ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a methodological approach to researching atmospheres. As Conradson and Latham remind us, 'atmosphere is best understood as empirically grounded in specific configurations of people, things, technologies and immaterial qualities of places. In terms of atmosphere, this points to the variability, contingency and ephemerality of shared moods, and their genesis and location in encounters. Knowing about atmosphere suggests methodologies for examining it after the moment of its emergence, attempting to understand its configurations, the conditions that allowed it, the effects and impacts that it might have and what else it makes possible. In contrast, researchers based in design and architecture disciplines have been interested in atmosphere primarily in relation to its implication for their practice, which generally involves making changes and considerations of the future. Indeed, in terms of knowing about atmosphere, the consideration of this record could only occur outside the particular configurations that the researchers were focused on.
