AAU - Ambiances, Architectures, Urbanités

The domain of urban ambiances has developed apace over the past twenty years. It was introduced in order to describe and design the sensory fabric of the urban world more effectively. An ambiance can be provisionally defined as a space-time qualified from a sensory perspective. It involves a socio-aesthetic approach that enables us to grasp everyday urban atmospheres. The aim of this article is to highlight the close links between ambiance and perception. We shall seek to demonstrate that one of the key imperatives for the notion of ambiance is a reappraisal of the situational, sensory, and practical character of perception. Three main arguments are developed: ambiance can be characterized as the quality of a situation, as a motor stimulation, and as a sensory background.

This paper presents a framework for studying design thinking. Three paradigmatic approaches are described to measure design cognitive processes: design cognition, design physiology and design neurocognition. Specific tools and methods serve each paradigmatic approach. Design cognition is explored through protocol analysis, black-box experiments, surveys and interviews. Design physiology is measured with eye tracking, electrodermal activity, heart rate and emotion tracking. Design neurocognition is measured using electroencephalography, functional near infrared spectroscopy and functional magnetic resonance imaging. Illustrative examples are presented to describe the types of results each method provides about the characteristics of design thinking, such as design patterns, design reasoning, design creativity, design collaboration, the co-evolution of the problem solution space, or design analysis and evaluation. The triangulation of results from the three paradigmatic approaches to studying design thinking provides a synergistic foundation for the understanding of design cognitive processes. Results from such studies generate a source of feedback to designers, design educators and researchers in design science. New models, new tools and new research questions emerge from the integrated approach proposed and lay down future challenges in studying design thinking.

The sense of embodiment refers to the sensations of being inside, having, and controlling a body. In virtual reality, it is possible to substitute a person’s body with a virtual body, referred to as an avatar. Modulations of the sense of embodiment through modifications of this avatar have perceptual and behavioural consequences on users that can influence the way users interact with the virtual environment. Therefore, it is essential to define metrics that enable a reliable assessment of the sense of embodiment in virtual reality to better understand its dimensions, the way they interact, and their influence on the quality of interaction in the virtual environment. In this review, we first introduce the current knowledge on the sense of embodiment, its dimensions (senses of agency, body ownership, and self-location), and how they relate the ones with the others. Then, we dive into the different methods currently used to assess the sense of embodiment, ranging from questionnaires to neurophysiological measures. We provide a critical analysis of the existing metrics, discussing their advantages and drawbacks in the context of virtual reality. Notably, we argue that real-time measures of embodiment, which are also specific and do not require double tasking, are the most relevant in the context of virtual reality. Electroencephalography seems a good candidate for the future if its drawbacks (such as its sensitivity to movement and practicality) are improved. While the perfect metric has yet to be identified if it exists, this work provides clues on which metric to choose depending on the context, which should hopefully contribute to better assessing and understanding the sense of embodiment in virtual reality.

Abstract. The Town Energy Balance (TEB) model has been refined and improved in order to explicitly represent street trees and their impacts on radiative transfer: a new vegetated stratum on the vertical plane, which can shade the road, the walls, and the low vegetation has been added. This modification led to more complex radiative calculations, but has been done with a concern to preserve a certain level of simplicity and to limit the number of new input parameters for TEB to the cover fraction of trees, the mean height of trunks and trees, their specific leaf area index, and albedo. Indeed, the model is designed to be run over whole cities, for which it can simulate the local climatic variability related to urban landscape heterogeneity at the neighborhood scale. This means that computing times must be acceptable, and that input urban data must be available or easy to define. This simplified characterization of high vegetation necessarily induces some uncertainties in terms of the solar radiative exchanges, as quantified by comparison of TEB with a high-spatial-resolution solar enlightenment model (SOLENE). On the basis of an idealized geometry of an urban canyon with various vegetation layouts, TEB is evaluated regarding the total shortwave radiation flux absorbed by the elements that compose the canyon. TEB simulations in summer gathered best scores for all configurations and surfaces considered, which is precisely the most relevant season to assess the cooling effect of deciduous trees under temperate climate. Mean absolute differences and biases of 6.03 and +3.50 W m−2 for road, respectively, and of 3.38 and +2.80 W m−2 for walls have been recorded in vegetationless canyons. In view of the important incident radiation flux, exceeding 1000 W m−2 at solar noon, the mean absolute percentage differences of 3 % for both surfaces remain moderate. Concerning the vegetated canyons, we noted a high variability of statistical scores depending on the vegetation layout. The greater uncertainties are found for the solar radiation fluxes received and absorbed by the high vegetation. The mean absolute differences averaged over the vegetation configurations during summertime are 21.12 ± 13.39 W m−2 or 20.92 ± 10.87 % of mean absolute percentage differences for the total shortwave absorption, but these scores are associated with acceptable biases: −15.96 ± 15.93 W m−2.

The article develops a fundamental conception of atmospheres which is incorporated into a phenomenology of the felt body [Leib]. It builds on a critique of a splitting of the world into a private inner world as the location of experience and of emotions, and an external world that is separated off from that – a split already made in antiquity. Set against this notion is the conception of the felt body as space without area. What is meant by the felt body is what one can sense as belonging to oneself without recourse to the five senses. Atmospheres represent another category of spaces without area. They are regarded as a total or partial occupation of a space without area in that sphere that is experienced as being present. A distinction is made here between atmospheres of the felt body, atmospheres of emotion, and those atmospheres that are not emotions. The example of living [in the sense of dwelling] is used to clarify how people achieve their own space of emotion from the atmospheres of emotion available at places.

Perceptual simulation represents an attempt to anticipate physical reality, whereby people can experience and interpret future environments from a subjective perspective. Working on experiential simulation for urban and landscape design requires an understanding of the relationship between man and the environment from a perceptual and cognitive standpoint. In fact, only by investigating the sensing and cognitive processes behind perception can we establish an informed approach to simulation of places and their ambiances. In particular, we propose a parallelism between man/environment and man/simulation relationships, aiming at giving back a framework for replicating in simulation the multisensory aspects that occur in the perception of the physical world. Hence, the objective of this article is to present how we approach the dimension of perceptual simulation within our research and professional work as urban designers. From a methodological point of view, we explored the topic through two main tasks, namely the selection and reconstruction of the research context and the key issues of perceptual simulation finalized in the second task, i.e. the construction of a set of simulation tools for urban design, intended as a matrix of possible practical applications. In particular, the theoretical framework presented in this work consists of a selection and overview of references relevant to urban design, comprehension of the research context and delivery of the set of tools implemented within our research unit. This matrix of tools represents the novelty of this work and is intended as a practical reference for orienting the choice among different simulation tools within the urban design practice. For instance, it is important to highlight the efficacy of each type of simulation in mimicking the man/environment relationship.

In this paper we present an immersive virtual reality user study aimed at investigating how customers perceive and if they would purchase non-standard (i.e. misshaped) fruits and vegetables (FaVs) in supermarkets and hypermarkets. Indeed, food waste is a major issue for the retail sector and a recent trend is to reduce it by selling non-standard goods. An important question for retailers relates to the FaVs' “level of abnormality” that consumers would agree to buy. However, this question cannot be tackled using “classical” marketing techniques that perform user studies within real shops since fresh produce such as FaVs tend to rot rapidly preventing studies to be repeatable or to be run for a long time. In order to overcome those limitations, we created a virtual grocery store with a fresh FaVs section where 142 participants were immersed using an Oculus Rift DK2 HMD. Participants were presented either “normal”, “slightly misshaped”, “misshaped” or “severely misshaped” FaVs. Results show that participants tend to purchase a similar number of FaVs whatever their deformity. Nevertheless participants' perceptions of the quality of the FaV depend on the level of abnormality.

Following development and validation of the SOLENE-microclimat tool, the underlying model was used to compare the impacts of various “greening strategies” on buildings’ summer energy consumption and indoor comfort. This study distinguishes between direct and indirect impacts by successively implementing the test strategies on both the studied building and surrounding ones; it also considers insulated vs. non-insulated buildings. Findings indicate that green walls have a direct effect on indoor comfort throughout the entire building, whereas the effect of green roofs is apparently primarily confined to the upper floor. Moreover, the indirect effect of a green wall is greater, mainly due to the drop in infrared emissions resulting from a lower surface temperature. It has also been proven that the indirect effects of green walls and surrounding lawns can help reduce the loads acting on a non-insulated building.

This paper presents the situated Function-Behavior-Structure (sFBS) model of co-design, developed within the FBS ontology. In co-design, designers interact with their co-designers and with their own cognitive experiences. In this model, we describe a representation of the overall co-design activity, while preserving a fine-grained representation of each designer’s interactions with their co-designers and with their internal cognitive processes. The relevance and potential of our model are illustrated through multiple examples.

The paper describes current research efforts in the College of Architecture and Planning (CAP) at Ball State University seeking to assess and make creative use of the instructional potential of immersive simulation implemented in virtual reality (VR) environments. We have conducted graduate and undergraduate design studios using the CAP VR Environment, which is a fully implemented VR environment equipped with a Head-Mounted-Display (HMD) system complete with spatial tracking capabilities. Through these implementations we have contributed to the validation of the use of the CAP VR Environment in design studios and have started to develop teaching/learning methodologies for effectively using this immersive VR environment for aiding novice students in the design of architectural spatial experiences. Assuming that only tools that allow us to simulate presence through time may effectively aid the design of spatial experiences, the CAP VR Environment has been used as such a tool for simulating and testing the effectiveness of architectural spatial experiences. The paper describes the learning outcomes in the application of the CAP VR Environment within the studio setting and the level of satisfaction of the students. It also addresses the potential for future research in the use of immersive VR tools.

Le conflit socio-environnemental de Notre-Dame-des-Landes est actuellement l’un des plus importants conflits de ce type en Europe. Malgré sa longévité et sa complexité, malgré les coûts politiques et financiers qu’il engendre, malgré les formes d’innovation que l’on peut y trouver et les questions de gouvernance qu’il adresse à tous, ce haut lieu est peu enquêté par les sciences sociales. Dans la première partie, nous examinons le lieu du conflit et les conditions de la recherche dans ce lieu. Dans la deuxième partie, nous proposons d’élargir le périmètre habituellement considéré et d’offrir un récit réaliste de l’expérience de la « zone à défendre ». Ainsi, nous voulons montrer comment s’articulent la figure du haut lieu politique et des mises en réseau plurielles et à des échelles variées. Au travers de ces trois entrées, nous suggérons la réalité d’un « habiter en conscience d’habiter » comme ressource politique construite et partagée par des acteurs hétérogènes.

Cet article analyse la manière dont les individus perçoivent une gamme variée de stimuli, notamment les sons et les odeurs émis par l’activité humaine, lors de leur déambulation dans les espaces publics des villes anglaises. La démonstration s’appuie sur deux études portant sur la déambulation sensorielle (sensewalking) menées entre 2004 et 2009 indépendamment l’une de l’autre mais avec un objectif identique. La première explore la perception de l’environnement olfactif, tandis que l’autre, s’attarde sur les expériences sonores urbaines. La comparaison des résultats montre que les expectations sensorielles modifient l’attitude des individus dans le milieu urbain en induisant des niveaux de signification et de compréhension variés. Par conséquent, il y a là un défi pour les architectes et les aménageurs de créer des milieux où la prise en compte de ces différents modes de perception pourrait conduire à des réponses plus adéquates. Si l’on convient que la perception (ou la non perception) des odeurs et des sons est fortement influencée par l’environnement, il est donc fondamental que le contexte initial soit prise en compte au moment de redéfinir et de gérer les aménagements sensoriels urbains.

What is architectural atmosphere? To answer this question, we propose a paradox: a precise definition of the inherently vague and ambiguous concept of atmosphere that satisfies, as so far as possible, scientific criteria and methodology. We suggest that the term atmosphere, understood in an architectural context, defines a state of resonance and identification (sensorimotor, emotive, and cognitive) between an individual and their surrounding built space. Human beings can empathise with inanimate rooms when they interiorly establish an embodied simulation of certain architectural features. Thus, atmospheres might be determined, mapped, and measured through quantitative methods tracing emotional, cognitive, and neurophysiological responses of individuals to spatial conditions.The exploratory study illustrated attempts to test this hypothesis, by undertaking an experiment informed by phenomenological and embodied cognition theories. We analysed the spatial unit of the corridor, altered in twenty-one variations. We modified one potentially atmospheric parameter at a time, and collected emotional responses of participants. Subjects interacted with immersive virtual-reality settings. Our findings demonstrate that an experimental approach is applicable to evaluating atmospheric perception and suggest which architectural features seem to interplay with the empathic sensibility of the perceiver (i.e. colours and material patterns) and which ones do not (i.e. lighting qualities).

as being significantly tastier and the apple as being significantly healthier. Nevertheless, while we hypothesized that participants embodied in a virtual body with obesity would show differences in their shopping patterns (e.g., more "unhealthy" products bought) there were no significant differences between the groups. Stereotype activation failed for our participants embodied in obese avatars, who did not exhibit a shopping behavior following the (negative) stereotypes related to obese people. conversely, while the opposite hypothesis (participants embodied in obese avatars would buy significantly more healthy products in order to "transform" their virtual bodies) could have been made, it was not the case either. We discuss these results and propose hypotheses as to why the behavior of the manipulated group differed from the one we expected. Indeed, unlike previous research, our participants were embodied in virtual avatars which differed greatly from their real bodies. Obese avatars should not only modify users' visual characteristics such as hair or skin color, etc. We hypothesize that an obese virtual body may require some other non-visual stimulus, e.g., the sensation of the extra weight or the change in body size. This main difference could then explain why we did not notice any important modification on participants' behavior and perceptions of food products. We also hypothesize that the absence of stereotype activation and thus of statistical difference between our N and OB groups might be due to higher-level cognitive processes involved while purchasing food products. Indeed our participants might have rejected their virtual bodies when performing the shopping task, while the embodiment and presence ratings did not show significant differences, and purchased products based on their real (non-obese) bodies. This could mean that stereotype activation is more complex that previously thought.

Over the last few years, topics related to sustainable development and energy saving in Western countries led to several research projects aiming to promote the amount of natural daylight used in school buildings. The same issues arise now in Libya, especially those concerning the use of natural daylight. The promotion of natural daylight in the classrooms saves electrical energy and improves the working conditions for both teachers and students. The extreme solar heat in Libya has always been an imperative factor in relation to building heat. Especially during the period from June to August great care is given to avoid overheating while still preserving the use of natural daylight. The present research aims to propose and to test several architectural devices that can be integrated into educational building designs, allowing the penetration of natural daylight while respecting the traditional aestheticism and creating a comfortable school environment.

This article describes the effects of a co-design pedagogic strategy on students’ engagement in the critique. The co-design pedagogy proposes a critique setting where students are enticed to participate in a co-design activity. We aimed to describe students’ engagement in that critique setting based on two factors: how they participate in the co-ideation process based on the analysis of verbal exchange (Collaborative Ideation loops), and how they felt during the critique based on the analysis of their psychological experience state (feeling of Flow). A case study of six sessions of studio critique involving industrial design students is described. Our results show that students engage in Collaborative Ideation Loops in three different ways. Two Design Flow patterns were observed in our dataset that illustrate an association between students’ experience state and specific elements of Collaborative Ideation Loops.

Inescapably spatial and located in experience, understanding atmospheres and their impact means close empirical attention to how they arise and are constituted, how they impress upon us, how they circulate and are shared, and what configures to make them feel differently for diverse people. In this article, we advance a dialogic autoethnographic methodology for attuning to, exploring and understanding atmospheres that accounts for them as they arise in the ongoing flow of experience of light. In this ethnographic approach, we research in atmospheres – that is, in the ongoing flow and change of shifting impressions and feelings constituted spatially by a multiplicity of elements. Taking a ‘light walk’ through inner city Melbourne as our example, we interrogate our experience of atmospheres in light, and also address how they might be purposefully constituted or designed.

This paper puts forward a proposal for the consideration of atmospheres within the analysis of the social construction of landscape(s). Starting out from an overview of approaches in constructivist landscape research, focusing on the German speaking world, we may confirm an increased interest in the role of subjective multisensorial experience with regard to constructions of landscape(s), which has, however, not yet been reflected in current research approaches. The concept of atmosphere, with its consideration of multisensorial in situ-encounters, may be able to contribute to the scholarly discussion. Following a presentation of core ideas of the concept of atmosphere(s), we show that, on a conceptual level, the conscious experience of atmospheres and their effects may inform the construction of landscapes. Furthermore, in a methodological section we illustrate on the basis of two exploratory examples, how the influence of atmospheres on subjective constructions of landscape(s) may be empirically accessible. The paper closes with a discussion of our proposal within current trajectories of the Anglophone landscape geography.

To define ‘atmospheres’ as phenomena between object and subject in the process of perception has almost generally been accepted. Atmospheres are experienced in terms of affect as quasi-objective, free-floating emotions. Given that, how may an atmosphere be described adequately? In the course of listing the multiple characteristics of atmosphere, problems that have to do with language emerge. By juxtaposing the order of language and the order of perception, the vagueness of atmospheres becomes visible – as the sorites paradox (accumulation) shows. Yet descriptions of atmospheres do not have to be vague; they can evoke different characters of atmospheres. The issue of vagueness is discussed from a semantic, ontological and an epistemic perspective. Atmospheres can be made tangible by means of the qualitative-empirical method of ‘aesthetic fieldwork’. This method stresses three methodological aspects as a consequence of the vagueness of atmospheres. It is based on the Parcours commenté and entails a subject-concentrated approach to atmospheres in order to avoid the traps of the forms of vagueness.

This article proposes to shift the scholarly focus from the conceptually, terminologically, and methodologically fuzzy notion of “immersion” to the concept of “immersivity,” and thus from a discussion of experiences to an analysis of the productive forces that enable such experiences (aesthetic and otherwise). Using case studies from theme parks, film, and immersive theatre to video games and immersive educational spaces, we argue that immersivity is a distinct term that denotes an inherent quality of objects in general and of mediated, delineated, real and virtual spaces in particular. We assume that in all of these examples, spatial qualities and modes interact in particular ways to facilitate immersion. Elucidating these interactions requires discussing examples from different disciplinary contexts. It is precisely through this interdisciplinary approach that we take a first step towards understanding immersivity, as we pinpoint cross-disciplinary congruences wherever possible. The article thus offers the starting point for a transdisciplinary, qualitative, experimental, and analytical model of immersivity. Following a theoretical introduction to the topic of immersion, we will first conceptualize our interdisciplinary understanding of immersion and immersivity and then launch into a transdisciplinary dialogue about examples of immersive spaces.