Affective Atmospheres

We invite you to Affective Atmospheres, a two-day in-person conference exploring how atmospheres shape places and experience. The event brings together philosophy, anthropology, geography, art, architecture and psychology.

Affective Atmospheres 

18–19 February 2026
Civic House, Glasgow

Atmospheres sit at the heart of how places feel. Think of the exultant charge of a rave, the quiet lift of a cathedral, or the melancholy of industrial ruins. These pervasive moods are fleeting and hard to define, yet they shape how we move, act and relate to each other. The concept now has real momentum across the humanities and social sciences. Supported by the Royal Institute of Philosophy, this conference brings philosophy into conversation with allied fields. We welcome anyone interested in how places feel and how experience is shaped, including researchers, educators, practitioners, designers, cultural workers, community groups, public-sector professionals and policy makers.

Join us for two days of talks, discussions, creative  exercises, art and music.
Register now https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfGMSpAYPP9DSIR69PqAUxLks_GyAGZ_JG-EZIF1a4twABSVA/viewform

Programme
Wednesday 18 February

10:00 — Panel: Atmospheres and the built environment
Giovanna Colombetti — Atmospheres of the built environment: key features, and an evaluation of the neuro-cognitive approach to architecture
Paula Reavey — Atmospheres, attunements and attachments of everyday life on a secure mental health ward
Fiona Zisch — Space in Motion: Atmospheres and Ways of Knowing in Science and in Architecture

12:15
Ed Hollis — Clouds and Moodboards, Cushions and Curtains: Feeling atmosphere on the inside

13:00 — Lunch

14:00
Safet HadžiMuhamedović — Atmospheres of Fear: Moving Through Genocidescapes
Tania Manuel Casimiro — Atmospheres of Fear: Domesticity and State Control in the Portuguese Estado Novo

15:45
Keith Allen — Seeing Atmospheres
Jinjoon Lee — The Digital Garden: Creating Liminoid Experience through East Asian Philosophy

17:00 — Evening reception
Drinks, light refreshments, and a short musical set (details to follow).

Thursday 19 February

10:00 — Panel: Atmospheres and decay
Ruth Olden — Everyday atmospheric encounters with the remnants of the 1938 Empire Exhibition, Bellahouston Park, Glasgow
Lucy Osler — Lonely Atmospheres
Joel Krueger — Digital Decay

12:30 — Lunch

13:30
Morwenna Kearsley — Picturing in the Dark
Haroon Lone — Atmospheres of Power at the Checkpoints

15:30
Pablo Fernandez Velasco — Atmospheres and the Extension of Emotion
Mitch Miller — Atmospheric Ink: Measuring Affective Atmospheres through the dialectogram

Register now

Practical details
Venue: Civic House, 26 Civic Street, Glasgow G4 9RH
Nearest subway: Cowcaddens
Event type: In-person only
Catering: Provided both days. Please tell us if your plans change after registering.

Find out more

Website: placememory.net/affective-atmospheres
Contact: [email protected]

We look forward to welcoming you in Glasgow in February.