The Meaning of Dwelling, and the Experience of Space

Ever since the beginning of history, humans have always attempted to personalize the spaces they occupied and transfer them into places that can fulfil their needs (both physically and/or psychologically). They have always used, during this process of personalizing, symbols, mostly art-based, as initials to these spots in order to establish a connection between them and the spirit of these spaces. The aim of this paper is to discuss a critical topic which is how users or inhabitants can sense a connection (not only material but also psychological) with the space they occupy, and how they can define this space as a private, public or even semi-public place. This psychological connection will be explored in this paper by understanding the characteristics of a place, as well as the types of space from an inhabitant point of view, and from an architectural perspective. The understanding of the relationship between an inhabitant and the spirit of a space will fill a large gap that exists in our current era between architects and inhabitants. It is noteworthy that the findings of this paper are centred on the understanding of space and the impact of defined places on humans’ psychology, and most crucially, the importance of dwelling as a process.