Body | Sense Experience: An Architecture of Atmosphere and Light

Abstract

This thesis explores notions of the immaterial and metaphysical in architecture. It seeks to ‘elicit a sense of wonder’ in a participant of experiential space by promoting awareness of the metaphysical through atmosphere, affect and light. Architecture is more than purely a physical tangible object - it also crosses into the realms of the intangible, ephemeral and perceptive. The immaterial within architecture is just as important as the physical, if not more so, where a participant’s perception of space is informed more by the swirling climate of atmospheric ephemera than that of material form. It is through light that architecture is enlivened and imbued with character and meaning and it is the immaterial aspect of light that evokes a sense beauty and wonder within built form. The body/sense experience, looked at through the lens of the affect, evokes an intimately humanistic response to architectural space that is unbound by race, religion, culture or creed. This allows for architecture to become the catalyst for an awareness of the metaphysical, evoked through atmosphere, affect and light. Ultimately this thesis argues that the intangible, elusive and transitory moments within architecture are just as important as the physically present tangible object. It stresses the importance of architecture that is understood and experienced holistically, where created atmospheres, interaction of light and bodily cognition of space shape the way in which the built world is perceived.