This paper aimed to develop a multisensory approach in a university campus, based on quantitative and qualitative approaches, investigating sense walk experiences (thermo-visual sound walk) under interactions of luminous, thermal, and auditory environments. The study was conducted in October 2021, in Chetma university campus in Biskra city, southern Algeria, which remains a famous oasis settlement of arid regions over the country. A comparative and correlation analysis was performed between the physical dimensions collected through a walking experience in three campus routes (outdoor, semi-outdoor and indoor). In addition, a multisensory survey of the walking experience on perceptual dimensions was evaluated in parallel to the empirical contribution. The paper shows that walkers’ thermal levels were balanced between neural and slightly hot in different spatial aspects. The glare was almost unperceived regarding the luminous conditions in the study site. The auditory experience reveals that the conducted points were generally quiet and well placed for educational requirements. Findings also show a strong relationship between the physical dimensions of the luminous and auditory environment. Furthermore, the findings suggest that the thermal and luminous environments are more perceptible than the auditory environment for the walkers of the outdoor and indoor routes. In contrast, the semi-outdoor route is often perceptible by the perceptual dimensions of the luminous and auditory environments. The findings on sensorial thresholds and spatial adaption are essential for the educational practices’ architectural and urban strategies for the Saharan cities and oasis settlements.

The sound dimension is a constitutive element of the architectural, urban, and environmental projects of open spaces. In combination with other physical stimuli, such as vision, thermoigrometric conditions, odors, the sound can contribute to fulfill the expectation and it can improve the well being of the citizens who are the users of these spaces. Many researches attempted to find out correlation between quantitative multisensorial physical features of open spaces and subjective qualitative evaluation by users. In many cases these attempts were successful, however few researches considered specifically special categories such as older citizens or visually impaired citizens. In order to receive information to make the sensory urban architecture approach more inclusive as possible, in this preliminary study several relevant urban sites such as gardens, main streets and open markets in the city of the Biskra in Algeria have been characterized in terms of physical properties and in these sites, through specific surveys, the response of users was collected. Among the users, different categories of citizens with specific needs were contemplated for the subjective assessment.

Inclusive design (ID) is a design process that ensures that all people, particularly marginalized groups, can use the environment. Inclusive design (ID) in architecture is based on accurate data related to user experiences where the users’ perception of the built environment demonstrates the optimal facilitation of their expectations, needs, and demands. Despite this, in studies about inclusive design and multisensory architecture, the perspective of visually impaired people (VIP) is still lacking, especially in accessing public spaces. To address this gap, this study aims to investigate how sighted and visually impaired people perceive an oasis settlement urban park’s physical environment and verify the similarities and differences between these two categories. The research was conducted by applying two approaches, one qualitative based on a series of field surveys and the other quantitative relying on in situ measurements of the physical dimensions of the environment. The main findings of this study show that visually impaired people deserve special consideration due to their varying abilities to perceive the surrounding environment. Furthermore, the results indicate that auditory environments are more perceptible to the visually impaired than the sighted. In contrast, findings from the analysis of the perceived restorativeness scale (PRS-11) show that sighted users of the park have a slightly higher average score than visually impaired users regarding its components of Fascination, Being-Away, Coherence, and Scope. According to the Semantic Differential Scale of Multi-Variable Evaluation of the Park Environment, there are no significant differences between park users’ perceptions of the park’s nature and the thermal environment. The conclusion suggests that to ensure users’ well-being, it is crucial to understand the different individual needs among groups of users and come up with innovative and all-inclusive solutions.

This study aims initially to evaluate the quality of different soundscapes in the public space of the city of Biskra, in Algeria. A total of 35 participants took part in a laboratory experiment, where 28 sound clips of one-minute duration taken from public spaces in the city were used as stimuli. The A-weighted equivalent continuous sound pressure level (LAeq,1min) was calculated. The participants rated the quality of the soundscape using attribute scales provided in their own native language. The results of the questionnaire on the recorded soundtracks confirm that the immediate environment affects the ambient sound level and the quality of the sound environment, where the sound environments of the areas located near the roads, with a high mechanical flow, are considered the most unpleasant and noisy, with a high A-weighted equivalent continuous sound pressure level (LAeq,1min). The findings of this study indicate that there are statistically significant correlations between pleasantness and loudness, presence of mechanical sounds, presence of non-mechanical sounds, and a sound exposure level. In addition, this study shows that there is a significant positive correlation between pleasantness and the presence of non-mechanical sounds. The results also showed an inverse relationship between the presence of mechanical and non-mechanical sounds, and that the absence of mechanical sounds allows natural and human sounds to be more audible, making the soundscape more pleasant and calm according to the results of the questionnaire. From this study, the duality LAeq,1min and the components of the soundscape are very representative indicators of the quality of the soundscape.

Occupants' interaction with urban spaces and their behavior is often influenced by environmental dimensions: thermal, visual, acoustic or air quality. Many studies have investigated the relationships between occupants' behavior and these dimensions, but just few of them have addressed occupants with special needs, such as the visually impaired. This study, based on measurements' campaign and research activities conducted at Biskra (Algeria) inside an urban park in an oasis settlement, provides further investigations about the relationship between acoustic, luminous, thermal dimensions and the emotional response of visually impaired users as a basis for validating and improving their wellbeing in important spaces of the urban environment such as the public parks. The methodological approach is based on both quantitative and qualitative assessment. The objective study is based on evaluating the physical dimensions of the site, while the subjective one is based on conducting in-situ questionnaires such as a multi-items Likert scale and multi-sensory evaluation towards the environment. Findings obtained from this study could offer a new vision to planners and designers to improve the wellbeing of visually impaired users by including the multisensorial dimensions as constitutive elements of architectural, urban and environmental projects.