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DESCRIPTION

In the manufacturing process of living spaces, a predominant top-down approach, from project inception to delivery to users, has often led to post-construction issues that are costly to resolve. These issues may include areas overexposed to noise, a lack of cool shaded spaces, and various other challenges that affect the quality of life. This highlights the significance of exploring the lived spaces through ambiances in the missing “bottom-up” flow.
Moreover, ambiences studies, which has evolved since the 1980s, offers a more comprehensive understanding compared to earlier post-project evaluations, including post-occupancy assessments that originated in the 1960s. It encompasses various trends, such as the phenomenological approach, artistic works that utilize ambiences as a creative medium, environmental psychology, ambiance engineering, and architectural achievements by figures like Peter Zumthor. These trends significantly contribute to our understanding of architectural and urban ambiences.
This COST Action seeks to unite diverse perspectives and methodologies to understand, exchange and harmonize the concepts, definitions, by collecting archives, and defining cooperative objectives by harmonizing the technical language and draw perspectives for the future of architectural and urban ambiences in European cities and beyond. It focuses on holistically integrating the “bottom-up” approach, including sensitive experiences of ambiances, into the design, construction, and management of living spaces. By emphasizing the sensory dimension of ambiences, this aims to highlight solutions that prioritize the human experience in urban planning. One uses a collaborative, interdisciplinary approach to positively influence architectural and urban policies and practices both in Europe and globally.

254 members

52 MC members

OBJECTIVES

Research Coordination Objectives

(A) DEFINING: The goal is to establish a shared definition of ambiences to serve as a common reference for the Action.

(B) DATA COLLECTION AND ARCHIVING: To systematically collect and organize data and resources related to architectural and urban ambiences.

(C) BALANCING AND ALIGNING: Create a common understanding of ambiences by aligning diverse perspectives within the Action.

(D) INNOVATION SCOUTING: Identify exemplary projects that successfully incorporate sensory aspects and ambiences into their designs.

(E) OUTREACHING AND TRAINING: Expand the Action influence through result-sharing, public awareness, partnerships, and stakeholder training.

(F) International Best Practices: Systematically research and compile global best practices demonstrating effective ambience use in public space design, creating a repository of successful case studies.

(G) Conceptual Framework: Develop influential concepts for enhancing public space ambience, harmonizing and translating definitions for ambience, comfort, experience design, and sustainability.

(H) Future Perspectives: Identify emerging issues that will shape the future of ambience research and practice, providing a forward-looking perspective.

Capacity-building Objectives

To make the objectives more Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound (SMART) while addressing the issues of clarity, alignment with the overarching mission is as follows:

1. Collaborative Expertise: Facilitate collaboration among diverse stakeholders, including NGOs, associations, artists, architects, and designers to document their ambience-shaping expertise, amplifying a spectrum of perspectives.

2. Expert Knowledge Exchange: Establish a cross-disciplinary platform for architects, landscape architects, designers, and artists to share insights on ambience.

3. Regulatory Assessment: Collaborate with city managers to assess existing ambience-related regulations, their effectiveness, and the need for new or revised regulations.

4. Tools and Innovations: Partner with SMEs to identify tools, techniques, and innovations for shaping ambience, structuring practical knowledge.

5. Innovative Education: Identify methods for teaching and managing public space ambience, enhancing private and public space quality.

6. Strategic Communication: Organize a strategic campaign via the Action website and social media to share findings, best practices, and knowledge.

Calls & Downloads

Workshop Call

Sensorial School Call

OUTPUTS

1. This permanent website linked to social medias: (Youtube – Facebook – Instagram – LinkedIn)

2. A Communication kit will be sent to the mass media of the towns where conferences will take place.

3. A White Paper including:

Good practices in architectural design: the practical dimension of the project inscribed under the sign of the Ambiences will be referenced to reveal the diversity and the operational cultural differences in the common singularity of the whole.
Decalogue Manifesto for Ambiences in 10 points
Recommendations for Orders: What and how the Ambience-Oriented Design could change the ordering process and at all stages of the project.
Streamlines for the development of guidance adapted to European cities and based on qualitative ambiences (for decision makers)

4. A Multilingual Dictionary of ambiences for designers: because each language brings different inflections to any sensitive notion.

5. A Book of Proceedings of each annual conference

A few Short Term Scientific Missions will be dedicated to these Deliverables with the Steering Committee.