Sensory Ecologies
explores ways to document and develop synergies between sensing bodies and environments. It foregrounds the primacy of the senses in embodied perception and examines the interdependence between physical, social and cultural environments to understand how these may impact emotional responses, connectedness and wellbeing.

It is rooted in an ontological designing philosophy. Drawing on Arturo Escobar’s (2018) definition, Sensory Ecologies acknowledges that when we design objects, structures, systems, spaces, narratives or discourses we are also creating modes of being. Hence, the projects outlined on this site are motivated by the following lines of enquiry:

• How can we create environments people can engage with to sustain life and diversity?
• How can we invite exploration and cultivate the unexpected alongside tranquillity and familiarity to contribute to individual and collective wellbeing?
• How can we stimulate imagination?

Acknowledging a paucity of methods dedicated to the creation of multisensory environments for people to flourish emotionally led me to an area of research and discourses exploring how spaces designed for the sensing body can create emotional connections that are conducive to wellbeing. I became curious about the correspondence between spatio and socio-sensory phenomena and the way people connect emotionally to their environment. Here, spatio-sensory phenomena are generated through design and managements interventions in the physical environment. People’s actions and interactions, with the space and with each other, also contribute socio-sensory phenomena.

As I shifted my disciplinary focus towards the sensory and the experiential in design, my worldview became grounded in a way of designing that acknowledges the impact of design on the quality of sensory and emotive relations between people and their environment. We are bound, sensorially and emotionally, to our environment.

My interest lies in promoting sensory-emotional processes for experiential practices to create a better quality (or better qualities) of being, not only being in a space as an individual but also being with others within it. Design is not simply about problem solving, it is also about world building and we need to deepen our understanding of qualitative practices at the intersection of physical space and lived experiences to contribute to the creation of environments that are inclusive, welcoming and sustaining but also stimulating, enjoyable and fun, making daily life more rewarding and connected.

Reference
Escobar, A. (2018) Designs for the Pluriverse. Radical Independence, Autonomy, and the Making of Worlds. Durham and London: Duke University Press.