Designing for experience: Exploring user-centered strategies in Selgascano’s architecture

Abstract

The production of space is a multidimensional and complex process that encompasses emotion, knowledge, intuition, foresight, and experience. When designing, architects consider interpersonal interactions and human-space relationships to create scenes suitable for the anticipated actions and experiences within a space. People, in turn, are the ones who experience spaces. Many researchers and architects focus on human-space interaction in architecture. Among these architects, the SelgasCano architecture office, founded in 1998 by Jose Selgas and Lucia Cano, places user experience at the center of its designs, aiming to create spaces that are not only functional but also places that users embrace and enjoy. Within this scope, the literature on human–space interaction was reviewed, and four key themes related to user experience in SelgasCano’s architectural approach were identified. Four projects in which SelgasCano was considered to reflect these themes most clearly (Silicon House, SelgasCano Architecture Office, Second Home London Office, and Second Home Hollywood Office) were examined. The study reveals that SelgasCano systematically integrates context, biophilia, material, and color as core design components that frame and enrich user experience across their architectural projects. The findings reveal that SelgasCano’s architecture positions user experience at the core of the design process, integrating sensory, emotional, and cognitive dimensions to create dynamic and engaging environments. The study concludes that user-centered and biophilic design strategies significantly contribute to enhancing spatial quality and human–space interaction. In this regard, examining and further developing design approaches that prioritize user experience is of critical importance for generating innovative and human-centered solutions in architectural practice.