The role of rain in the multisensory experience of vernacular architecture in Rasht: A qualitative content analysis of tourists’ experiences

Seeing isn’t everything when visiting cities shaped by constant weather patterns. Instead of occasional shifts, some places live under steady atmospheric influence - this changes how people move, feel, not just look around. Take Rasht: northern Iran’s rainy hub, where old building styles grew out of damp surroundings. There, travel moments involve touch, sound, even smell - not only sight. Yet most studies on tourism fixate on landmarks, ignoring wetness as anything more than an obstacle. Architecture writings too often skip how moisture interacts with design to shape feeling. Here lies the focus: rainfall, working alongside local structures, helps form deeper visitor encounters rooted in body awareness, mood, heritage.
What stood out first was how deeply personal each story felt. Instead of counting numbers, the work focused on understanding what traveling to Rasht truly meant for those who had been there multiple times. People joined after being selected deliberately - only if they’d visited more than once. Their accounts carried weight because time spent shaped their views. Some were young, others older; jobs varied widely, as did where they lived when not in Rasht. A total of nineteen voices made up the group. One thing kept guiding decisions: stopping only when nothing fresh emerged anymore. Repetition signaled depth, not redundancy. By then, recurring themes ran clearly through every last interview. Each interview ran up to an hour and a quarter, unfolding through open-ended questions about how people sense rain, move within rainy environments, experience built forms during downpours, and attach social significance to wet weather. Transcripts were made of every session, ensuring spoken words stayed intact for analysis. Alongside these texts, observations taken during meetings helped preserve nuances like mood shifts or gestures tied to specific moments. Insights emerged gradually, shaped by pauses, emphasis, and background details noted at the time.
Beginning with careful readings, data work unfolded through reflexive thematic methods focused on meaning, not just how often things appeared. From transcripts, 237 distinct codes emerged by hand, shaped slowly across repeated passes. Grouping these revealed early patterns, later fine-tuned into broader themes via ongoing contrast and thoughtfulness. Instead of standing alone, human judgment guided each stage, while small-scale digital checks - like term emphasis and group consistency - offered quiet backing without steering conclusions.
A closer look uncovered three linked ideas shaping how visitors engage with Rasht when it rains. Rain, rather than just weather, became something felt through multiple senses at once. Sounds stood out - drops hitting wood and stone made repeating patterns some found soothing. Smells also played a role: damp earth and greenery gave the air a distinct character. People noticed moisture against their skin, subtle yet persistent. Light changed too, bouncing off wet surfaces, blurring edges, wrapping streets in haze. Together, these details pulled individuals into quieter, more reflective moments. Movement slowed, and attention gradually shifted inward toward personal reflection and heightened sensory awareness. The city felt less like a place to pass through, more like one to inhabit deeply.
Despite the downpour, people kept moving through the city thanks to design choices rooted in local tradition. Sloping rooftops often appeared, guiding water away while creating space underneath for walking. Extended eaves stretched outward, shielding pathways without blocking views or sounds of falling rain. Verandas and covered walkways showed up repeatedly, acting like buffers between inside and outside worlds. Instead of hiding from wet weather, visitors stayed engaged - seeing, hearing, feeling the storm at arm’s length. Sheltered yet exposed, they remained part of the moment rather than removed from it. Rain became something handled quietly by structure, not fought against. Movement did not stop; rhythm continued. Comfort emerged not from staying dry alone - but from being able to stay present.
One way people saw rain was through culture, tying it closely to who they are and where they belong. Not just weather - rain stood out as something that defined Rasht for those involved. Memories formed around wet days; stories grew from damp streets. It marked belonging, shaped how journeys were recalled. Life in the north carried rhythm, linked to falling drops, seen as part of daily living. Thoughts about fresh beginnings, steady cycles, balance with surroundings - all surfaced when discussing rainfall. This connection deepened ties to the location, made visits stick in mind longer. Feelings for the city strengthened because of such moments. More than climate data, rain turned into shared symbol - lived in minds, repeated in tales. Meaning built up over time gave it weight beyond forecast reports.
Layered experiences emerge when sight, touch, and memory interact within built spaces shaped by tradition. Although rain often carries negative associations, thoughtful design turns it into a meaningful part of place identity. Instead of treating weather as a constraint, local building methods show how environments become more vivid through seasonal rhythms. This research adds depth to tourism studies by focusing on bodily engagement, not just visual appeal. Rather than generic solutions, heritage structures provide clues about living well in wet climates. Urban designers might look closely at such examples when shaping places where culture, comfort, and context align naturally.
The study makes an additional contribution to the body of research by transforming the concept of climate in urban tourism research as an experiential asset instead of a background condition. By using the concept of rain in a relational way with atmosphere, architecture, and the body, the study shows how constancy in the environment, instead of monotony, can cultivate depth. In the case of Rasht, and in the case of other places with the same condition, the design, in a culturally appropriate way, and unchanging climatic conditions, can create a feeling of familiarity, anticipation, and emotional layering, even in a place where the weather changes from one visit to another. All of this clarifies the role of multisensory in place designing and in urban tourism. Finally, the study places vernacular design as an adaptive system, rather than as a heritage to be preserved.