Design and Somatic Experience: An Empirical Approach to Drawing through Experiential Anatomy

Experiential anatomy, somatics, and neuroscience provide the theoretical framework. This quasi-experimental research compares and contrasts 136 sets of drawings of handles and lamps produced in 7 trials after stimulating the neo-cortex with those produced after stimulating sub-cortical parts of the brain. The two different cognitive states produced predicted design differences: straight, small, two-dimensional drawings morphed into curvilinear, large, and three-dimensional drawings of the same objects. Implications for design pedagogy and the history of organic architecture are discussed.

keywords: design pedagogy, architectural pedagogy, somatics, drawing, organic design, quasi-experimental research in design