Book part:

Stimmung, Atmosphäre, Präsenz. Wirkungsästhetische Begriffe zur Analyse der Architektur von Peter Zumthor

In esthetical theory as well as art and literary studies, the discussion of the terms mood, atmosphere, and presence has gained significance recently. Here two main approaches can be identified, namely the esthetics of reception and the esthetics of production. From these viewpoints, mood and atmosphere as esthetical categories are mostly developed at examples from the realm of painting. The article discusses the range of results from this discussion to deploy them on contemporary architecture and link them together with considerations of the architect Peter Zumthor. First of all, this connection shall be demonstrated by Zumthor´s theoretical texts. Then the terms mood, atmosphere, and presence are applied to his museum Kolumba at Cologne (2007). Finally, this article wants to show that the building, the groundplans, the materials, and the lightning, and their effects on the beholder can be analyzed by applying these terms. It aims to contribute to the discourse on the impact of contemporary architecture.