Perception of atmosphere: A wanderer’s journey towards spiritual contemplation

Abstract

Peter Zumthor stated: “We perceive atmosphere through our emotional sensibility, a form of perception that works incredibly quickly… I enter a building, see a room, and – in a fraction of a second – have this feeling about it.”1 Atmosphere bridges the intangible and tangible worlds. It has an overarching effect on visitor’s emotions, yet the qualities of the architectural atmosphere have not been emphasised. In Western tradition, architecture is viewed as “a material and geometric object”; the “objectification” of the world manipulates shapes intellectually “through focused vision”2, alienating the emotional sensitivity that perceives the world subjectively. Architectural drawings are thus presented precisely and clearly, instead of ephemerally and ambiguously.3 This ordering of the world tends to deny imagination, constraining the fluidity of users and design creativity of architects. This thesis proposes an intuitive approach to prioritise the direct experience of architectural space, and the feeling of atmosphere considered the starting point for design. It surveys ways of recording and translating the imagined atmosphere to architectural space. Watercolour as a rebellious drawing medium frees the architectural mind-set, and was tested in this thesis to capture the intangible emotions and acting as metaphysical visualisation of atmospheres. Materials were exploited from their immanence to release the potential characteristics of atmospheres. The utilitarian world captures us with its eagerness for attention. The need to pause and retreat leads to a journey of inner exploration. To connect with human nature, the thesis addresses ways architects could integrate phenomenological thinking to inform the architectural end results. Sensory design becomes the bridge to access consciousness from matter. A tramper’s retreat is proposed for Lake Coleridge as a place to escape from urban life by melding the landscape with architectural strategies. Nature as the most important trigger of the sublime acting as a mirror for the visitors to reflect in a state of contemplation. Sensorial engagement with materials prepared one to enter the atmosphere, it nurtures bodily experience and accesses the spiritual realm. This project does not attempt to answer human existential questions, but passively provokes a journey by the inner self to achieve a heightened state of awareness.