Symbolplus Office, Tokyo
Sophie O’Sullivan | Senior Researcher, Woven Spaces
Critically, soul value must be integrated from the very start of a project and delivered across every touchpoint—not as a decorative afterthought, but as a foolproof methodology for shaping the building’s identity. When embedded from the outset—through thoughtful material choices and careful attention to context—the space resonates, becoming memorable, relevant, and distinctive. This approach reduces the need for marketing to create meaning after the fact.
Developers who focus only on compliance, risk missing a crucial opportunity to deliver a premium return. By prioritising soul value from the beginning, we can create spaces that feel authentic and timeless, generating compelling commercial results and sustaining occupier interest over the long term.
“The soul value of a building is very much about the first moment someone interacts with the space. You can often end up commanding a 25% premium on your asset. That’s purely because people have an emotional response. We underestimate how integral that is to decision making.“
Adriana Paice Kent, Chief Executive, Woven Spaces
(Speaking on culture and heritage as an investment pillar on the Oman Stand, MIPIM 2025)
Functional value stacks up on paper. It is widely recognised in the industry, defined through tangible metrics such as yield per square foot and essential property fundamentals. These include everything from an asset’s energy performance and wellbeing credentials to the quality of amenities it provides.
Soul value, by contrast, is felt. It evokes all senses. It speaks to our experience of moving through and spending time in space.
In a world increasingly optimised for efficiency, productivity, and artificial intelligence, buildings must evolve beyond pure performance. They must become vessels for human connection, collaboration, and new ways of thinking.
For decades, modernist thinking reduced buildings to performance metrics—efficiency, optimisation, and output. But as artificial intelligence reshapes how we work and produce, this model is no longer enough. The spaces that matter now are those that support connection, collaboration, and creativity. Buildings must evolve from tools of productivity into vessels for human experience. The ‘soul’ of an asset emerges through the careful layering of emotion, culture, history, and materials. How story, context, and design are lived in.
Buildings with strong soul value stand out in the market. They are chosen, remembered, and talked about, creating meaningful experiences for both people and investors alike.
Hopkins Center for the Arts, Dartmouth, Snøhetta
Unlocking Soul Vale
Every site carries layers of memory—social, material, and environmental. It holds an emotional archaeology, a mixture of the familiar and wonder, where traces of the past coexist with moments that invite curiosity. Unlocking soul value begins by asking the right questions: what stood here before, and which stories shaped this place? Which trades, communities, or practices have given the area character over time? Which materials, light, and climate define its identity? How can the site’s history and context enhance the experience for occupants today?
By uncovering and interpreting these layers, developers can create spaces that feel both fresh and rooted. The goal is for users to feel ownership of the space. Great design engages not only the rational mind but also the limbic, or emotional, part of our brains—driving commitment, connection and a compelling commercial result.
Japanese studio Symbolplus demonstrates how a workspace can combine smart and sensitive use of materials with soul. Their Tokyo head office is shaped by warm natural materials and subtle textures, applied in quietly unexpected ways. Every detail—from plaster and washi paper finishes to the soft structure of the timber building—has been carefully considered.
The result is a deeply human workplace: welcoming, tactile,
and culturally grounded. Designed to support creativity and wellbeing, the office fosters a strong sense of belonging for everyone who works there. Abundant natural light fills the space, encouraging the team to think, collaborate, and engage.
By embedding a sense of soul into its design, the office distinguishes itself within Tokyo’s competitive market and was recognised at last year’s Dezeen Awards.
“…we tried to reconstruct the office not simply as a functional space, but as a foundation for thinking and creation. We used natural materials such as plaster and washi paper, while making the most of the soft structure of the wooden building.”
Akio Hayashi, Founder, Symbolplus
Symbolplus Office, Tokyo
Architects Snøhetta have reimagined the Hopkins Centre for the Arts as a cultural hub that blends functionality with soul, while honouring the building’s original modernist architecture. Inspired by the curves of the mid-twentieth-century structure, the exterior plaza is sculpted to support intuitive movement, guiding visitors towards open spaces for gathering and entry.
Inside, the wood-lined Forum and glass-enclosed Recital Hall are shaped by daylight, texture, and material warmth, creating an atmosphere that encourages interaction and supports creativity and wellbeing.
The result is a centre that feels alive and deeply rooted in its context. By embedding soul from the outset, the design delivers lasting cultural impact, strengthens Dartmouth’s Arts District, and offers a dynamic experience that warmly welcomes people into the site.
“The interior’s shape creates a protected and warm gathering place, while still preserving visitors’ access to spectacular views.”
Craig Dykers, Founding Partner, Snøhetta Design Team
Hopkins Center for the Arts, Dartmouth, Snøhetta
5TRACKS is a mixed-use district beside Breda Central Station, where a once-neglected site has been transformed to shape the city’s arrival with energy and distinction. The site was commissioned by Synchroon and J.P. van Eesteren and designed by Shift architecture urbanism. Conceived as a series of ‘urban living rooms,’ 5TRACKS encourages a sense of ownership for people interacting with the site, where three triangular buildings come together as one cohesive space for living, working, and hospitality. Clad in recycled brick slips that reveal layers of ceramic waste, roof tiles, and porcelain, the architecture expresses a materially grounded identity that continues indoors through tactile carpets referencing meadows, sky-blue curtains printed with clouds, and a palette of muted tones.
With a WELL Platinum certification, the district sets a benchmark for healthy, future-proof urban environments. By embedding soul value from the outset, Shift has created a place that feels memorable, human, and enduring—anchoring Breda with a contemporary urban character that strengthens its presence on the international stage.
“It started with the idea of connection. When you walk in, it shouldn’t feel like entering a corporate building – it should feel like stepping off the street and into a public square. When architecture invites that kind of life in, you know it’s working. It’s not just about carbon footprint. It’s about how a space feels and supports your day to day. It’s exactly what we hoped for – that sense of ownership, of belonging.”
Thijs van Bijsterveldt, Project Architect, Shift
5TRACKS, Breda
5Stacks, Breda
Soul value doesn’t always require large-scale transformation. Even modest interventions can create spaces that feel meaningful and engaging. Thoughtful use of natural light, carefully chosen materials, and references to a site’s history or local culture can bring a sense of place and human connection to any project.
Paradise, a six-storey, carbon-negative office by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, blends material honesty with emotional connection to create a workplace full of character, purpose, and human connection. Its exposed timber interiors draw inspiration from Vauxhall’s history of warehouses and craft workshops, while the building’s name—Paradise— references the street’s 17th-century origins, once home to glassblowers and artisans.
This example shows that ‘soul’ is relevant at any scale, proving that even modest design choices can create meaningful spaces and deliver lasting value.
“Paradise is everything we hoped for and more. This is us rethinking what a central London development can be, not just in form, but in feeling. A place where sustainability, community and creativity don’t just co‑exist, they drive everything. Paradise is timber‑led, design‑forward, and proudly different. It’s rare to get the chance to shape something this meaningful. Even rarer to do it with a team that genuinely believes in a better way of building.”
Pavlos Clifton, Head of Development, Bywater Properties
Paradise, London
Soul value is the quiet driver behind lasting success.
At Woven Spaces, we believe that ‘soul’ is a tangible commercial advantage.
When culture, community, history, and materiality are considered from the very start, assets become places of character and connection—buildings of distinction that remain relevant, resilient and strong in the market.
By developing the soul value of an asset, we can reimagine commercial buildings as more than just bricks and mortar; they become vessels for meaningful connection, collaboration and new thinking, driving long term performance.
“People feel a connection to place; we need that to build culture and community. It’s essential that we start to weave culture into our commercial spaces.”
Adriana Paice Kent, Chief Executive, Woven Spaces