University of Texas Press

FIRST, as you begin to experience a building, try to learn why it was built and what its function in the community was and is now, so you can understand it socially before you begin your physical understanding.

SECOND, raise your normal view and look up as you walk around. Much of the architect’s effort is above eye level. See how the light hits the surfaces. Notice the shape of the shadows. Notice the number of layers in the façade, starting with the layers of mass closest to you and receding to the window glass. Focus, in turn, on color, form, texture, proportion, rhythm, silhouette, mass. Look only for form for a bit, then look only for proportion, then the other elements of design—each in its own time.

THIRD, sense the space by the size and shape of the spaces, how they sound as you speak, and how the light slides in and bounces around. Sense the space formed by the building outside, and, as you go inside, see also how the spaces relate to each other and transition from one to another. Architecture being the art of space, it cannot be fully communicated in pictures, drawings, or words but must be sensed to be fully appreciated

Doc, if you let me drink this tequila, I promise I won’t drink at my funeral.