A Framework to Cultivate Atmospheres as a Sensory‐Emotional Dimension of Environmental Experience in the Public Interiors

Atmospheres are an expression of the sensoriality and emotional tone of a place. In public interiors, they are perceived through phenomena in the physical environment and through phenomena generated by people’s actions and interactions. These belong to the domain of the qualitative; they are fluid, diffuse, intangible, impermanent. As such they can be difficult to capture or design in an authentic and meaningful way. To address this challenge, this study posits that atmospheres could be cultivated and proposes a framework for those interested in the creation of public environments people can connect to sensorially and emotionally. The methodology is grounded in a phenomenologically inspired conception of experience, drawing on existing literature and a case study of the public interior of the Royal Festival Hall in London, UK. The research explores specifically how the design and management of an inviting and sensorially engaging public interior can contribute to visitors’ emotional attachment to place through modes of personalisation. Insights are then brought together, and the resulting framework provides a reference to draw on, to create environments where the personalisation of experience can cultivate atmospheres conducive to sensory-emotional connectedness; environments where perceived qualities enable people to thrive both individually and collectively.