Step 1. The experience of the environment
The park next door:
The place i decided to choose is a little garden/park right in front of the building i live in actually, this park is surrounded by buildings from three sides and the fourth is open to the street. It has a play area for the kids and several benches where people can sit and relax. It is also full of beautiful big trees that allow you to sit and protect yourself from the sun.
-Why did you choose this place?
i came here to Valencia for studies a month ago and this place is the first thing i noticed when i first arrived home, which is a public garden/park. And since then i started spending most of my time there, i often go there by myself and just stroll around watching people walking their dogs, and sometimes my friends join me so we can sit and chat without being bothered.
-What makes you be at ease?
The thing that makes me feel at ease is how calm, peaceful and rewarding this public space is, and how everyone comes there to relax and forget about anything stressful.
-Is there any disruptive element?
The only disruptive element i could think about is how noisy it can get when kids come to play on the weekends, it is a part of its magic but for a person who prefers the calm it is not something i personally enjoy.
-Do you think you’d feel the same way in another space right now?
I think i could feel the same way or even better, i haven’t discovered the whole city yet. But i am pretty sure that i will find a better place and i’ll make it my spot, and the place to be when i need fresh air.
-Do you think that the particular conditions of this space may influence its occupants? How?
Yes, public parks are made to influence our mood and lifestyle in general, when people are given more opportunities to enjoy nature and breathe fresh air, they become happier, healthier individuals.
-Would you change anything?
The only thing i would personally change about this public space is i would add a fountain, the sound of trickling or falling water is a peaceful, serene sound that can help relax.
Step 2. The experience through the texts
I have read the text “Atmospheres” by Peter Zumthor, where he spoke about how us humans perceive atmospheres through our emotional sensibility, and that every object/building… have brought him some kind of feeling what he calls “the magic of things” or “the magic of the real world”.
He also mentioned the things that are important to him in the creation of atmospheres which he devided into 9 chapters.
First is “The body of Architecture” which is basically the material presence, and he compares it to a bodily mass, a membrane, a body (not the idea of the body).
The second one is “Material Compatibility” to see how the materials react together, that material is endless and how it will become a different thing each since there are a thousand different possibilities in one material alone.
In the third one, he talks about “The sound of a space” where he spoke about how every space has a sound and how difficult it is to imagine a building without any sound. He also mentioned how happy the noises his mother made in the kitchen made him when he was still a kid.
Fourth is “The temperature of a space” where he explains that the materials used in a building can influence its temperature. He gave us the steel as an example as he said “steel, for instance, is cold and drags the temperature down.
Fifth is “Surrounding objects” where he says that he is impressed by the things that people keep around them, and how he imagines the future of rooms in a house he is building when they are actually in use.
Sixth is “Between composure and seduction” where he compares architecture to music because it’s a temporal art, and how architecture involves movement. He gives the example of a hallway since it does not only lead people but it can also seduce them, leaving them free.
Seventh “Tension between interior and exterior”where he spoke about how the outside of a building/house/castle keeps you wondering how the inside looks like
Eighth “Levels of intimacy” which is something the author has always been interested in, which includes the size, mass, and gravity of things He also mentioned how some big construction can make an architect feel intimidated.
The final chapter is “The light on things”.
The previous nine chapters are ways of approaching his work (by his office), but Peter has three more things to talk about. First is “Architecture as surroundings” where he talks about how he wants his work to be remembered in the future with peoples’s memories….Next, is “Coherence”where he mentioned that the greatest compliment for him is that architecture is a useful art. Last one is “The beautiful form”, he says that if at the end of the day, the thing doesn’t look beautiful, and if it doesn’t move him, then he will go back to the beginning and start again.
In conclusion, i think that Peter Zumthor has a specific vision about architecture which he combines with atmosphere, that according to him has to follow a specific characteristics which make the building transmit a feeling and a vibe to each and every one of us. Which have to be satisfied, otherwise the architect hasn’t totally succeeded in his work.
Remember an atmosphere you experienced on one of your trips and try to describe it:
When i was 10 years old, i went on a family trip to Ifrane Morocco, since it is one of the cities where it snows in winter. I still remember the clean air, the red roofed houses, the calm waves of its lake and waterfalls pouring cold water into the valleys. I also remember going skating and hearing the laughs of enjoyment of people. It was one of the best, if not the best trips i have ever went on.