Conservation of resources in the design and operation of our buildings and cityscapes is essential. But it is not enough. We need new compelling visions of our future that allow us to not just “sustain” our way of life but to thrive within the rich diversity of this abundant planet. Beauty isn’t experienced with the eyes alone; we smell, hear, touch, taste and feel the world around us. To move from merely sustaining our environment to thriving within it, we must evolve from an ocular-centric design practice to a full, multi-sensory understanding of experiential aesthetics. The Beauty imperative of the Living Building Challenge requires projects to “design features intended solely for human delight”. But rigorous adherence to narrowly controlled comfort standards flattens the sensory landscape to industry norms that are comfortable but not comforting, and predictable but not memorable. This session tackles the sensory aspect of delight by taking a multi-sensory perspective of architectural aesthetics that serves as inspiration for architectural decisions, adds richness to the built environment, honors cultural diversity, and profoundly impacts the real-time experiences and longer-term memorability of the environment around us.
Exploring the three different perspectives of designer, researcher and occupant on the exciting new field of sensory design, this interdisciplinary session brings together innovative case studies and cutting-edge research to explore the power of light, color, temperature, smell, sound, touch and taste to shape and enliven the buildings and neighborhoods we design, build and inhabit.
The session will encourage integrated audience feedback to give participants a new perspective and specific skills about how to have conversations with their colleagues and clients about designing for rich, multi-sensory experiential aesthetics. The session will address questions like:
- How do the sensory attributes change across space and time?
- How do the various sensory qualities of the environment relate to each other?
- To what extent does controllability influence experience?
- How does a sensory focus reinforce a sustainable design approach?
- What are the different ways one can represent experiential objectives?
This session is approved for the following continuing education credits:
- 1.25 LFA credits
- 1.25 AIA LU credits
