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Meaning of deja vu in urban space and Gestalt laws
According to experts, at least once in our lives we will experience adeja vu. Roughly and, although the term has different variants, the what is deja vu You can define the concept when something happens and suddenly, over the course of a few seconds, you have that strange feeling that you have already lived that moment, that you have already witnessed a specific event or experience.
The meaning deja vu It is known in the scientific world as paramnesia (Delusional belief that a place or scene has been duplicated), which comes from the French déjà vu "already seen before."
Coined by the French psychic Émile Boirac in his book "The future of psychic sciences". According to statistics, it is also more common in people with higher education and of "socioeconomic" class, those who watch more movies or tend to travel often. If he deja vu concept has to do with him familiarity-based recognition, there is some logic in these statistics; Travel is more common among people with higher incomes, and travel offers more opportunities to see new physical places that could lead to a sense of familiarity.
Deja vu in architecture and urban space
Focusing on the world of architecture deja vuand urban space. Cleary, a Colorado State University psychologist, is using today's technology to try to recreate the déjà vu experience. He has created a virtual 3D town called"Leave Ville", based on the popular Sims 2 game. He's using it to explore theory. Gestalt, before the disposition of the objects within a scene.
Given the importance of Gestalt psychology We make a small section to explain some interesting concepts:
Laws of Gestalt
What are the laws of Gestalt (Laws on Design and Perception). He tries to understand the perceptual process as it relates to visual elements, starting from the idea that "the whole is more than the sum of its parts." To understand it better, we leave the following video of the Gestalt principles and concept about objects and space:
The video is by Manuel Flores. Some Gestalt examples in the urban space we could understand it in the following advertising campaign of a well-known beverage brand:
On the right is the Law of Similarity: We perceive grouped elements that are the same, identifying a shape. And the left, an example of the law of continuity: elements that follow a pattern or continuity tend to group together, so we perceive continuous elements even if they are interrupted.
To understand more we can consult Gestalt psychology (here) or applied with practical examples of the laws of Gestalt.
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Continuing with the work of Cleary and his virtual town in 3D … "For each original scene created, we create another, different scene that projects onto the original scene in its spatial configuration - the configuration of the grid elements".
For example, if the original scene was a courtyard with a tree with a pot in the center, surrounded by flowers and pots hanging on the walls of the courtyard, the corresponding similar scene could be a museum with a statue in the middle (Statue = tree), surrounded by rugs and chandeliers in the same configuration as the flowers and pots. If we are creating a deja vu experience, we could also help predict what happens next! An example deja vu:
- Patio with a tree = Right hand bottom, example, restrooms and left hand, emergency exit.
- Museum with statue = Right hand background, example, toilets and left hand, emergency exit.
If a user. First he was in the «Courtyard with a tree» and then we transferred him to the «Museum with a statue» and we asked him where the emergency exit is, due to a scene that we have caused, an induced memory, he will tell us - probably - that he is in the left hand.
This makes it possible, as an example, that in case of fires in buildings they can be evacuated more quickly because users already know where the exit is unconsciously. It is evident that all buildings do not have to be the same, but it is possible that the interior distributions are similar in certain buildings, with similar uses.
Conceptual photographer James Popsys has an innate concern to remember and recall experiences and objects, adapting them to urban spaces in his ingenious photographs … «Rememberinglet you in the cities" and transforming the everyday image into a surreal memory of overwhelming visual impact.
Recalling the boring urbanism article on facade design where urban planner Jan Gehl taught us that he has been able to identify a handful of design attributes - within urban space - that can either attract or deter pedestrians by creating what he calls …"The urban scene at eye level" We know that we are capable of influencing the daily pedestrian in cities.
So, we are significantly increasing the power to create certain sensations for users according to the convenience of the urban planner or the designer.
Following the phrase «If we are creating an experience of deja vu, we can also help to predict what happens next!»… We can move to the Eixample of Barcelona with the famous Pla Cerdá where there is an urban peculiarity, no longer because of the shape of the latticework and the urban profile that is based on «square blocks» and … etc, but rather by the direction of the traffic of the streets.
The image belongs to the interactive 3D maps article. Highly recommended!
Each street is one-way, and the next street is the opposite way to the previous one. That is, although we are located in different parts of the Eixample and we can feel that we have already been in that place, although the space and urban fabric will be very similar, we can recognize that if the next street goes in one direction, the street after, goes in other.
And what benefits does it bring? … Many, if we help predict what happens next; Less time wasted moving from one place to another in the city, accident prevention since we know the street addresses … etc. On an individual basis, the roads do not bring much benefit, but in the context as a whole, it brings a benefit to the driver.
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