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The environment that surrounds us affects us all. Research
has shown that we feel physically and emotionally best in
natural environments with greenery or water elements. Urban
environments are likely to be more stressing then natural
environments. How we experience specific elements, as water,
of an environment is not as much investigated. There is a need
of further knowledge for us to fully understand the interplay
between our senses and the environment.
Human beings have always been depending on water and the
search for it has characterized our deeds and doings through
out evolution. This fact has probably played a role in forming
the fascination we feel for the ocean. But how do we really
experience the ocean?
Peoples experiences of specific elements are valuable knowledge
when designing environments. This work investigates the
experiences of the ocean made by ten persons. The study is
based on questionnaires and interwievs carried through in two
contrasting urban environments characterized by the ocean.
The study indicates that water in different forms has an
important impact on peoples experiences of environments
and increases feelings of well-being in several ways. The
different chararacteristics of the ocean stimulates us, brings out
memories and generates positive emotios. In the presence of
water a great majority of the interwieved people describes their
emotion with the adjectives alert, open, calm and happy.