Making Room for Atmosphere

<p>This study investigates how first-year architecture students can develop atmospheric awareness through an affective pedagogy. Using the documentary<em> Heima</em> and the music of Sigur Rós as context, the studio invited students to explore the sensual and affective dimensions of design, expanding perception and spatial imagination. Atmosphere was treated simultaneously as a conceptual lens and as a teaching instrument to cultivate early sensitivity to experiential qualities of design. Conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, when education shifted to online platforms, the study draws on qualitative insights from two consecutive cohorts who engaged with the same design brief and later participated in an online survey. Open-ended reflections were analyzed through content analysis to identify how students responded to the affective and sensory aspects of the task. The findings indicate that students explored atmosphere both receptively and creatively, gaining awareness of its context-dependent and quasi-objective character. By highlighting how atmosphere can operate as both a vital concept and a pedagogical strategy, the study contributes to rethinking the role of affect and experience in architectural education and demonstrates the potential of atmospheric thinking to deepen sensory and affective attunement in foundational design learning.</p>