New Instrumentalities

Airscapes: Atmosphere as Form in Architecture/ No Molds but Modulators

International Proceedings

Author(s): Ophelia Mantz & Rafael Beneytez Duran

atmosphere, atmospheric, or atmotopo attempts to capture a crucial cultural moment that weaves together different schemes of thought with myriad technologies of communication and visualization. The methods of representation are arguably more varied than ever, and with them, design methods cross all kinds of knowledge. But almost none of the elements that constitute the problem of the atmosphere are aligned under the same ideology. Therefore, addressing the atmosphere within architectural thought becomes a pressing issue today. It involves the acceptance of heterogeneities, contradictions, and antagonisms between the different ways that the term is being used. From Fumifugium: or the Inconvenience of Aer and Smoak of London Dissipated, (1661) of John Evelyn´s to the implants of nature (2003) of Olafur Eliasson on weather dispositions (arrangements), nature, ecology, energy, economy, urbanism, and architecture are aligned under the context of the term “atmosphere.” Embracing such differences, “Airscapes” is a collection of seven ideological schemes that frame atmosphere as form in architectural thought. “Airscapes” categorizes significant works of atmospheric activism in theory and practice through an atlas of different underlying structures of thoughts (schemes) of Western culture. “Airscapes” categorizes significant works of atmospheric activism in architecture theory and practice through an atlas of diverse underlying structures of thoughts (schemes) of Western culture. Gravity versus Atmosphere, Figure versus Ground, Island versus Clouds, Beauty versus Sublime, Quantitative versus Qualitative, Stable versus Unstable, Chronology versus Heterochrony.

https://doi.org/10.35483/ACSA.Intl.2018.63

Volume Editors
Ángela García de Paredes, Iñaqui Carnicero & Julio Salcedo-Fernandez

ISBN
978-1-944214-18-0