Atmosferas: repensando o design a partir de espaços afetivos

Abstract

Do you perceive the atmosphere surrounding you at this very moment? Although often overlooked, atmospheres are present in every interaction with the environment, profoundly shaping the way we live, feel, and attribute meaning to the world. More than mere backdrops, they emerge as affective spaces — immaterial fields that, even without fixed contours, exert a direct influence on our bodily and emotional dispositions. This dissertation departs from a phenomenological understanding of atmospheres as relational and enveloping conditions of experience, investigating their implications for the field of design, with an emphasis on strategic design, the focus of this research. While widely explored in fields such as philosophy, sociology, architecture, and urban studies, the concept has only timidly entered the field of design. By recognizing strategic design as an approach already attuned to systemic and relational dimensions, this research argues that attention to atmospheres can expand and deepen design practices by integrating the affective qualities of lived space. The investigation unfolds in two main movements: the first develops a conceptual systematization of the term based on a theoretical review, resulting in the formulation of five atmospheric dimensions — extended presence, sensorial tonality, relational phenomenon, floating space, and embodied experience — alongside a definition of the concept itself. The second movement consists of an exploratory empirical practice with designers, conducted through an atmospheric drift. This experience sought to attune designers to the urban atmospheres surrounding them, highlighting the need for a situated, embodied, and relational design posture. Within this horizon, the dissertation proposes the notion of the atmospheric lens as a critical and affective disposition, capable of fine-tuning the designer to existing atmospheres and, from them, generating conditions for the emergence of new ways of inhabiting the world. This contribution unfolds into the proposal of atmospheric design, which, by recognizing the immaterial as design matter, affirms itself as a practice of orchestration and signification of reality.