What makes space beautiful?

What makes architecture beautiful? What makes some like one space over another?
I think in order to create a beautiful place that people enjoy and desire to be in, the space must appeal to as many of the senses as possible. People desire a sensory experience, that is why amusement parks and many thrill activities appeal to people. These activities give us a new sensory experience, whether through sight, feeling, sound, or some combination of them. In the same way buildings must provide a sensory experience, not to the extreme, but enough that it makes us want to be there. Some ways that buildings can provide this:

Sound: From traffic rushing by on a busy street to the wind blowing through a courtyard or plaza, sounds come from everywhere. People congregating create a hum of voices as they talk.

Sight: Probably the most obvious one that we think about when talking about sensory perceptions in a building. Sight includes the lines (or lack thereof) in a building. The colors from the materials. The views from one space to another, or simply the viewing pleasure of people watching.

Feeling: We feel buildings in different ways. Material texture on the floor, walls, and furniture are externally focus. But a more internal feeling is feeling the pace of a space, is it full of people or cars rushing through or is it calm and peaceful?

Smell: One of the strongest senses in the body, and one that carries the most memories. Smell is not something that an architect necessarily programs into a building, but will instead be created by the inhabitants of the space. This can come from a café occupying a space or exhaust from cars.


While there are many more items that could be listed. It is this combination of senses that play into the idea of beauty. Do we as architects necessarily consider all of these senses or do we simply consider sight? 

We seem to always think "visual" in everything we design, how can we convey more?

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