What is a space, and how do we map them? – the seemingly simple question retains its complexity and contradiction through the years of architectural and design pedagogy. Drawing from two cross-school postgraduate electives hosted at the Mackintosh School of Architecture (The Glasgow School of Art),
this exhibition explores the intersection of sensory experience and urban mapping, inviting viewers to reconsider how we perceive and navigate our civic environments.
In Sense Space, the design experiments test our comprehension of architectural space beyond sound and sight. Drawing inspiration from thinkers and practitioners, it seeks to engage with all five senses to deepen our connection to the spaces we inhabit. Through immersive workshops and activities, it invites students to re-learn to appreciate the textures, smells, sounds, and movements that shape our experiences, underlining the often-overlooked senses in design and architecture.
In parallel, Mapping the City reimagines the mapping practice as a dynamic, creative process that encapsulates urban life's socio-political and spatial tissues. Treating Glasgow as a living canvas, it explores personal definitions of urban spaces through mapping, emphasising the multifaceted relationships between
space, people, and place. By considering mapping as a creative expression and reflection tool, it inquires about the elusive definition of a map, mapping, and a mapper in contemporary cities.
Together, these two explorations encourage a deeper, multi-sensory engagement with urban space, urging participants and visitors to reconsider how we experience, represent, and navigate the cities we live in.
This exhibition is curated by Abie Sorono.