How Architecture Evokes Awe: Predicting Awe Through Architectural Features of Building Interiors

A powerful aesthetic emotion, awe has only recently gained empirical attention. Our study addresses the question of whether specific architectural features can predict the emotion of awe and specifically reveals the architectural mechanisms of how building interiors give rise to a feeling of awe. We developed a scale to rate 60 photographs of interior spaces on 24 architectural properties each and measured affective response to each of these spaces in a sample of undergraduate participants (N = 41). A regression model showed a predictive relationship between architectural properties and elicited emotion. Properties reflecting immensity and adornment, as well as sanctity of a space, significantly and uniquely predicted a feeling of awe. Beyond furthering our understanding of awe, the present work presents compelling possibilities for our findings to be extended to evidence-based design.