Atmosphere, Peter Zumthor book review

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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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