Atmosphere, Architecture, Cinema : Thematic Reflections on Ambiance and Place

Atmosphere, Cinema, Architecture: Thematic Reflections on Ambiance and Place explores cinema and architecture as ambient and affective settings or circumstances that can enable the emergence of atmosphere. This book is an interdisciplinary reading of cinematographic practice which develops useful implications for spatial composition in art and architectural design. The way a film is set up, directed, composed, framed, and technically constructed can provide parallels, analogies and metaphors for the spatial organisation of cities, landscapes and buildings. Likewise, the way a built setting is conceived and devised can inform approaches to framing and spatial organisation in cinematography. The book begins on a personal note with a series of recollected atmospheric experiences, leading to an investigation of ambiguity and consilient discrepancy as circumstantial conditions necessary for the production of atmosphere. The mood of melancholia is explored to show the pivotal role that ambiguity, discrepancy and irresolution play in its distinctive ambiance. Atmosphere is then defined as an emergent condition arising between an ambient, affective circumstance and a mooded human being. The book then moves to analyse the inherent conditions in the setup of filmic and architectural settings that render them atmospheric. Reference is made to the cinema of Bresson, Resnais, Lynch, Tarr, Malik and Campion, and to Romanesque tympanae, the architectonic scenography of Franz Kafkas novel The Castle and the work of Spanish architects Flores Prats. The concluding section, Anatomy of Atmosphere, is a lexicon of concepts, themes and tactics around atmosphere that might usefully inform creative practice. Michael Tawa is an architect and Professor of Architecture in the School of Architecture, Design and Planning at the University of Sydney, Australia. He is the author of Agencies of the Frame: Tectonic Strategies in Cinema and Architecture and Theorising the Project: A Thematic Approach to Architectural Design. "Atmosphere, Cinema, Architecture: Thematic Reflections on Ambiance and Place explores cinema and architecture as ambient and affective settings or circumstances that can enable the emergence of atmosphere. This book is an interdisciplinary reading of cinematographic practice which develops useful implications for spatial composition in art and architectural design. The way a film is set up, directed, composed, framed, and technically constructed can provide parallels, analogies and metaphors for the spatial organisation of cities, landscapes and buildings. Likewise, the way a built setting is conceived and devised can inform approaches to framing and spatial organisation in cinematography. The book begins on a personal note with a series of recollected atmospheric experiences, leading to an investigation of ambiguity and consilient discrepancy as circumstantial conditions necessary for the production of atmosphere. The mood of melancholia is explored to show the pivotal role that ambiguity, discrepancy and irresolution play in its distinctive ambiance. Atmosphere is then defined as an emergent condition arising between an ambient, affective circumstance and a mooded human being. The book then moves to analyse the inherent conditions in the setup of filmic and architectural settings that render them atmospheric. Reference is made to the cinema of Bresson, Resnais, Lynch, Tarr, Malik and Campion, and to Romanesque tympanae, the architectonic scenography of Franz Kafka’s novel The Castle and the work of Spanish architects Flores Prats. The concluding section, Anatomy of Atmosphere, is a lexicon of concepts, themes and tactics around atmosphere that might usefully inform creative practice."--Cover page 4 Contents List of Figures Prologue Rehearsing Atmospheres Alexandria, Egypt Karnataka Gamaka Gerald Manley Hopkins, 1844–1899 Coogee Beach, January 1995 Dhurabbin Country Adele: ANZ Stadium, Friday, 10 March 2017 A Million Windows Das Fastenschleiertuch * * *Shadow Sumvitg Ambiance Ambiguity Types of Ambiguity Instress Circumstance and Consequence Circumspection Tracking On the Lookout Mood Mood and Stimmung Attunement Dasein: Being-the-There Melancholia Music and Melancholia Atmosphere Flaky, Fluffy Wadding Atmosphere Meteorology Halo Haze Scenography Tectonics of Cinematic Atmosphere Atmosphere and Cinema Immanence: Robert Bresson Reverie: Alain Resnais Terror: David Lynch Aporia: Béla Tarr Grace: Terrence Malik Suspense: Jane Campion Tectonics of Architectural Atmosphere Architecture and Atmosphere Suspense: Tympanae Anomie: Kafka’s Castle Consilient Discrepancy: Flores Prats Anatomy of Atmosphere Advent Agency Allegory Ambiance Ambiguity Anticipation Aporia Apprehension Assemblage Atmosphere Attunement Character Circumambiance Circumstance Climate Coalesce Colour Complexion Conjugation Consequence Consilience Countenance Crisis Defer Density Discrepancy Ekstasis Emergence Fold Fragment Garden Gesture Gleam Gloaming Gloom Immanent Indeterminate Interstice Margin Matrix Melancholia Metaphor Milieu Mood Pertubation Porosity Potentiality Remembrance Reverie Rhythm Shimmer Space Sublime Suspend Tectonics Temper Time Undecidable Waver Postscript References Index