Magic of the Real
"What is this Magic of the Real?"
I find this comment made in the very opening of Peter Zumthor's writing to resonate the most with me. While he continues on to describe all the ways he thinks architecture creates atmosphere, I think the most important aspect is the real life that embodies our spaces. I think that the creation of atmosphere is a powerful statement because I feel like in school so far we have been pushed to create "space" which I think is pretty different from atmosphere. How people use a space is what creates an atmosphere.
So how do we as architects create this "magic of the real?" Zumthor believes it is about knowing what is good and not good and as young architects I'm not sure if we fully know good from not good in a technical sense. But we do know what makes a good atmosphere. Is it too loud? Is the furniture organized for interaction or seclusion? Is it light? What can design do to make a transition from just space to atmosphere? How many different atmospheres does one building offer?
One building that comes to mind that creates a strong atmosphere via its facade is the Center of Contemporary Culture in Barcelona. Its facade was designed to function in a similar way to the train station in that it reflects the city back into the plaza it faces. To me this created an incredible atmosphere because it almost required that the space be filled with people quietly stopping and looking up in awe. The angle of the facade regulated the way people used the space and therefore created a calm atmosphere of static people, an anomaly in a constantly moving city.
A similarly intriguing atmosphere on the inside is all about the vertical movement of people behind the glass facade, an interesting contradiction to the static tone of the exterior.
I find this comment made in the very opening of Peter Zumthor's writing to resonate the most with me. While he continues on to describe all the ways he thinks architecture creates atmosphere, I think the most important aspect is the real life that embodies our spaces. I think that the creation of atmosphere is a powerful statement because I feel like in school so far we have been pushed to create "space" which I think is pretty different from atmosphere. How people use a space is what creates an atmosphere.
So how do we as architects create this "magic of the real?" Zumthor believes it is about knowing what is good and not good and as young architects I'm not sure if we fully know good from not good in a technical sense. But we do know what makes a good atmosphere. Is it too loud? Is the furniture organized for interaction or seclusion? Is it light? What can design do to make a transition from just space to atmosphere? How many different atmospheres does one building offer?
One building that comes to mind that creates a strong atmosphere via its facade is the Center of Contemporary Culture in Barcelona. Its facade was designed to function in a similar way to the train station in that it reflects the city back into the plaza it faces. To me this created an incredible atmosphere because it almost required that the space be filled with people quietly stopping and looking up in awe. The angle of the facade regulated the way people used the space and therefore created a calm atmosphere of static people, an anomaly in a constantly moving city.
A similarly intriguing atmosphere on the inside is all about the vertical movement of people behind the glass facade, an interesting contradiction to the static tone of the exterior.
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