Meteorological Architecture

    

    Philippe Rahm's article "Towards a Meteorological Architecture" encourages architects to use climate as a way of designing. He wonders if rooms could be at specific temperatures for a particular reason. He even goes as far as to say, "At the microscopic level, it plumbs novel domains of perception through skin contact, smell, and hormones. Between the infinitely small of the physiological and the infinitely vast of the meteorological, architecture must build sensual exchanges between body and space…." We discussed in class how people would freak out if every room in their house or work weren't perfectly temperature controlled. It would be easier to implement in places where the temperature differences are hard to avoid. Locations like Clemson would be more difficult because we are used to a moderate climate with easy-to-control indoor temperatures. Maybe pumping pheromones into the air would be taking things too far. Still, controlling the specific temperature of each room sounds interesting. It would be like one of those interactive museum exhibitions where you walk through an exhibit that is supposed to transport you to ancient Egypt or some other historic location. Through the lighting, sound, and even temperature, they create the ambiance of the "place." It's cheesy or sometimes pretty impressive, and you think, "Is this a history museum or theme park?" Imagine every time you walked into Lee Hall in the summer; you got blasted by a cool mist. It would feel perfect after walking across campus in the hot summer sun. Maybe architecture could use a little bit of theatrical effects.