Since 2009 the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Manitoba has hosted an annual interdisciplinary symposium entitled Atmosphere. This symposium explores the less tangible aspects of design and experience: the ephemeral, social, situational, emotional, elemental, phenomenal and epiphenomenal conditions of our shared world. Difficult to pin-down, capture and express, “atmosphere” insinuates pervading qualities, which we—as designers and interpreters of our built and natural environment—strive to discover, generate and understand.
The Atmosphere Symposium brings together a variety of individuals for discursive exchange: distinguished international keynote speakers; peer-reviewed presenters from academic institutions across North America and around the world; representatives from Winnipeg’s local arts communities and professional associations; as well as professors and students from the five allied disciplines within our Faculty (Architecture, City Planning, Environmental Design, Interior Design and Landscape Architecture). Other academic units from the University of Manitoba routinely take part in the Atmosphere Symposium, including the School of Art, the Department of English, Film and Theatre in the Faculty of Arts, and the Department of Environment and Geography in the Clayton Riddell Faculty of Environment, Earth and Resources.
Each year the Atmosphere Symposium poses a specific yet open-ended theme to draw researchers from multiple disciplines into a topically oriented exploration and exchange. The themes of previous symposia have included: “Ecology and Design” (2013); “Experiencing the Everyday” (2012); and “Mediated Cities” (2011). The theme for Atmosphere 2014 is "Action".
Atmosphere is generously supported by the Faculty of Architecture Endowment Fund and the following professional associations: the Manitoba Association of Architects (MAA); the Manitoba Association of Landscape Architects (MALA); and the Professional Interior Designers Institute of Manitoba (PIDIM).
Aspects of Atmosphere 2014 ACTION are being presented in collaboration with StoreFront Manitoba and aceartinc.