I found the John Mason reading, ‘The Discipline of Noticing,’ enlightening. Immanuel Kant’s explanation of why noticing is important to have a full experience was particularly interesting. Noticing effectively takes effort, it requires you to go a step beyond just experiencing something on the surface. You must actively and thoughtfully absorb it and reflect to experience it fully. We may notice some things, but without proper reflection, these things are forgotten.

Some are conditioned to notice certain things; such as a mother noticing the habits of other children. It takes specific effort, habit and experience to notice some things naturally or subconsciously.

The reading also touches on the practice of ‘marking’ something that you notice. Making a mental note to remember it, rather than just noticing it. And then one can go a step further and record what they have marked.

I particularly like the closing line; “The essence of noticing is being awake to situations, being mindful rather than mindless.” When relating this to spaces, you will not experience a space simply by being in it. To really understand it you must actively look and ponder things about it. You must take your time there; looking, marking and recording the space.

On Thursday morning and again in the afternoon I visited the old Justice Precinct of RMIT. It was somewhat difficult to navigate some of it, and a couple of the buildings such as 15 and 21 had clearly been renovated over time. But I found a classic charm with Building 20, the old Magistrates’ Court. It still had many of its original features still in tact. I was surprised to find so many interesting angles and perspectives within the building. I had seen a couple of photos of the interior online, but it wasn’t until I was wandering around inside that I realised the importance of looking up in this building. Ornate door-frames, plaster formations, and intricate buttresses. Particularly in the large, circular room at the old entrance.

In my exploration of the other buildings, however, I found the interiors to be less historically in tact. From what I saw, they had been recently renovated with decor no older than the 80’s or 90’s. For this reason, unless something in a particular building’s history draws me in, I am gravitating toward building 20, on its aesthetic qualities alone. Through visiting the space, I found a more accurate representation of the unique qualities of the building that I hadn’t found in my initial online search.

I hope to return to the area on Tuesday or Wednesday of next week, during the evening to gain another perspective of the space.