.
 
The fourth edition of The Eyes of the Skin also features:
* The author's latest views on the emphasis of place, unfocused perception and existential experience
* Updates and clarifications throughout, to reinforce how our sense of self in the world remains our most important sense with the greatest architectural impact
* An updated Foreword that touches on the current understanding of the seminal importance of the existential sense
 
The Eyes of the Skin is a must-read for all architecture students, who will find its insights transformative.