Short answer
Integrate visual, auditory, olfactory, and tactile elements thoughtfully into outdoor designs to enhance perceived thermal comfort and user experience.
- Field
- Human Factors
- Source
- Human Settlements and Sustainability (2025)
- Method
- Systematic Review
- Evidence
- Strong effect
While thermal comfort is paramount, visual, auditory, olfactory, and tactile stimuli dynamically influence its perception, creating cross-modal interactions that can shift the sensory hierarchy. This human factors research insight is drawn from a 2025 study published in Human Settlements and Sustainability. Using Systematic review, researchers explored how this design variable affects real-world outcomes. The key design takeaway: Integrate visual, auditory, olfactory, and tactile elements thoughtfully into outdoor designs to enhance perceived thermal comfort and user experience.
Multi-sensory Input Significantly Modulates Outdoor Thermal Comfort
While thermal comfort is paramount, visual, auditory, olfactory, and tactile stimuli dynamically influence its perception, creating cross-modal interactions that can shift the sensory hierarchy.
Human Settlements and Sustainability · 2025
Key Findings
- 01Thermal perception is the primary driver of outdoor comfort.
- 02Visual (illuminance, greenery, colour), acoustic (sound pressure level, sound type), olfactory (air quality, fragrance), and tactile (material surface temperature, texture) stimuli significantly moderate thermal comfort.
- 03Cross-modal effects (additive, synergistic, compensatory) exist and vary with climate, season, and setting.
- 04The sensory hierarchy can shift based on these interactions.
Application
Design takeaway
Integrate visual, auditory, olfactory, and tactile elements thoughtfully into outdoor designs to enhance perceived thermal comfort and user experience.
How to apply
When designing a public plaza, consider not only the seating and shade but also the ambient sounds, the scent of nearby plants, and the texture of surfaces, as these can all influence how comfortable people feel in the space.
Project actions
- 01When evaluating an outdoor space, consider all the senses, not just temperature.
- 02Think about how different sensory elements might interact with each other.
Method & Evidence
Variables
Strengths & Limitations
Strengths
- +Comprehensive synthesis of a large body of research.
- +Identifies key areas for future research and practical application.
Limitations
It can be challenging to isolate and measure the precise impact of each individual sensory input in a real-world setting due to the complexity of environmental factors.
Reliability & validity
The reliability of the findings is strengthened by the systematic review methodology, which synthesizes multiple studies. Validity is supported by the breadth of sensory modalities considered and the identification of cross-modal effects.
Think critically
To what extent can non-thermal sensory interventions compensate for suboptimal thermal conditions, and are there limits to this compensation?
Design Principles
"Design for multi-sensory comfort by understanding and leveraging cross-modal interactions."
Understanding these complex sensory interactions allows designers to create more engaging and comfortable outdoor environments. By strategically integrating various sensory inputs, designers can enhance user experience and potentially reduce reliance on energy-intensive climate control systems.
What This Means for Your Design
Outdoor comfort is affected by more than just temperature; things like nice views, pleasant sounds, good smells, and comfortable textures can make a big difference in how warm or cool you feel.
How to use in your project
- 1.Reference this study when discussing the factors influencing user comfort in your design project, particularly if your design involves outdoor spaces or aims to create a specific sensory experience.
Add to My Project
Quick Cite
Paragraph starter
The perception of outdoor thermal comfort is significantly influenced by a range of sensory stimuli beyond temperature. Research indicates that visual elements like greenery and illuminance, auditory cues such as soundscapes, olfactory inputs like air quality, and tactile sensations from materials all play a dynamic role in modulating how individuals experience warmth and coolness. These cross-modal interactions suggest that a holistic, multi-sensory design approach is crucial for creating truly comfortable and engaging outdoor environments.
Source
Human Settlements and Sustainability
Multi-sensory modulation of outdoor thermal comfort: A systematic review and future agenda
journal · 2025
View sourceQuestions About This Research
- What does the research say about multi-sensory input significantly modulates outdoor thermal comfort?
- Integrate visual, auditory, olfactory, and tactile elements thoughtfully into outdoor designs to enhance perceived thermal comfort and user experience. Evidence: Human Settlements and Sustainability (2025).
- Why does "Multi-sensory Input Significantly Modulates Outdoor Thermal Comfort" matter for design?
- Understanding these complex sensory interactions allows designers to create more engaging and comfortable outdoor environments. By strategically integrating various sensory inputs, designers can enhance user experience and potentially reduce reliance on energy-intensive climate control systems.
- How can designers apply this research?
- Integrate visual, auditory, olfactory, and tactile elements thoughtfully into outdoor designs to enhance perceived thermal comfort and user experience.
- What were the main findings?
- Thermal perception is the primary driver of outdoor comfort.. Visual (illuminance, greenery, colour), acoustic (sound pressure level, sound type), olfactory (air quality, fragrance), and tactile (material surface temperature, texture) stimuli significantly moderate thermal comfort.. Cross-modal effects (additive, synergistic, compensatory) exist and vary with climate, season, and setting.. The sensory hierarchy can shift based on these interactions.
- What research method was used?
- Systematic Review.
- How strong is the evidence?
- Evidence strength is rated Strong effect, based on a 2025 journal from Human Settlements and Sustainability.
- What should I do differently in my next project?
- When designing a public plaza, consider not only the seating and shade but also the ambient sounds, the scent of nearby plants, and the texture of surfaces, as these can all influence how comfortable people feel in the space.
- What are the limitations?
- The review synthesizes existing research, and the specific context and methodologies of individual studies may vary. Future research is needed to quantify these interactions more precisely across diverse populations and climates.