Atmospheric Dispositifs: Relational Entanglements and Fields of Engagement

Through the coupling of dispositif with atmosphere this paper engages in a discussion of the atmospherics as both a form of knowledge and a material practice. In doing so the objective is to provide an inventory of tools and methodologies deployed in the construction of atmosphere understood as a spatial phenomenon, exploring a multiplicity of conditions that constitute their resonant origins – i.e. the production sites from and within they have emerged. The intention is also to argue that despite the fact that atmosphere as an aesthetic category has crystallised over the last few decades, the conceptual foundations and protocols for the production of atmosphere in architecture might be found beneath the surface of contemporary debates.
In this context, the notion of atmospheric dispositif – illustrated through an oeuvre of the German architect Werner Ruhnau and its theoretical and historical contextualisation – provides a platform for revealing productive entanglements between heterogeneous elements, disciplines and processes. It also allows rendering atmosphere as a site of co-production open to contingencies and affective interplay on multiples levels: at the moment of its conceptualisation, at the moment of its construction, and, finally, at its emergence – converting those immersed in it into co-producers through bodily and social engagement.