DRAMATURGY OF ARCHITECTURAL SPACE OF THE CITY: VISUAL AND COMPOSITION MECHANISMS OF FORMING PERCEPTION

Abstract

The aim of the article is to systematically identify the dramatic aspects of architectural space and comprehensively determine the role of static and dynamic mechanisms in the formation of its dramaturgy. The research is aimed at theoretically and empirically clarifying how anthropomorphic metaphors, scenographic techniques and visual-imaginative means are integrated into the architectural composition, transforming the environment into an object of active emotional empathy and cognitive comprehension. Special attention is paid to the analysis of the transition from the physical movement of the observer to the optical movement of the gaze within a single frame. Research methods. The research was carried out on the basis of an interdisciplinary approach using compositional and spatial analysis of architectural environments, comparative analysis of pictorial and graphic works (Piranesi, Pre-Raphaelites, E. Hopper, J. de Chirico), methods of visual frame analysis, as well as interpretation of eye tracking data to identify the sequence of fixations, gaze delays and directions of visual movement. It was the combination of the analysis of artistic images and real spatial situations of cities that made it possible to trace the mechanisms of transferring dramatic principles into architectural space. Main results and conclusions. As a result of the research, it was established that the dramaturgy of architectural space is realized in static and dynamic dimensions and is determined by the ratio of masses and voids, their configuration, silhouette line, chiaroscuro and scale contrasts, as well as a change in the angles and points of view of the observer. It is proven that voids, in particular “negative space”, the surface of the earth and the sky, act as active compositional factors that form emotional tension and the hierarchy of perception. The scientific novelty lies in the interpretation of the dramatic type of urban space as a variable characteristic that arises in the process of contemplation, as well as in the application of visual analysis methods for the interpretation of architectural composition. The results obtained are important for the theory of architecture, urban planning and architectural education, focused on the emotional experience of a person who physically and visually experiences architectural space.