Description
Book SynopsisThere 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
Trade ReviewA fascinating collection of essays by the German philosopher Gernot Böhme . . . the essays are thoughtfully translated, and usefully introduced, in a way that will make Bohme’s work accessible and engaging to a wide audience. The message of the book is inspirational in its shift from the study of objects toward experience, and it will sit nicely among similarly motivated titles in Bloomsbury Academic’s impressively burgeoning architecture library. * Interstices: Journal of Architecture and Related Arts, 18 *
Table of ContentsForeword: ‘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
