Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities

An interdisciplinary approach to reading the sense of place from the perspective of architecture and cinema

Document Type : Original Research Paper

Author

Elnaz Abizadeh

Assistant Professor of Architecture, Department of Architecture and Urban Planning, Technical and Vocational University (TVU), Tehran, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22035/isih.2026.5550.5162
Abstract
The sense of place, as an inherently interdisciplinary and multilayered concept, occupies a central position in understanding human lived experience. This study adopts a qualitative approach and employs comparative analysis to examine the factors that shape the sense of place within the realms of architecture and cinema. By leveraging the analytical capacities of interdisciplinary inquiry, it proposes a comprehensive framework for interpreting this phenomenon. The primary objective of this research is to explicate the common foundations of sense of place within an interdisciplinary approach. This study serves as an example of applying an interdisciplinary approach in the humanities, contributing both to the development of interdisciplinary research methodology and to a deeper understanding of the concept of sense of place. In this regard, three levels, physical, activity-based, and semantic, have been selected as the main dimensions of analysis. The results demonstrate that despite the media differences between architecture and cinema, the mechanisms of sense of place formation in both domains follow a similar pattern and lead to an integrated experience through the interaction of physical, behavioral, and semantic elements. This research emphasizes the synergistic capacity of architecture and cinema in creating meaningful and narrative-oriented spaces, and introduces the interdisciplinary approach as an effective tool for understanding the complexities of place experience in contemporary cultural and social contexts.

Keywords

sense of place
interdisciplinary
architecture
cinema
comparative analysis
lived experience

Subjects

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Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities
Volume 18, Issue 2 - Serial Number 70
Evolutions in Interdisciplinary knowledge
Spring 2026
Pages 137-161

  • Receive Date 08 June 2025
  • Revise Date 15 September 2025
  • Accept Date 16 September 2025

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