Sustainable materials: a linking bridge between material perception, affordance, and aesthetics

Abstract

The perception of material properties, which refers to the way in which individuals perceive and interpret materials through their sensory experiences, plays a crucial role in our interaction with the environment. Affordance, on the other hand, refers to the potential actions and uses that materials offer to users. In turn, the perception of the affordances is modulated by the aesthetic appreciation that individuals experience when interacting with the environment. Although material perception, affordances, and aesthetic appreciation are recognized as essential to fostering sustainability in society, only a few studies have investigated this subject matter systematically and their reciprocal influences. This scarcity is partially due to the challenges offered by the complexity of combining interdisciplinary topics that explore interactions between various disciplines, such as psychophysics, neurophysiology, affective science, aesthetics, and social and environmental sciences. Outlining the main findings across disciplines, this review highlights the pivotal role of material perception in shaping sustainable behaviors. It establishes connections between material perception, affordance, aesthetics, and sustainability, emphasizing the need for interdisciplinary research and integrated approaches in environmental psychology. This integration is essential as it can provide insight into how to foster sustainable and durable changes.

Aesthetic Elements of Urban Environments and their relation to Wellbeing: A scoping review.

“…were also identified as components that could be of interest in future research. Despite their extensive usage and prominent role in the appearance and development of urban environments (for an overview, see Strappini et al, 2024), they are an understudied aspect within the 'Architectural Elements' category in comparison (see Table S7 in Supplementary Material E). As such, both art/cultural elements and building materials warrant further investigation in the urban environment.…”