Phenomenological Experience of an Action-perception-learning-memory-emotion Experience

We know that space and place are two different things. Here, we define space as a Descartian concept based on mapping Cartesian coordinates of objects in space, in which the relationship of one object to another never changes, but is fixed and defined.

Place is defined as the phenomenological experience of an action-perception-learning-memory-emotion experience (Michael Arbib 2020) of a human moving through space, in which the perception of objects in relationship to each other, and one’s own body, is continuously changing, due to ever-changing atmospheric conditions.

Similarly, house and home are different: a house is the physical spatial measurements and programmatic elements that make up a residence in which one or a number of people reside. 

A home transcends those Cartesian coordinates; it is a place shaped by an individual’s or family’s specific collections of items that create an architectural atmosphere; that holds memories, personal feelings and meanings. 

Home environments are filled with experiences, events and intangible stories that linger in the occupants’ memories, and are projected on and in the structure of physical elements. 

They create a sense of purpose, as defined by salutogenesis.