Harvesting Atmospheres—Exploring Atmospheric Elements in Spatial Design

The atmosphere of an interior space within an architectural built form can be defined by the interactions between the material and immaterial elements surrounding the inhabitant of a space, expressed through our own responding embodied experience. These psychologically tangible yet often immaterial experiences are deeply embodied, realised through our interconnected visual perception, haptic engagement, auditory characteristics, temporal movement and thermal comfort. The study questions how we can harvest useful data to explore atmosphere as an “in-between” state between perceiver and surroundings, through aligning physical environmental recordings with felt personal responses over parallel time-based studies. The approach explored analyses a set of existing spaces through the harvesting of sensory elements using on-site, temporal recordings and participatory haptic engagement. Physical presence is recorded through measured environmental data and audited through a theoretical stance of “conservation of mass”, as each extracted element is replaced and balanced by the other sensorial elements, supporting a holistic experience. Evolving thinking around design approaches promoting an awareness of atmospheric sensibilities can ensure that we do not lose the rich opportunities that sensory design can provide for contemporary architectural design practice. Harvesting atmospheres seeks to describe the broad, elemental nature of sensory design, defining examples of real-time temporary, elusive boundaries and fluid domains that shift spaces between atmospheric experiences, whilst supporting the interconnected collage of the “in-between” complexity of designing with this realm.