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Abstract
In the 21st century, in confront of the challenge of addressing a range of social
and environmental issues, architectural design is considered to be a costeffective tool in facilitating sustainable development in society instead of only
creating for art's sake. This substantive ideological change has led to the lack of
spiritual and emotional richness in modern architecture. This essay will identify
the importance of architectural atmosphere (which refers to the intangible
relationship between environmental qualities and human states) and its
mediating characteristics in enriching and regulating human sensory experience
based on daily life, which will positively enhance the long-term impact on
psychosomatic health. This essay will first investigate the generators of
atmospheres and influences on the users in Peter Zumthor's designs and
writings, in response to the theories mainly claimed by German philosopher
Gernot Böhme and Finnish architect Juhanni Pallasmaa. Based on this, the
fundamentals and potential ability of the critical design constituents in
architectural atmosphere – light, materials, sound, colours, 'journey through
space', and 'relationship to human scale' will be highlighted and further
explored in improving the sensory experience in functional buildings which
strongly connected to daily life. Working space, learning spaces, and sanatorium
will then be focused on with considerations of current and future user's
psychological needs. The essay will locate architectural atmosphere as a shared
phenomenon in improving living quality through cultivating the overall
perceptions and emotional response to the spaces, which will enrich the
spiritual care of users in the future and make sustainable architecture more
human and efficient.
Annotated Bibliography in Alphabetical Order
Ahmadi, Mosleh. “The Experience of Movement in the Built Form and Space: A
Framework for Movement Evaluation in Architecture.” Cogent arts &
humanities 6, no. 1 (2019): 1-19.
In this article, the author attempts to address not only the circulation in
architecture and visual movement, but also the psychological aspects of
movement by examining the stimulus factors of the physical movement in the
built forms. The quantified research outcomes will be consulted as in my essay to
explore the key characteristics of the atmosphere in spatial movement
experience.
Bille, Mikkel. “The Lightness of Atmospheric Communities.” In Atmosphere and
Aesthetics: A Plural Perspective, edited by Tonino Griffero and Marco
Tedeschini, 241–255. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2019.
This chapter is from the book “Atmosphere and Aesthetics: A Plural Perspective”
edited by Tonino Griffero and Marco Tedeschini, which introduces various
applications of atmosphere in humanities and social sciences. This chapter
examines the method and influence of atmospheric design on connecting people
and places from different scales of experiences rather than only the individual
experience. This atmosphere capability is very significant in my essay as it laid
the foundation of sensory design for the public.
Bille, Mikkel, and Tim Flohr Sørensen. Elements of Architecture Assembling
Archaeology, Atmosphere and the Performance of Building Spaces. London:
Routledge, 2016.
This book attempts to create a link between archaeology and architecture by
focusing on the relationship between physical space and our sensory or
'atmospheric' experiences within it. It provides a different understanding of
architecture as an 'assemblage of elements' instead of a static entity. In
particular, the three chapters titled "A sense of place", "Lighting up the
atmosphere", and "A sense of architecture in the past" will be consulted in my
essay as they provide a broad range of historical case studies which laid a
theoretical base of creating the sense or meaning of place in atmospheric
architecture.
Blesser, Barry, and Linda-Ruth Salter. Spaces Speak, Are You Listening? Experiencing
Aural Architecture. Cambridge: MIT Press, 2006.
This book demonstrates how we experience space by listening. Its
interdisciplinary research on aural architecture provides a wide range of aspects
such as social and cultural perspectives on how people impacted and engaged in
the sensory experience. This book will be the extension of the study of sound in
my essay in relation to defining the key characteristics of the atmosphere of a
place. Also, the potential integration with other senses will be considered with
the user's need in creating an atmosphere.
Böhme, Gernot. Atmospheric Architectures: The Aesthetics of Felt Spaces. edited
and translated by Anna-Chr. Engels-Schwarzpaul. London: Bloomsbury
Publishing Plc, 2017.
This book was written by German philosopher Gernot Böhme, which offers a
wide range of references and a theoretical framework for continuous debates on
atmospheres and their links to architectural and urban spaces. Most of the
content does not actually deal with architecture but rather the conditions for its
explicit perception. These perceptions and the theory of new aesthetics
developed by Böhme will be consulted as part of the major theoretical
foundations of atmosphere in my essay.
Böhme, Gernot. “Atmosphere as Mindful Physical Presence in Space.” OASE 91
(2013): 21-32.
This journal by Böhme is a shortened version of the chapter 'Leibliche
Anwesenheit' published in 2006. It emphasizes the body presence in the
atmospheric design and indicates the significance of keeping the balance
between the body defined by physical built forms and how the individual
experience defines the body. This article is essential for my essay, Böhme's
theory will be consulted throughout my study.
Coleman, Nathaniel. Materials and Meaning in Architecture: Essays on the Bodily
Experience of Buildings. London: Bloomsbury Visual Arts, 2020.
This book introduces a rich and multi-dimensional exploration of materials and
materiality based on the interweaving of architecture, philosophy, and cultural
history. It states that the sense of touch can directly communicate with human
perception and establishes ‘place identity’. The chapters related to the case
study of modern architects (Peter Zumthor and Carlo Scarpa), and the chapters
to specific materials (wood, brick, concrete, steel, and glass) will be consulted in
the session of material study in my essay in order to further investigate in its
sensory experience and the emotional response according to different scenarios.
Day, Christopher. Places of the Soul: Architecture and Environmental Design as
Healing Art. 3rd ed. London: Taylor and Francis, 2017.
This book investigates the consensus design with economic and social
sustainability. By highlighting the multi-sensory and spatial sequential
experiences with spiritual resonate, it argues that if sustainable design just
focuses on energy efficiency and overlooks to 'nourish the soul', ecotechnologies will not be used efficiently as there is a lack of spiritual care. This
book is of major importance as it laid the purpose of my research topic.
De Botton, Alain. The Architecture of Happiness. New York: Vintage books, 2008.
This book is written by Alain de Botton, a Swiss-British philosopher. He claims a
building providing pleasure for users requires order, balance, elegance,
coherence, and self-knowledge. Instead of pointing out the specific architectural
characteristics, such as spatial arrangement, scale, volume, it empathizes on the
emotions that architecture inspires in the user of buildings. It provides a more
humanistic perspective in perceiving spaces in my research, and the daily human
activities affected by the surrounding atmosphere in this book will also be
consulted in my essay.
Lupton, Ellen, and Andrea Lipps. The Senses: Design Beyond Vision. Hudson, NY:
Princeton Architectural Press, 2018.
As its title suggested, this book explores the way space, materials, sound, and
light affect the mind and body in diverse fields such as including products,
animation, and architecture. Rather than just providing the theories, it contains
very practical and specific solutions in each sub-topic. This book will be used as a
source on the topic of the application of atmospheric design in different building
use.
Norberg-Schulz, Christian. Genius Loci: Towards a Phenomenology of
Architecture. New York: Rizzoli, 1980.
This book is written by Norwegian architect Christian Norberg-Schulz, a key
theorist for phenomenology in architecture. The term 'genius loci' mentioned by
Norberg Schulz refers to the spirituality of place. This book demonstrates the
links between our mood and the concrete or intangible phenomena in our daily
lives, which is essential to the theoretical base in emotional experience. The
theories provided in this book will be consulted in my essay.
Pallasmaa, Juhani. The Eyes of the Skin: Architecture and the senses. 3rd ed.
Chichester, West Sussex U.K.: Wiley, 2012.
This book was written by Finnish architect, philosopher Juhani Pallasmaa. It
criticizes the "dominance of vision and the suppression of other senses in
architecture. From a theoretical perspective, he emphasizes the importance of
multi-sensory experience generating emotions in atmospheric design.
Pallasmaa's theory will be consulted throughout my essay, and I will continue to
analyse the opportunity of combining or separating senses of vision, touch,
hearing in architectural method, to strengthen or change the perception of
spaces.
Pallasmaa, Juhani. “The Sixth Sense: The Meaning of Atmosphere and
Mood.” Architectural design 86, no. 6 (2016): 126–133.
In this article, Pallasmaa indicates through modernity, the art of building has
gradually focused on the technical, formal, and aesthetic concerns of
architecture instead of cultivating its inherent relational and mediating
characteristics. He criticizes on the lack of consideration for atmosphere in
modern architecture and thus highlights the vitality of Zumthor's work in the
design industry today.
Pérez-Gómez, Alberto. Attunement: Architectural Meaning after the Crisis of
Modern Science. Cambridge: The MIT Press, 2016.
This book indicates the significance of establishing a meaningful environment
that can stimulate human emotions and self-awareness in the current society
where has a contradiction between 'formal innovation' and 'technical
sustainability'. Then, under the topic of atmospheres and moods in architecture,
the author also links the idea to the linguistic aspect of architecture and the
multisensory experience in architecture, which will be consulted in my essay as
background research. Also, the chapter titled "Introduction: The Role of
Architecture and Urban Design in Psychosomatic Health" will be discussed in my
study of enhancing positive emotional experience in the living environment.
Schittich, Christian. Interior Spaces: Space, Light, Materials. Basel: Birkhäuser,
2012.
As its title suggested, this book demonstrates the specific features in creating the
atmosphere for different types of spaces, which are composed of lighting, the
surfaces, textures, and colours of materials, finishing, and features. The chapters
titled "Space, Light and Material – Concepts for Interior Design" and "The
Examples" will be used as a source on the design of atmosphere when analysing
different building types and potential user's needs.
Serra Lluch, Juan. Colour for Architects (Architecture Brief). New York, NY: Princeton
Architectural Press, 2019.
As the title suggests, this book provides the colour fundamentals and discusses
colour for the architectural project by many practical examples. Instead of simple
decoration, it claims architectural colour can be integrated into the essence of a
building: functional, constructive, formal, and aesthetic; beyond this, this book
analyses the psychological impacts of colours on human. This research will be
the extension of the study of colour in my essay, in relation to defining the key
characteristics of the atmosphere of a place and its influences on sensory
experience.
Shemesh, Avishag, Ronen Talmon, Ofer Karp, Idan Amir, Moshe Bar, and Yasha
Jacob Grobman. “Affective Response to Architecture - Investigating Human
Reaction to Spaces with Different Geometry.” Architectural Science Review 60,
no. 2 (2017): 116–125.
The research examines and measures human reactions to different types of
geometries in architectural spaces. It indicates that the preference for objects is
influenced by many factors such as familiarity, symmetry, contrast, complexity,
and perceptual fluency. This article provided me with a scientific basis for my
research on human emotions about the experience of space.
Wolf, Barbara. “Atmospheres of Learning, Atmospheric Competence.”
In Atmosphere and Aesthetics: A Plural Perspective, edited by Tonino
Griffero and Marco Tedeschini, 209–221. Cham: Springer International
Publishing, 2019.
This chapter is also from the book “Atmosphere and Aesthetics: A Plural
Perspective”. It contains a more specific investigation on the application of
atmosphere in educational places, demonstrating how learning and socializing
experiences could be affected positively or negatively under different
atmospheres. This unique research will be consulted on the topic of the
application of atmospheric design in different building use.
Zumthor, Peter. Atmospheres: Architectural Environments; Surrounding Objects.
Basel: Birkhäuser, 2006.
Peter Zumthor is one of the most significant architects in atmospheric design.
Written by himself, this book is one of the major sources in my essay. It contains
several sections related to the formation of atmosphere in architecture, such as
'the sound of a space' and 'tension between interior and exterior'. His
philosophies and his architecture design will be the foundation of my essay and
will be consulted throughout my research.
Zumthor, Peter. Thinking architecture. 3rd ed. Basel: Birkhäuser, 2010.
This is another book written by Peter Zumthor, which is a collection of his
lectures and essays, written between 1988 and 2009. It mainly contains
Zumthor's perspectives on spatial impressions, absorbed moods, and design
approaches. This research is of major importance for my research topic as it
provides a series of successful atmosphere architecture, which will be reviewed
and analysed in my essay to identify the fundamentals of atmospheric
architecture and the specific tactics within the design approach.