In Pursuit of Sustainable Well-Being: Articulating Place Attachment Through Multi-Sensory Spatial Qualities in Campus Environments

Place attachment refers to the meaningful ties between individuals and their environments. In educational settings, multi-sensory spatial qualities enhance spatial experience and support long-term well-being. Yet, the relationship between place attachment and spatial qualities has not been sufficiently articulated from a sustainability perspective. This study investigates the associations between sensory spatial qualities and place attachment in educational settings. Accordingly, the study aims to achieve the following: (1) determine students’ place attachment scores, (2) assess multi-sensory spatial qualities in educational spaces, and (3) examine their relationship to support sustainable well-being. The empirical phase employs synchronic methodology conducted with 70 architecture students in the educational spaces of the Department of Architecture at ATU. Place attachment scores were measured via the Place Attachment to University Scale, and sensory spatial qualities were recorded on-site. The relationship is analyzed through Spearman’s correlation, linear regression, and hierarchical regression analyses. Spearman’s correlation indicates significant associations between place attachment and thermal (r = 0.312; p = 0.0086) and visual (r = −0.297; p = 0.0124) qualities. Multiple linear regression shows that thermal (β = 0.466; p = 0.001) and visual qualities (β = −0.0016; p < 0.001) are associated with place attachment. Hierarchical regression reveals that adding multi-sensory spatial variables results in a significant increase in explained variance (ΔR2 = 0.118; p < 0.001) beyond exposure-related factors (R2 = 0.685). These findings demonstrate the contribution of multi-sensory spatial quality to sustainable well-being and its alignment with sustainability-oriented educational environments.