Vineeta Singhania & Vishal Sharma
03-Nov-2025
Go beyond what meets the eye and explore multisensory architecture that feels as good as it looks.
Inputs by: Vineeta Singhania & Vishal Sharma, Founder Partners & Principal Architects at Confluence
Architecture is often discussed in terms of what we see: form, scale, texture, and light. But the spaces we remember most are rarely visual alone. They stay with us because of how they feel underfoot, how they respond to sound, or how they carry a scent that evokes memory. Designing for multisensory experience is not an addition to good architecture; it is its essence. When sensory layers are considered with intention, they shape not only how we perceive space but also how we inhabit it.
Touch and Material Memory
Materials do more than enclose space. They influence comfort, orientation, and emotional connection. Cool stone under bare feet, a timber handrail warmed by the sun, or the grain of exposed brick – such tactile moments create a physical relationship between the body and the built environment. When we consider how a surface responds to touch, we begin to move beyond abstraction and design for lived experience. At Confluence, we see this attention to tactility as a means of grounding design in the human scale.
We believe that sensory intelligence is central to meaningful design. When we begin from the body, rather than just the eye, we create spaces that resonate more deeply. By attending to sound, touch, and scent, we craft environments that are felt as much as they are seen. The architectural experience then becomes immersive, contextual, and transformative, making it capable of engaging people at every level.
Soundscapes and Acoustic Atmospheres
Sound is an equally powerful but often neglected aspect of space. The acoustic character of a room determines not just what is heard, but how it feels to be present. A public atrium with a lively echo signals openness and community. A quiet study, softened by acoustic absorption, encourages focus and stillness.
Through volume, material selection, and spatial sequencing, architects can shape sound with precision. A courtyard might carry the trickle of water and the rustle of leaves, while circulation corridors capture the steady rhythm of footsteps. In some cases, silence itself becomes a design element, as in a hushed chapel or a contemplative reading room. These acoustic atmospheres influence not just function but emotion, creating transitions between energy and calm, between gathering and pause.
Olfactive Cues and Environmental Identity
Smell is the most immediate and emotionally charged of the senses. It connects us to a place at a subconscious level. The scent of wet earth in a courtyard, of neem leaves in a shaded verandah, or of lime plaster in a sunlit room, all evoke a specific climate, geography, and time.
Architecture can facilitate this connection by allowing air to move naturally through space, by integrating planting, or by choosing materials that retain their native character. These olfactory cues make spaces memorable, without resorting to artificiality.
We believe that sensory intelligence is central to meaningful design. When we begin from the body, rather than just the eye, we create spaces that resonate more deeply with their users. By attending to sound, touch, and scent, we craft environments that are felt. Architecture then becomes immersive, contextual, and transformative, making it capable of engaging people at every level of experience.
Towards a Sensory Ethic in Design
To design meaningfully is to design for the body in its entirety. By attending to touch, sound, and scent alongside vision, architecture gains depth, atmosphere, and resonance. Spaces become immersive rather than superficial, grounded in experience rather than spectacle.
When architecture moves beyond the eye, it becomes more than a backdrop for human activity. In such spaces, people do more than just pass through; they inhabit, connect, and remember.
Image Credits: Gaur NYC Experience Centre
