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Romanticism and poetry in Architecture, Peter Zumthor with a systematic process of self observation relentlessly search ATMOSPHERE in a building and sculpts it into each building he designs. What is Atmosphere?? In architecture atmosphere refers to the sensorial qualities of a space. What exactly it portrays in real world is not just a matter of a specialized architect to apprehend, but it has been simply described in such common language that even a man without basic architectural knowledge would understand the tectonics, atmosphere and the feel of the space. Peter Zumthor in his book “ATMOSPHERE” reveals nine anecdotes that are the base to create an atmosphere in a space. More common or not, it is a term that has not been explored much in architecture, to the point that a definition of atmosphere is non-existent; perhaps it is a highly personal thing. Just like poetry, atmosphere is something that can be recognized but not defined; it can only be known when we can't define it and can only be felt with personalized emotions and reactions. This poetics of architecture enables the reader to recapitulate what really matters in the process of house design. Images and pictures of spaces and buildings that inspire him are conjoined with his love for music and books. Each explanation in a particular page has a complementing picture, be it an under construction building, an existing structure, his own architectural design, even paintings and images that bears fruit that nurtures the nine different aspects of atmosphere. Peter Zumthor has described in a concise manner the tectonics of space and how that has influenced in his thinking and most importantly in his designs. His works sparks out these aspects specifically the way atmosphere saturates the spaces within the Therme Vals, Switzerland – A public bath where light from the slots in the ceiling hitting the stone and concrete; sounds echoing off the hard surfaces; the humidity of the air; and of course the water on one's body when in the various pools. He clearly describes that in a public bath the directional path is more important rather than the seductiveness of the space, which is user centric and not just mindless composition of wandering viewpoints. He values space as something tumbling with both emotional and physical feeling. Appreciation of a building by him is outstanding, he states_ when we enter a particular building; it has something in it, an enormous energy that instantly brings in immediate appreciation which he relate to the harmonics of music, very gratifying, thoughtful and challenging to imitate at the same time. What he relates atmosphere to is far more stimulating with his nine factors. A question he puts forward to himself, what is <MAGIC OF THE REAL>? He enjoys his experience in the café he’s sitting in, the atmosphere it creates, its intensity and the mood, he questions again if it can be reproduced, once he believes that he can and once he cannot, he could because he believed in the good aspects that reigns and that is what he realized, the magic that reality can produce. The nine chapters he works upon to generate atmosphere in his design that is very sensitive and individual. The first being <BODY OF ARCHITECTURE>. This chapter says how does architecture work collectively, its anatomy in literal sense. That every little aspect starting from material, light and shadow, other different aspects weaves into each other to yarn a complete architecture, its not an idea of a body, it is the exact physical form something that can be touched and felt. For example, in his work Documentation Centre, Berlin show exactly what a body of architecture means. It is an amalgamation of different planes- horizontal and vertical, the shadows that creates space, materials that energizes that space is harmonically standing in its
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form. These are the various vital organs that define the entire building; it gives it the identity and its physical form, without which it is a lifeless structure functioning zero. He describes each characteristic of his architectural features so distinctly that it creates even the naive minds to imagine and picture the ideas that he wants to convey, a unique character that predominates all through the text. The next one he exclaims it to be the ultimate secret of atmosphere, <MATERIAL COMPATIBILITY> Different materials if put together, reacts, each materials react with each other to give out a unique radiance and hence composition of different materials gives rise to distinctive combination. A single material behaves in various different ways. Material is endless. A single stone can be cut, sawn, polished and dresses into different forms to create different identities at the same time. The book shows a picture of the Bruder Chapel where two unique materials combine together to give a different feel of the space. Lead and water and the rough walls adjoin to create an atmosphere. With time different material reacts differently and changes which wonders peter all the more and that is how he works with them. The extraordinary sense, the volume and weights of materials can create marvels when atmosphere of a building is concerned. The third chapter talks about <SOUND OF SPACE>. This chapter is not a conventional one. No one has ever described this aspect as Peter Zumthor did. A very unique characteristic that we never realized how it works on the atmosphere. It actually is the most sensual part that has a direct effect on the minds of the spectator. He describes it very commonly in the book. He explains how he used to feel happy when he heard the sound of his mother working in the kitchen clinkering the pots and utensils, the loud noises of railway station and empty sounds in the huge town halls. In a similar way every space has its own characteristic sound. He says that the interior of the buildings is like large instruments, collecting sound, amplifying it and transmitting it into other materials as well. And this depends upon the shape of the building, the materials used and even the way that those materials have been applied to produce the sounds. But the real feeling comes when a room is sound proofed. The theory of a quiet building emitting a beautiful sound is a genius one. In his work Swiss Sound Box, the idea of using one primary element for a multitude of tasks. The way that the components were placed together allows for a beautiful quality of light and detailed composition. The space gave a sense of being handcrafted and intimately connected with the techniques from which it was constructed and the materials from which it was made. Fourth <TEMPERATURE OF A SPACE> he believes that every space has its own temperature, and it is the materials that gave such effect to the interior of the building. He has explained this so accurately by stating the example of his structure, the swiss sound box. He said that the building felt as cold as a forest when the temperature outside was hot and warm when the outside temperature was cold. Every building has its own way of adapting itself to the surrounding and to make people feel comfortable in the interiors. That is the strength of a good design and mostly the composition of the material again. Each material is known to extract the heat from each individualâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s body. For example, steel is known to give cold effect inside a building since it drags the cold from the surrounding.
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Fifth is the <SURROUNDING OBJECTS>. He writes that he is very much fascinated by the artifacts and various things that people keep around themselves in their homes, rooms, sleeps and work places and how they create different mood of the people using that space. It also creates atmosphere. Those things when placed together with others play harmoniously and they have such deep emotions related to it. The books, the instruments, the pictures, the beautiful objects etc. makes a remarkable thought and feeling of space in the area. Sixth <BETWEEN COMPOSURE AND SEDUCTION> It is the way how architecture involves movement. He says architecture is a temporal art. It is like music, it is all about the movement of the users around it and not just limited to the forms that a building generate on the outer façade. The thermal bath is a perfect example of this statement. Flowing about in a space is a kind of voyage of discovery, an alluring sensation. The seventh point is “Tension between Interior and Exterior”. The most fascinated for the author here is how architects able to realize their idea, to build their spaces on a particular piece of land and immediately creates an interior and exterior there. They create a new transition, a new entity, a new intersection in a free space. Thus, a architect divides the space on two sides: one of them is internal, personal, private and the second is external, public side, facade. Describing the possibility to hide things behind the facade Zumthor speaks about signals which people use to say something to others. The next phenomenon he think about is the extension of the previous question. It is “Levels of Intimacy”. Here Peter Zumthor speaks about proximity and distance. He discusses about relationships between building’s mass and mass of a man. He is interesting in investigation how shape, size, scale, dimensions etc effect on human sensations. And the last subject from the architect’s list is “The Light on Things”. He explain how to use mass of the light through the opening special places in the building where it can get inside, and how to create the paths along which light will move through the interior. Furthermore, Zumthor speaks about how he uses the knowledge about the materials reflection of the light and argues why work with the daylight much better than the usage of the artificial light. In addition, in this lecture Peter Zumthor mentions three more things that “moves him”. When he speaks about “Architecture as Surroundings” he means that buildings might be saved in our memories, in our association with a particular event, and live in our minds. During the design of his objects Zumthor as well focuses on the “Consistency” of the place, use and form in the architecture. Finally, he mentions one aspect, which could force him to go back to the beginning and start all the work, again is the designing of “The Beautiful Form” An alluring masterpiece by an amazing architect. A must read.
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Reference Atmosphere, Peter Zumthor Wikipedia Scribd.com