This paper discusses the study of the atmosphere of architecture, which places human perception of space at the centre, and thus expands the humanist aspect of architectural and urban theory and design. Referring her own research to the current state of the art, the author presents various definitions of atmosphere and methodologies of its description, which considerably encroach into the field of neurophysiology and psychology, but also value contemplation, literary descriptions, photographs and stage design in a new light.

This paper presents the unique value of Kengo Kuma’s idea of rooted architecture that results from an innovative approach to the environment. This idea could be the basis for a new paradigm of an architecture befitting of our times, in which the natural environment is degraded. The study was based on an analysis of texts by and on Kuma, supported by references to a selection of his projects. The features of rooted architecture in Kuma’s idea as well as the organicity of rooted architecture, its presentation in Japanese and Western tradition and its radical nature are discussed. The results of this study are: an indication of the link between rooted and organic architecture in Kuma’s original approach, the unique value of the idea of rooted architecture as a new approach to the environment, and the presentation of this idea as a design method based on an interrelation between a place and the human body.