It is the belief of many that architecture is an art which stimulates purely our vision, yet mos... more It is the belief of many that architecture is an art which stimulates purely our vision, yet most of our experience of a specific place has to do with how it interacts with all our senses. We sense its odour, its temperature, the sound of it, the softness or the weight of its materials and we make connection with our memories. This interaction between man and architectural space is a mental phenomenon which is conceived as the atmosphere of a specific spatial setting. We sense the atmosphere before we actually identify the details of that place intellectually. The architectural elements which compose the atmosphere of a place interact with our senses stimulating our memory and our imagination.
The purpose of this paper is to examine three architectural elements, light, sound and the shape of touch - as it is impossible to investigate all of them in one piece of work - and how they can be used in the creation of atmosphere in an architectural space. To this end, I will start by an examination of the theory of phenomenology which is closely related to the senses and to the concept of atmosphere, focusing on its relationship to the architectural setting as studied by the Finnish architect and theorist Juhani Pallasmaa whose books about the importance of the senses, especially the sense of touch, in the design of architecture have been considered very influential in the design process. This will be followed by an investigation of the concept of atmosphere and the elements that comprise it as studied by an internationally acknowledged Swiss architect and architectural theorist, Peter Zumthor who has written about the atmospheric qualities in architectural design and how these qualities can stimulate our senses and stir our memory and our imagination. Zumthor has maintained the belief that architecture must be a first- hand experience in which all the senses are involved. This will be followed by the main argument in which the architectural elements of light, sound and touch will be identified and thoroughly examined in an attempt to comprehend how these elements can contribute to the creation of atmosphere in an architectural setting. Following the theoretical study, I will investigate one of Zumthor’s work, Therme Vals, a hotel and spa built over a thermal spring in Switzerland in 1996. It is an extraordinary achievement of modern architecture which opens all the senses offering a total sensory experience. The architect infused his design with a quality of space and atmosphere, delivering a total atmospheric and meaningful experience.
It is the belief of many that architecture is an art which stimulates purely our vision, yet mos... more It is the belief of many that architecture is an art which stimulates purely our vision, yet most of our experience of a specific place has to do with how it interacts with all our senses. We sense its odour, its temperature, the sound of it, the softness or the weight of its materials and we make connection with our memories. This interaction between man and architectural space is a mental phenomenon which is conceived as the atmosphere of a specific spatial setting. We sense the atmosphere before we actually identify the details of that place intellectually. The architectural elements which compose the atmosphere of a place interact with our senses stimulating our memory and our imagination.
The purpose of this paper is to examine three architectural elements, light, sound and the shape of touch - as it is impossible to investigate all of them in one piece of work - and how they can be used in the creation of atmosphere in an architectural space. To this end, I will start by an examination of the theory of phenomenology which is closely related to the senses and to the concept of atmosphere, focusing on its relationship to the architectural setting as studied by the Finnish architect and theorist Juhani Pallasmaa whose books about the importance of the senses, especially the sense of touch, in the design of architecture have been considered very influential in the design process. This will be followed by an investigation of the concept of atmosphere and the elements that comprise it as studied by an internationally acknowledged Swiss architect and architectural theorist, Peter Zumthor who has written about the atmospheric qualities in architectural design and how these qualities can stimulate our senses and stir our memory and our imagination. Zumthor has maintained the belief that architecture must be a first- hand experience in which all the senses are involved. This will be followed by the main argument in which the architectural elements of light, sound and touch will be identified and thoroughly examined in an attempt to comprehend how these elements can contribute to the creation of atmosphere in an architectural setting. Following the theoretical study, I will investigate one of Zumthor’s work, Therme Vals, a hotel and spa built over a thermal spring in Switzerland in 1996. It is an extraordinary achievement of modern architecture which opens all the senses offering a total sensory experience. The architect infused his design with a quality of space and atmosphere, delivering a total atmospheric and meaningful experience.
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Papers by Nicos Agapiou
The purpose of this paper is to examine three architectural elements, light, sound and the shape of touch - as it is impossible to investigate all of them in one piece of work - and how they can be used in the creation of atmosphere in an architectural space. To this end, I will start by an examination of the theory of phenomenology which is closely related to the senses and to the concept of atmosphere, focusing on its relationship to the architectural setting as studied by the Finnish architect and theorist Juhani Pallasmaa whose books about the importance of the senses, especially the sense of touch, in the design of architecture have been considered very influential in the design process. This will be followed by an investigation of the concept of atmosphere and the elements that comprise it as studied by an internationally acknowledged Swiss architect and architectural theorist, Peter Zumthor who has written about the atmospheric qualities in architectural design and how these qualities can stimulate our senses and stir our memory and our imagination. Zumthor has maintained the belief that architecture must be a first- hand experience in which all the senses are involved. This will be followed by the main argument in which the architectural elements of light, sound and touch will be identified and thoroughly examined in an attempt to comprehend how these elements can contribute to the creation of atmosphere in an architectural setting. Following the theoretical study, I will investigate one of Zumthor’s work, Therme Vals, a hotel and spa built over a thermal spring in Switzerland in 1996. It is an extraordinary achievement of modern architecture which opens all the senses offering a total sensory experience. The architect infused his design with a quality of space and atmosphere, delivering a total atmospheric and meaningful experience.
The purpose of this paper is to examine three architectural elements, light, sound and the shape of touch - as it is impossible to investigate all of them in one piece of work - and how they can be used in the creation of atmosphere in an architectural space. To this end, I will start by an examination of the theory of phenomenology which is closely related to the senses and to the concept of atmosphere, focusing on its relationship to the architectural setting as studied by the Finnish architect and theorist Juhani Pallasmaa whose books about the importance of the senses, especially the sense of touch, in the design of architecture have been considered very influential in the design process. This will be followed by an investigation of the concept of atmosphere and the elements that comprise it as studied by an internationally acknowledged Swiss architect and architectural theorist, Peter Zumthor who has written about the atmospheric qualities in architectural design and how these qualities can stimulate our senses and stir our memory and our imagination. Zumthor has maintained the belief that architecture must be a first- hand experience in which all the senses are involved. This will be followed by the main argument in which the architectural elements of light, sound and touch will be identified and thoroughly examined in an attempt to comprehend how these elements can contribute to the creation of atmosphere in an architectural setting. Following the theoretical study, I will investigate one of Zumthor’s work, Therme Vals, a hotel and spa built over a thermal spring in Switzerland in 1996. It is an extraordinary achievement of modern architecture which opens all the senses offering a total sensory experience. The architect infused his design with a quality of space and atmosphere, delivering a total atmospheric and meaningful experience.