Creating Sensory Spaces

The Architecture of the Invisible

Barbara Erwine

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2026
• eBook ISBN: 9781040684191
• Topic: Architecture
• Subtopic: Architecture General

Creating Sensory Spaces celebrates spaces enlivened with sensual richness and provides you with the knowledge and tools necessary to create them. Drawing on numerous built case studies in ten countries and illustrated with over 85 full color images, this book presents a new framework for the design of sensory spaces including light, color, temperature, smell, sound and touch. Bridging across disciplines of architecture, interior design, engineering, phenomenology and perceptual psychology, this book informs the design of buildings and neighborhoods that reclaim the role of the body and all the senses in creating memorable experiences of place and belonging.

This second edition has been updated to include:

An entirely new chapter on Sensory Wellbeing which presents recent research substantiating the impact of sensory design on the health and wellbeing of building occupants. This chapter includes a discussion of the broad spectrum of sensory differences among people and concludes with a set of design guidelines to promote an inclusive approach to sensory design.

A new section on pedagogy which includes exercises which are useful in both academic classes and professional development to promote an embodied approach to sensory design and leverage this awareness to enrich the design of buildings, landscapes and neighborhoods.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Endorsement Page
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Image Credits
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• 1 The World Is Flat
• 2 Celebration of the Senses
• 3 Light Space
• 4 Somatic Space
• 5 Thermal Space
• 6 Acoustic Space
• 7 Olfactory Space
• 8 Sensory Choreography
• 9 Multisensory Design
• 10 Sensory Wellbeing
• 11 Sensory Awakening
• Index