The five senses : a study of their role in shaping the way users experience public spaces

Abstract

In todays day and age, the impact of technology on people’s life and our society is remarkable, inevitable and worrying at the same time. The excessive influence of technology in individuals’ lives has caused our community to lean towards a more secluded lifestyle where social interaction is construed to be limited to social media. The need for a better quality of life points to the need for well designed public spaces with multi-sensorial experiences.

Curating such experiences is the unique responsibility of urban designers and architects. An observational argument to prioritize the human experience in design can be determined by exploring the theoretical construct of how users experience spaces sensorially in the physical world. This paper focuses on the role of the five senses in shaping quality public spaces in order to entice citizens to increase social interaction.

Initially, a quantitative survey of the elements noticed by the end users in a public space is conducted, the responses are collated and analyzed. In the second stage, a qualitative survey of why these elements are noticeable is conducted, the responses are collated and analyzed. Finally inferences are drawn to understand the contribution of the senses to aid designers in articulating public spaces.