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the nonmaterial factors of > sound, > aroma, and in particu-
lar > light and > darkness. As expressions of total situations,
however, atmospheres are also generated through use, and
through our knowledge of places. Attunement to atmospheres
is a characteristic trait of every space, and is never entirely
neutral.
As a concrete architectural example, Gernot Böhme char-
acterizes a sacred atmosphere and the elements that generate
it. Among these is a form of twilight effect, which is not dif-
fused into the distance, as it is outside, but is delimited by the
space, and surrounds those who are present. In this ‘sacred’
twilight, one senses something hidden, invisible, especially
when enigmatic glimmers flare up in the darkness. At times,
this twilight effect rises upwards, illuminated by a glow of
light of uncertain origin that allows isolated objects to emerge
from the darkness. By virtue of the soaring gesture of their
spatial forms, the tall interiors of Gothic cathedrals generate
a dynamism, the unfamiliar dimensions of which overwhelm
those who enter. The > sublime thereby contributes to the sa-
cred atmosphere, where the ‘slipping of bodily feeling into the
infinite’ alternates with a sense of ‘being thrown back upon
one’s own corporeality’ (Böhme 1998, 97). This sensation is
amalgamated with the stillness, which becomes acutely per-
ceptible through the echoing sound of one’s own footsteps, al-
lowing one to experience one’s own ‘lostness in space’. Some
might describe this experience rather as a feeling of security.
Like the sacred, many other types of atmospheric ef-
fects – such as those of a library, kindergarten, or railway sta-
tion – can be characterized in terms of contributory factors.
Since atmospheres depend on total situations, they cannot be
entirely controlled by architectural means, but can nonethe-
less be substantially influenced by them. This is also the basis
of techniques of manipulation deployed for the purposes of
suggestion by an entire spectrum of advertising strategies, in-
cluding city marketing, shopping mall design, and trade fair
architecture. Such affective forces can be usurped for ulterior