GATE Architecture Questions

Proxemic theory: Edward T. Hall, the cultural anthropologist who coined the term in 1963, is a subcategory of the study of nonverbal communication which are listed below.

o    haptics (touch)

o    kinesics (body movement)

o    vocalics (paralanguage)

o    chronemics (structure of time).

·          Kinesthetic factors: This category deals with how closely the participants are to touching, from being completely outside of body-contact distance to being in physical contact, which parts of the body are in contact, and body part positioning.

·          Touching code: This behavioural category concerns how participants are touching one another, such as caressing, holding, feeling, prolonged holding, spot touching, pressing against, accidental brushing, or not touching at all.

·          Visual code: This category denotes the amount of eye contact between participants. Four sub-categories are defined, ranging from eye-to-eye contact to no-eye contact at all.

·          Thermal code : This category denotes the amount of body heat that each participant perceives from another. Four sub-categories are defined: conducted heat detected, radiant heat detected, heat probably detected, and no detection of heat.

·          Olfactory code: This category deals in the kind and degree of odour detected by each participant from the other.

·          Voice loudness: This category deals in the vocal effort used in speech. Seven sub-categories are defined: silent, very soft, soft, normal, normal+, loud, and very loud.

Intimate distance for embracing, touching or whispering:

Close phase – less than 6 inches (15 cm)

Far phase – 6 to 18 inches (15 to 46 cm)

Personal distance for interactions among good friends or family members:

Close phase – 1.5 to 2.5 feet (46 to 76 cm)

Far phase – 2.5 to 4 feet (76 to 120 cm)

Social distance for interactions among acquaintances

Close phase – 4 to 7 feet (1.2 to 2.1 m)

Far phase – 7 to 12 feet (2.1 to 3.7 m)

Public distance used for public speaking

Close phase – 12 to 25 feet (3.7 to 7.6 m)

Far phase – 25 feet (7.6 m) or more.

The study of spatial factors in face to face interaction is known as                                                          (GATE 1992)

(A)    Schemata

(B)     Personal Space

(C)     Proxemics

(D)    Territoriality

                               

                                Answer (C) Proxemics

Serial Vision: English architect and urban designer Gordon Cullen developed the term serial vision to describe what a pedestrian experiences when moving through a built environment. (Townscape)

·          Occupied territory:  « Shade, shelter, amenity and convenience are the usual causes of possession. The furniture of possession includes floorscape, posts, canopies, enclaves, focal points and enclosures ». (Cullen, 1971, p.23)

·          Viscosity:  « Where there is a mixture of static possession and possession in movement, we find what may be termed viscosity: the formation of groups chatting, of slow window-shoppers, people selling newspapers and so on. » (Cullen, 1971, p.24)

·          Enclave:  « The enclave or interior open to the exterior and having free and direct access from one to the other is seen here as an accessible place or room out of the main directional stream  » (Cullen, 1971, p.25)

·          Enclosure:  «  It is the basic unit of the precinctual pattern ; outside, the noise and speed of impersonal communication which comes and goes but is not of any place. Inside, the quietness and human scale of the square, quad or courtyard ». (Cullen, 1971, p.25)

·          Focal point:  « Coupled with enclosure (the hollow object) is the focal point, the vertical symbol of congregation. In the fertile streets and market places of town and village it is the focal point (be it column or cross) which crystallizes the situation, which confirms ‘this is the spot. Stop looking, it is here ». Cullen, 1971, p .26)

Urban Imageability: “Image of City” by Kevin Lynch

·          District: Area of homogeneous character recognized by clues.

·          Node: Strategic foci into which observer can enter.

·          Landmark: Important location.

·          Pathway: Act as lateral reference and often path as well.

Defensible Space: The defensible space theory of architect and city planner Oscar Newman encompasses ideas about crime prevention and neighborhood safety. The theory developed in the early 1970s, and he wrote his first book on the topic, ‘Defensible Space’ in 1972. Newman focused on explaining his ideas on social control, crime prevention, and public health in relation to community design.