Anna Kholina

Doctoral Researcher

Anna Kholina is a design researcher at Aalto University, focusing on urban design and human experience.

Doctoral research
Public space as an experience

This research seeks a deeper understanding of why people appreciate public spaces and make public life happen in the cities by looking at the urban environment from two perspectives: that of place and experience. Building on existing approaches in cultural geography and social sciences, and by adding a new perspective originated in pragmatic philosophy and embodiment, the research develops an empirical method of spatializing experiences. It connects material environment, meanings and practices to the situated, embodied and temporal nature of human experience in space. By means of a case-study, the research tests the application of the theoretical framework and the empirical method, demonstrating its instrumental value for various urban contexts.