| Title |
How Opening Design Affects Viewing Experience on Phenomenological Aspects |
| DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5659/JAIK.2025.41.11.139 |
| Keywords |
Le Corbusier; Auguste Perret; fenestration; window design; view-matjip; presence; phenomenology |
| Abstract |
Recently, cafe has emerged as one of the main fields of architectural design. In Korea, famous cafes are often referred to as view-matjip,
meaning a popular place with a notable view. This label has expanded beyond cafes to include restaurants, hotels, and especially Airbnb
accommodations. Their popularity relies heavily on Instagram exposure, and visiting such places has become a major trend. To examine this
phenomenon, this study investigates the viewing experience of these spaces from a phenomenological perspective. The historical debate
between Le Corbusier and Auguste Perret on the design of windows provides valuable insight. Their contrasting views, Le Corbusier’s
horizontal window versus Perret’s vertical one, produced fundamentally different viewing experiences. Building on analyses by Bruno Reichlin
and Beatriz Colomina, phenomenological interpretation suggests that Le Corbusier’s horizontal window creates a cinematic experience, while
Perret’s vertical window generates a theatrical one, linked to the presence of an audience. Jean-Paul Sartre’s theory of imagination frames Le
Corbusier’s design as offering transcendent freedom by either erasing or obliviating physical presence, whereas August Schmarsow’s
locomotive spatial theory interprets Perret’s design as offering physical freedom while preserving human presence. These analyses reveal that
architectural openings serve not only practical functions of ventilation and lighting but also fulfill deeper ontological needs. They provide two
distinct forms of freedom, transcendental through imagination and physical through embodied presence. |