P O S T

B U R N I N G D O W N T H E H O U S E
M A S T E R T H E S I S
Memories of a building

P O S T have made a workshop about our memory. We investigated how different a buildning and space can be remembered. We visited several buildings in Gothenburg. Before we entered the buildings we split up and asked our selves what we expected of the building. What the atmosphere of the building would be and the physical features of it. Inside the building we wandered around and tried to intake the atmosphere of it.

After our visits to different buildings we let a few days pass before we sat down to discuss what we remebered. We waited because we didn´t want our memories to be fresh. We wanted to give them a chance to live their own lives. We asked each other what we remebered and it was striking how much we remebered and how alike our memories of the atmospheres and the physical apperence of the buildings were.

Does this show that our memories are good and that the buildings we visited had features easy to remember? And when our memories differs it is the emotional ones more than the memories of the physical features. Or could this be because one´s memories awakend the other one´s memories. Was the memories rubbed off? Did you come up with memories by your self that wasn´t yours from the first place?

After this discussion we talked about buildings and places that we had visited together years ago. Some of the buildings we both had a strong memory about. In other cases one of us remebered a place almost in detail while the other one didnt even remember being in the building.

What makes certain buildings and their aura live on in our memory? We belive it´s buildings that have had a strong inpact on you, whether it´s positive or negative. Memories are deeply connected to features like smell, sound, vision,temperature and tactile elements. For example a well known smell can trigger a memory about a place. Are one or many of these features strong in a building you will have a richer memory of it. Buildings can also awaken emotional memories in you. For example the memory of a funeral in one church can be brought back to live in a completely different church by the sound of church bells for examples.

The memory is like a wild horse, it´s hard to control.