Atmospheric Architectures: The Aesthetics of Felt Spaces

There is fast-growing awareness of the role atmospheres play in architecture. Of equal interest to contemporary architectural practice as it is to aesthetic theory, this 'atmospheric turn' owes much to the work of the German philosopher Gernot Böhme. Atmospheric Architectures: The Aesthetics of Felt Spaces brings together Böhme's most seminal writings on the subject, through chapters selected from his classic books and articles, many of which have hitherto only been available in German. This is the only translated version authorised by Böhme himself, and is the first coherent collection deploying a consistent terminology. It is a work which will provide rich references and a theoretical framework for ongoing discussions about atmospheres and their relations to architectural and urban spaces. Combining philosophy with architecture, design, landscape design, scenography, music, art criticism, and visual arts, the essays together provide a key to the concepts that motivate the work of some of the best contemporary architects, artists, and theorists: from Peter Zumthor, Herzog & de Meuron and Juhani Pallasmaa to Olafur Eliasson and James Turrell. With a foreword by Professor Mark Dorrian (Forbes Chair in Architecture, Edinburgh College of Art) and an afterword by Professor David Leatherbarrow, (Chair of the Graduate Group in Architecture, University of Pennsylvania), the volume also includes a general introduction to the topic, including coverage of it history, development, areas of application and conceptual apparatus.

Table of Contents:
Foreword: ‘Ecstasies’ by Professor Mark Dorrian (University of Edinburgh) Towards the Inside of Atmospheres: Translator’s Introduction Atmosphere, a basic concept of a new aesthetic New Aesthetics Benjamin’s aura The concept of atmosphere in Hermann Schmitz’ philosophy The ecstasies of things Making atmospheres The critical potential of an aesthetics of atmospheres Conclusion The Ecstasies of Things: Ontology and aesthetics of thingness Subjectivism in aesthetics Terminological differentiations The prevalence of the thing in ontology Life within the world of things The closure of the thing within the main ontological models Alternative thing models The Thing Conclusion: Ontology and aesthetics Material Splendour: A Contribution to the Critique of Aesthetic Economy A golden ladle Material aesthetics Material beauty Particle board Internal design and invisible aesthetics Contribution to the critique of aesthetic economy Atmospheres in Architecture Weather and feelings Architecture and felt space Atmospheres as the subject matter of architecture The perception of architecture Architecture and space The atmosphere of a city Conclusion The Presence of Living Bodies in Space Developments in architecture and art history What is the space of bodily presence? Disposition Actuality and reality Atmospheres of Human Communication The utterly familiar Radiance Actualisation and disturbance of interpersonal atmospheres Contributions Learning to Live with Atmospheres: A new Aesthetic Humanist Education Objectives of aesthetic education Schiller’s On the aesthetic education of man in a series of letters Aesthetic humanist education under the conditions of technical civilisation and aesthetic economy Atmosphere as the object and medium of aesthetic education The Grand Concert of the World Introduction Modern art and the aesthetics of atmospheres The aesthetic conquest of acoustic space Music and soundscape, or the music of the soundscape Acoustic atmospheres Conclusion The Voice in Spaces of Bodily Presence Spatial sounds The rehabilitation of the voice The voice as an articulation of bodily presence Conclusion Light and Space The phenomenology of light Cleared space The space of light Lights in space Things appearing in light Light on things Lighting The Art of Staging as a Paradigm for an Aesthetics of Atmospheres Producing atmospheres Atmosphere – a well-known but extremely vague phenomenon Aesthetics of reception and production Fantastic art/unreliable fabrication Conclusion: the art of staging Church Atmospheres The numinous and the profanization of church spaces Sacred twilight – diaphanous light Silence and the Sublime Stone and space Genius Loci Afterword: ‘Atmospheres to Think About’ by Professor David Leatherbarrow (University of Pennsylvania) References Index

About the Author :
Gernot Böhme is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at Darmstadt Technical University, Germany, and founder and director of the Institute for Practical Philosophy in Darmstadt. A.-Chr. Engels-Schwarzpaul (editor and translator) is Professor in Spatial Design and Postgraduate Studies at Auckland University of Technology - Te Wananga Aronui o Tamaki Makau Rau, in Auckland, Aotearoa/New Zealand.