Researching the Sensitive Space
How architecture, atmosphere and technology shape human experience, care and wellbeing.
How architecture, atmosphere and technology shape human experience, care and wellbeing.
My research explores how environments affect human experience — and how architecture, art and technology can be designed to respond more sensitively to human needs.
Beginning with my PhD research into responsive public lighting, my work has investigated environments not as static settings, but as dynamic relationships between people, technology, atmosphere and place.
In recent years, this research has increasingly moved into healthcare, where questions of atmosphere, sensory experience and environmental responsiveness become especially important. Here, I investigate how the physical environment can support care, reduce stress and contribute to more humane experiences of treatment, birth, illness and vulnerability.
Research trajectory
Current Research
Sensitive Spaces
Environments that adapt to human presence, needs and experience.
Care Aesthetics
Atmosphere, beauty and sensory experience as part of care.
Care Environments
Research into birth spaces, healthcare settings and environments of vulnerability.
Art & Technology
Investigating how artistic and technological interventions shape lived experience.
Selected Publications
Crafting Atmospheres for Healthcare Design.
All Publications
2023 Højlund M.K., Skouboe E.B. & Udsen A.S. “Atmospheric Gap Analysis” – a tool to develop hospitals as places of care, Presentation at The International Conference: Caring Places – Exploring the Topographies of Ethics and Care, Aarhus University, Denmark.
2023 Skouboe E.B., Løkke S. & Haase L.M. How to promote product life using the European Digital Product Passport? In Proceedings of the International Conference on Plate23, Espoo-Finland
2023 Haase, L.M., Lythje L.S. & Skouboe E.B. The Strategic Durability of Digital Product Passports: A New Perspective to Raise the Ambition. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Plate23, Espoo-Finland
2023 Skouboe, E. B., Barros, M. ‘The Aristotelian Causalities in Localised Distributed Manufacturing’, in Proceedings of the International Conference on Engineering Design (ICED23), Bordeaux, France,24-28 July 2023. DOI:10.1017/pds.2023.334 (PDF) The Aristotelian Causalities in Localised Distributed Manufacturing.
2023 Møller KMM & Skouboe EB Chapter 6: Bee'otopia: Made by Bees, (2023), in A World Scientific Encyclopedia of Business Storytelling, pp. 91-104 (2023)
2022 Skouboe, E. B., Højlund ‘Crafting Atmospheres for Healthcare Design‘The Journal of Somaesthetics Volume 8, Number 1 (2022)
2018 Overholt, D. & Skouboe E.B. Perceptual ecologies: MINE. Book chapter: Worldmaking as Techné: Exploring Worlds of Participatory Art, Architecture, and Music. Riverside Architectural Press, Canada
2017 Skouboe E.B. Rum der kan mærkes, Journal Medico Teknik, 1/2017
2015 Skouboe E.B. Fremtidens Fødestue, Danish journal: Lys, 2/2015
2015 Skouboe E.B., Pedersen J. & Serio J. Experiment in alternative evolutionary design strategy for smart city design, Proceedings of the International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures (IASS), Amsterdam
2014 Skouboe E.B. PhD. Defence: Responsive Public Lighting, Aalborg University
2013 Skouboe E.B. Morrison A., Andersen H.J. Jensen O.B. (2013) Responsive Lighting: “The city becomes alive”, ACM HCI Conference, Munich
2013 Poulsen E.S., Andersen H.J. & Jensen O.B. (2013) Responsive City Lighting: Perspectives From Architecture & the Public Lighting Industry, Workshop paper at CHI2013 Paris: Interactive City Lighting workshop; Paris
2012 Poulsen E.S., Andersen H.J., Jensen O.B., Gade R., Thyrrestrup T. & Moeslund T.B.; (2012) Controlling Urban Lighting by Human Motion Patterns results from a full Scale Experiment. ACM Multimedia 2012 . 20. udg. Nara, 2012. s. 339.
2012 Poulsen, E.S., Andersen H.J. & Jensen, O.B. Workshop on Designing Interactive Lighting. (2012) Full Scale Experiment with Interactive Urban Lighting. DIS: Designing Interactive Systems.
2012 Poulsen E.S. & Andersen H.J.(2012) Reactive Light Design in the ‘laboratory of the street’, Synthetic Digital Ecologies, ACADIA 2012. Vol. 32 1. udg. 2012, 2012. s. 333-342.
2012 Poulsen E.S. Andersen H.J., Gade R. ; Jensen O., Moeslund, T.B. (2012) Using Human Motion Intensity as Input for Urban Design. Constructing Ambient Intelligence. Vol. 277 Amsterdam:Springer. (Communications in Computer and Information Science).
2012 Poulsen E.S., Andersen H.J., Jensen O.B. & Jensen MB. (2012) A case study of Mediated Urban Architecture: Red Pavilion 2010; Urban Design Book. Aalborg Press, Denmark
2012 Poulsen E.S.(2012) Eksperiment i tilpasningsdygtig pladsbelysning. in Journal: Lys. 2012. s. 18- 19.
2012 Poulsen E.S.
(2012) Responsive Urban Lighting. in Media Architecture Biennale Exhibition catalogue. red. Gernot Tscherteu; Morten Constantin Lervig; Martin Brynskov. Media Architecture Institute, Sydney, Vienna, Århus.
2014 Gade, R., Moeslund T.B., Nielsen S.Z.· Petersen H.S., Andersen H.J. Basselbjerg K., Dam H.T. Jensen O.B., Jørgensen A., Lahrmann H., Madsen TKO. Poulsen E.S., Povey B.Ø., Tsesmelis T.(2014) Thermal Imaging Systems for Real-Time Applications in Smart Cities Journal of Real‐Time Image Processing: Special Issue on Real‐Time Computer Vision in Smart Cities, Springer
2012 Worre I.W., Pasold, A, Jensen M.B. & Poulsen E.S. (2012) Acoustic Environments: Applying Evolutionary Algorithms for Sound based Morphogenesis. In: Shade Architecture. Van Uffelen
2010 Worre I.F., Kirkegaard P.H., Christensen JT., Mads B.J., Poulsen E.S. (2010) Shape Control of Responsive Building Envelopes. I: Proceedings of International Symposium of the International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures (IASS): Spatial Structures – temporary and permanent: Shanghai, China, November 8-12 2010. Shanghai: China Architecture & Building Press, 2010. s. 2602-2609.
2010 Worre I.W. & Poulsen E.S. (2010) Environmental Feedback and Spatial Conditioning. (2010) In: ACADIA 2010 Life In:Formation: On Responsive Information and Variations in Architecture. 1st. udg. 2010. s. 250-257.
Download available papers on: Reseach Gate