Projetar a partir de Temas, Atmosferas: Revisitar um Exercício de Projeto do 1.º Ano

Abstract

This dissertation investigates the principles that qualify an architectural space through its sensory experience and the impact it exerts on the user, with particular focus on environments that foster the practice of introspection. The work emerges as a response to a Design Exercise taught in the curricular unit Project 1, "Interior Space and Exterior Space | Sequence and Boundary", which challenges students to explore themes such as excavated architecture, the relationship between solid and void, the connections between interior and exterior, the transitions between stable and dynamic spaces, the interplay of light and shadow, the proximity to water, as well as the creation of spatialities that convey protection and interiority. The development of the project is grounded in the interpretation of the concepts presented in Peter Zumthor's Atmospheres, which provided a fundamental contribution to addressing the challenges posed by the exercise, serving as a bridge between theoretical reflection and design practice. This approach enabled a deeper discussion of the themes raised by the exercise, grounding the design decisions in a central reference throughout my academic path: Peter Zumthor. Building on the contrast between distinct curricular moments, the proposed project seeks to establish relations between the two responses given to the same exercise - in 2018/19 and in 2024/25 - in order to critically reflect on the evolution of architectural thought and on the maturation of design practice. The exercise thus becomes both a mirror of the academic journey and a territory of exploration into the ways in which meaning is constructed in architecture.