AMBIANTAL ARCHITECTURE − Defining the role of water in the aesthetic experience of sensitive architectural ambiances

Laval University, Architecture school, Québec, QC, Canada

Abstract

As part of an aesthetic approach, this design-driven research crosses two methodologies to determine what is common in the perception of atmospheres. First, a case study of the Vals’ thermal baths led to the selection of five different atmospheres, which were then analyzed through Gaston Bachelard’s lens, using his book L’Eau et les rêves. Bachelard’s literary symbols echo in the water contained in the massive stone walls of Vals to identify common generators of sensitive atmospheres. Secondly, the construction of this dialogue between Bachelard and Zumthor leads to the elaboration of a conceptual architecture project which is voluntarily emotional. This project introduces the elements that generate five ambiences identified in the case study. This design-driven research is therefore based on Grégoire Chelkoff’s theory of formants as vectors of transmission of atmosphere, pre-existing to the experienc of a place, of an ambiance, which itself is understood as a sensitive result of the perception of the space. The present work therefore questions the role of water as a sensitive vector, from the architecture to its visitor. The goal is to determine how water, in varying manifestations, can be used by architects to create a “mise en scène” for a voluntarily emotional architecture.