peter zumthor atmospheres architectural environments surrounding objects

As an architect that is what I deal with all the time.” (Peter Zumthor – Atmosphere) Features of architectural atmospheres (Zumthor, 2006) Light I could never have had those feelings without the atmosphere of the square. I remove the square and my feeling disappear. An elementary experiment, certainly – please excuse the simplicity of my thinking. I take away the square – and my feelings are not the same. Which brings that famous Platonic sentence to mind. What else moved me? My mood, my feelings, the sense of expectation that filled me while I was sitting there. The things themselves, the people, the air, noises, sound, colors, material presences, textures, and forms too – forms l can appreciate. Sunlight Eleven o’clock The opposite side of the square in the shade, pleasantly blue Wonderful range of noises: conversations nearby, footsteps on the square, on stone, birds, a gentle murmuring from the crowd, no cars, no engine sounds… So what moved me? Everything.

The square offers me a panorama – the facades of houses, the church, the monuments. A grand arcade long, tall, beautiful in the sunlight. Peter Zumthor in his book “Atmospheres: Architectural Environments, Surrounding Objects” constitutes architectural atmospheres as “this singular density and mood, this feeling of presence, well-being, harmony, beauty…under whose spell I experience what I otherwise would not experience in precisely this way”. Architects and designers use the notion of atmosphere to argue that architecture and space is designed and built for people to use and experience. Atmosphere is an immediate form of physical perception, and is recognised through emotional sensibility. In architecture and spatial design, atmosphere refers to the sensorial qualities that a space emits. Proximity and distance.By Ali Raza Shabani, DecemAtmosphere (architecture and spatial design) (Zumthor, 2006) The interplay between the two and the boundaries created The feeling in relation to the human bodies comfort level The shape peculiar to each room and the surfaces of the materials they contain shape the acoustics and therefore atmosphere The relationships between the materials and the architecture/inhabitants and the surroundings

Materiality, the make up of the architecture – Architecture as a Human Environment

I outline his 9 points of consideration for ambience: ‘Beauty is in the eye of the beholder’ was a quote from the book that reinforces my premise that the ambience is only appropriate as far as the specific occupant. I have just read Peter Zumthors book ‘Atmospheres’ that give some interesting insights into what he thinks determine the make up of a successfully appropriate atmosphere.

Peter zumthor atmospheres architectural environments surrounding objects