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 architectural theory and aesthetics, 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 influential 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.

Chapters explore the philosophical and aesthetic dimensions of atmospheres, examining atmospheres in different media, whether acoustics, light and space, corporeal and ephemeral spaces, at stage sets and sacred spaces. Combining philosophy with architecture, design, landscape design, scenography 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.

The volume also includes a general introduction to the topic, including coverage of its history, development, areas of application and conceptual apparatus.

Gernot Böhme, German philosopher and internationally influential writer, is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at Darmstadt Technical University, Germany, and founder and director of the Institute for Practical Philosophy in Darmstadt. His publishing includes Architektur und Atmosphare (2013), Atmosphare: Essays zur neuen Asthetik (2013) and Invasive Technification: Critical Essays in the Philosophy of Technology (Bloomsbury, 2012).

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, and was executive editor of Interstices:Journal of Architecture and Related Arts.

Preface
Introduction

Part I. Atmosphere
1 Atmosphere, a basic concept of a new aesthetic
2 The ecstasies of things
3 Material splendour
4 Atmospheres in architecture
5 The presence of living bodies in space
6 Atmospheres of human communication
7 Learning to live with atmospheres: aesthetic education

Part II. Felt Space
8 The grand concert of the world
9 The voice in spaces of corporeal presence
10 Light and space
11 Architecture, a visual art?
12 The art of the stage set as a paradigm for an aesthetics of atmospheres
13 Church atmospheres

Endmatter and Index