Composing Atmospheres | Investigating Architectural Impressions Through Poetry

This project seeks to take the works of poet William Wordsworth and use them to compose inhabitable atmospheres that capture the essence of his lines. The architecture lies in the relationship between the words and the experience within these proposed or imagined spaces. The word composition is important in the process of translation from words to atmospheres because the action of composing implies a certain thoughtfulness and intentionality in the way these experiences are articulated. Within this process of translation lies a balance between intuition and intention.

This method of translation developed predominantly through a rigorous study of light in its many forms. The ephemerality of spatial experience is strengthened by the constantly shifting quality of light, which directly affects mood and atmosphere. It is essential to observe and discover what light can do before embarking on the journey of designing through light conditions. Based on certain stanzas of Wordsworth’s poetry, light revealed itself in three forms within the atmospheric collage studies: sunlight, moonlight, and firelight. These compositions prompted ideas about scale, materiality, and apertures beyond.

We remember spaces through the impressions they leave with us and although those may change, deteriorate, or enrich over time, they become our reality. By utilizing sensory experiences, one is capable of constructing a preserved fragment of memory: an atmosphere. This research seeks to uncover methods of designing through atmosphere rather than allowing atmosphere to become a product of design.

By studying poetic fragments and interpreting these lines through an experiential lens, this research composes a different way of experiencing poetry, that allows you to inhabit these lines, transporting you into another world.