Atmospheric interventions

Humans have been sheltering themselves from the harsh elements of their surroundings to maintain comfort since the discovery of the hearth. With the rise of the Industrial Revolution came innovations that made mitigating external conditions convenient and easy. The standard 70 degree Fahrenheit, with 30-candle-feet of illumination, 30-50% humidity, and ventilation became the norm and is replicated and placed regardless of existing conditions, creating homogeneous environments. Our conventional conception of the relationship between architecture and the environment is based on false assumptions that we reside comfortably in the standard air-conditioned 70 degrees, effectively producing desensitizing spaces. For a body to understand and experience space, it is important for these environments to have an atmospheric affect that is absorbed through the senses. Architecture is then seen as a stimulus by provoking and challenging the body and creating a consciousness of body and environment. This thesis states that the sensorial appreciation in architecture can be explored through sequenced and curated experiences of architecture to use, amplify and appease the senses. This creates new atmospheric conditions conceived of relative sequencing and juxtapositions, rather than appeasing and mediating the existing environment. This idea is explored through three interventions on the Harvard Bridge in Boston, Massachusetts that seeks to engage the hostile environmental conditions.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Architecture.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2015

Author dc:creator

• Yang, Rena, M. Arch Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Brandon Clifford.

• Architecture.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/97278

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/97278