Engaging Research and Practice in Creating for Outdoor Multi-sensory Environments: Facing Future Challenges

This paper engages the users’ behaviour, their perceptions of use in sensory gardens and the reality faced by practitioners designing for these gardens, based on case-studies in the UK. Further investigation will be undertaken at Al-Bukhary International University in Malaysia once the completion of the country's first sensory garden. Interview outcomes showed practitioners concurred on the design aspects that encourage the use of the area while the school staff had no strong views on the aesthetic value. Observation outcomes showed pathway layout encourages behaviour, use and time spent in sensory areas. These outcomes are a significant argument in the conclusion.