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.

Members of Cresson’s team involved : 

Pascal AMPHOUX
Théo MARCHAL
Damien MASSON
Evangélia PAXINOU
Nicolas REMY

Teams involved : 

Lusophone University of Humanities and Technologies
EPOKA UNIVERSITY
University of Sarajevo
International Burch University
University of Eastern Finland
RAB Studio
Cy Cergy Paris Universite
CRESSON/AAU – ENSAG/UGA
Municipality of Volos
University of Thessaly
HUN-REN Centre for Social Sciences
University of Haifa
Universita degli studi di Trento
Universitatea Tehnica A Moldovei
Technical University of Moldova
Universiteit Leiden
Faculty of Architecture in Skopje, Ss Cyril and Methodius University
University SS Cyril and Methodius – Faculty of Architecture
Politechnika Lodzka
Polski Komitet Ochrony Dziedzictwa Przemysłowego
Universidade Lusófona
Universitatea de arhitectură și urbanism « Ion Mincu »
Atelier AG Andjelkovic
Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Novi Sad
Slovenska Technicka Univerzita V Bratislave
University of Ljubljana
Universidad Europea De Madrid, Sau
UNIVERSIDAD AUTONOMA DE MADRID
Contrepoint Projets urbains
Karadeniz Technical University
Eskisehir Teknik Universitesi
Birmingham City University
Otoloci Ltd

Website of the research : 

https://www.citysenz.eu