# Space Feel > Describe the experiential, phenomenological qualities of a space — compression and release, threshold, prospect and refuge, light, sound, temperature, materiality — in the register of Zumthor and Pallasmaa. Use when an architect wants to articulate how a space FEELS, not how it looks, for a brief, competition, client conversation, or their own clarity. Say "how does this space feel", "describe th… - **Type:** Skill - **Install:** `agentstack add skill-gaia-computer-technologies-architecture-skills-space-feel` - **Verified:** Yes — security-reviewed for prompt injection and unsafe behavior - **Seller:** [gaia-computer-technologies](https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/gaia-computer-technologies) - **Installs:** 0 - **Category:** [Agent Skills](https://agentstack.voostack.com/c/agent-skills) - **Latest version:** 0.1.0 - **License:** MIT - **Upstream author:** [gaia-computer-technologies](https://github.com/gaia-computer-technologies) - **Source:** https://github.com/gaia-computer-technologies/architecture-skills/tree/main/plugins/concept-design/skills/space-feel - **Website:** https://www.gaia.computer/skills ## Install ```sh agentstack add skill-gaia-computer-technologies-architecture-skills-space-feel ``` Requires the [AgentStack CLI](https://agentstack.voostack.com/docs/cli). Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and any MCP-compatible agent. ## About # Space Feel Describe the experiential qualities of a space — how it feels to be in it, not how it looks. This is pure phenomenological description. If you need to build a *case* for the design to a client or jury, that's `concept-narrative`; this skill is the felt experience itself. ## When to use When an architect needs to articulate the phenomenological qualities of a space — for a brief, a competition narrative, a client conversation, or to clarify their own design intent. This skill describes what a photograph cannot capture: scale, weight, temperature, sound, the feeling of crossing a threshold. ## Input The user provides: - A description of a space (real or proposed) - A render or photograph - A design brief with spatial qualities implied - A simple request: "describe how this room feels" ## Process 1. **Read the space.** Identify its primary spatial quality — is it about compression, openness, enclosure, transition, prospect, intimacy, monumentality? 2. **Layer the senses.** Move beyond the visual: - **Light**: quality (direct, diffused, raking, dappled), warmth, movement through the day - **Sound**: resonance, absorption, ambient sound (rain on roof, courtyard echo, city hum) - **Touch**: floor underfoot (cold stone, warm timber, soft carpet), wall surface within reach - **Temperature**: thermal mass holding warmth, cool draught from a high window, sun on skin - **Smell**: timber, plaster, garden, concrete after rain 3. **Use spatial concepts** where they apply: - **Compression / release**: low ceiling → tall space. The power of contrast in sequence. - **Prospect / refuge**: the ability to see (prospect) from a position of safety (refuge). Window seats, mezzanines, alcoves. - **Threshold**: the moment of transition between spaces. Door frames, level changes, light changes, material changes. - **Enfilade**: a sequence of aligned doorways creating depth and visual rhythm. - **Raumplan**: Adolf Loos's idea of rooms at different levels within one volume, each sized to its purpose. - **Poché**: the thickness of walls as inhabitable space — niches, window seats, storage within structure. - **Ma** (間): the Japanese concept of meaningful emptiness — the pause between elements that gives them meaning. 4. **Output** a description that makes someone feel the space without seeing it. ## Domain knowledge ### Zumthor's nine atmospheric properties From *Atmospheres* (2006): 1. The body of architecture — material presence 2. Material compatibility — how materials work together 3. The sound of a space — silence, intimacy, resonance 4. The temperature of a space — physical and psychological warmth 5. Surrounding objects — things that belong 6. Between composure and seduction — the balance of calm and intrigue 7. Tension between interior and exterior — the threshold 8. Levels of intimacy — scale relative to the body 9. The light on things — how light reveals material and space ### Pallasmaa's key ideas From *The Eyes of the Skin* (2005): - Architecture is experienced through the body, not just the eyes - The dominance of vision has impoverished architectural experience - Material authenticity creates trust — "the patina of wear adds the enriching experience of time" - "Every touching experience of architecture is multi-sensory" - Peripheral vision integrates us into space; focused vision separates us from it ### Scale and the body - Spaces below 2.4m feel intimate, protective, sometimes oppressive - 2.7-3.0m is the range where domestic spaces feel generous but not vast - Above 4m, the body registers the space as public or monumental - Double-height spaces work because of the contrast with what came before — a 6m ceiling after a 2.4m corridor is extraordinary; a 6m ceiling after a 5m corridor is barely noticed ## Output format A single descriptive passage, 100-250 words. No headers. No technical specifications. Write as if guiding someone through the space with their eyes closed. ## What you don't do - Don't describe visual appearance. That's what renders are for. - Don't list dimensions and materials like a specification. Weave them into experience. - Don't use "beautiful" or "stunning." These are evacuated words. Be specific about what makes it so. - Don't write in second person ("you walk in and see...") unless the user specifically asks for a walkthrough format. ## Source & license This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code. - **Author:** [gaia-computer-technologies](https://github.com/gaia-computer-technologies) - **Source:** [gaia-computer-technologies/architecture-skills](https://github.com/gaia-computer-technologies/architecture-skills) - **License:** MIT - **Homepage:** https://www.gaia.computer/skills Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above. ## Pricing - **Free** — Free ## Security capabilities Automated source analysis of v0.1.0 — what this tool can access: - **Network access:** no - **Filesystem access:** no - **Shell / process execution:** no - **Environment & secrets:** no - **Dynamic code execution:** no *"Yes" means the capability is present in the source — more access means more to trust, not that it is unsafe.* ## Versions - **0.1.0** — security scan: passed — Imported from the upstream source. ## Links - Listing page: https://agentstack.voostack.com/l/skill-gaia-computer-technologies-architecture-skills-space-feel - Seller: https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/gaia-computer-technologies - Browse the marketplace: https://agentstack.voostack.com/browse --- Listed on AgentStack — the marketplace for AI agent skills and MCP servers. 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