Post-industrial heritage environments often retain material form while failing to activate cultural meaning. This study investigates how spatial design and interpretive framing shape the embodied perception of industrial heritage using a controlled virtual reality (VR) experiment. Eighty participants experienced combinations of five spatial variables-green visibility, street connectivity, street width, public facilities, and heritage preservation-within 18 VR street scenes generated via an L18 orthogonal array. A 2 × 2 between-subject design manipulated narrative priming (neutral vs. emotional) and interpretive engagement (passive vs. active). Multimodal data were collected, including physiological signals (HRV, EDA, RESP), subjective ratings, and open-ended recall. Results indicate that heritage cues alone were insufficient to evoke cultural meaning unless supported by interpretive framing that enabled emotional resonance. Emotional priming and active engagement amplified physiological arousal and symbolic recognition, particularly among participants with high heritage awareness. Latent profile analysis revealed distinct experiential patterns, underscoring the heterogeneity of cultural meaning-making. These findings suggest that cultural recognition is not inherent to form but emerges through the alignment of spatial affordances, emotional salience, and narrative framing, with implications for perception-led urban heritage design.
Huang et al. (2026) studied this question.