Constructing Situations or Phenomeno-praxis

This paper explores the re-framing of the notion of atmosphere through Situationist practices, focusing particularly on the project of New Babylon by Constant. In this context, not only do the Situationist endeavours set a field for approaching atmospheres as milieux of inter-sensory and synaesthetic reactivation, involving a wide spectrum of sensory mechanisms, but also expand our understanding of ambiance by connecting it to practical and creative activities. By bringing the notion of ‘constructed situation’ into play, the intention is thus to identify conditions and processes under which the sensory (aesthetic) intersects with the social – that is, processes in which staging of atmosphere also becomes a staging of social reality.