OASE91

In this interview with OASE Juhani Pallasmaa discusses how atmospheres are constructed in, for instance, painting, literature and music, adjoining professional fields that, according to him, also reveal the essences of the field of architecture. Concerning the role of the architect, Pallasmaa identifies a need for a certain balance between naivety and expertise to develop a sensibility for atmospheres. Pallasmaa argues that atmosphere is immediately experienced as a unity, in which all senses are simultaneously at work. The experience of atmospheric quality in architecture, then, is by definition an embodied experience. However, since architecture is subject to use, atmosphere is by no means a merely individual task. Pallasmaa notes, moreover, that it is crucial for architects to empathise with users, clients and other perceivers of architecture, no matter how anonymous or distant they may seem. He thus considers, next to embodiment, compassion as a necessary skill for architects to be able to build atmosphere.