Final Thoughts

“And of all illumination which human reason can give, none is comparable to the discovery of what we are, our nature, our obligations, what happiness we are capable of, and what are the means of attaining it.”

Adam Weishaupt

How the built environment affects us, psychologically may be one of the most important factors of architecture and interior design.    In design we frequently speak of user experience, we are always asking “what would it be like to walk through this space?.”  The study of human response gives us some of those answers. 

As a designer understanding the physiological and psychological response that space and interaction can have on users is integral to creating successful environments. The study of human response can help us to understand what is appropriate and what will evoke the desired response from the user.  Having this knowledge and using it properly is the key to good design. Whether one looks at the effects of natural sun light on productivity or the psychology behind public housing, a good designer should understand why we feel the way we do and allow that to shape their design.

purposeful manipulation of human response in interior spaces

In The New Everyday: Views on Ambient Intelligence, Stephano Marzano had this to say about experience design:

An experience is not something that is fixed or identical for everyone, but rather something that is unique and individual.  The world we perceive and the way that we perceive it are both developed over time through experiences, and in turn colour those experiences. As a result, we cannot presume to develop solutions that dictate the experience someone will have; instead we have to anticipate and design towards these anticipated experiences.

(Marzano, p. 46)

The idea of experience design is an inherent part of museum and exhibit interiors.  While Marzano wasn’t necessarily writing about the experience of place his words are exceptionally relevant.  In designing spaces that should relay a message, depict an event or evoke a certain emotion, how can designers can anticipate what individuals will perceive?  I feel that the answer can be found in environmental psychology.  While individual experiences may differ the biological triggers for a human response are similar for all human beings, with some marginal differences due to cultural or personal preferences

 

Challenges of Human Response in Interiors of Institutions

Interior designers and architects alike design spaces with the best intent. The fact of the matter is once we hand over the keys, the space takes on a life of its own.  A life that may not be what we imagined.  The design of prison interiors is a prime example.  Award winning prisons are being designed around the world, taking into account natural light and softer furnishings, attempting to make the prisons seem more like a college dorm then an institution.    But once the governing agency takes over the facility they may not be able to make the scenarios you designed for a reality.

 

Case in point, the Roy McMurtry Youth Center designed in 2009 by Kleinfeldt Mychajlowycz Architects in Brampton, Ontario, Canada, just outside of Toronto.  According to archdaily.com the 40 hectare site which was originally a women’s prison is now set up to service 192 males and females between the ages of 12 and 17, and up to 300 staff.   The campus style facility was designed with the ideal of the Center which is commonly seen in educational environments.  The buildings on the campus include 6 new residential structures as well as two buildings that were used in the women’s prison.  Everything from the landscaping of the site down to the detail in the residence bathrooms was intended to promote “a healthy public understanding of the ideals of the institution and the residents understanding of their place in their society.” Despite all these design efforts the facility is understaffed and according to thestar.com , dealing with a number of problems.  To begin with the facility is understaffed.  The 22,000 square-foot facility employs 166 full-time employees, budget cuts have prevented them from employing the 200 that the facility needs to function.  Certain areas of the facility aren’t being used because there isn’t enough staff to run them.  The young people in the facilities also complain about the cold sleeping conditions and generally fear for their safety.

What can be done by designers to combat problems like these?   

Reference List:

http://www.archdaily.com/44035/roy-mcmurtry-youth-centre-kleinfeldt-mychajlowycz-architects/

http://www.kma.to/

http://www.thestar.com/investigation/article/723020--superjail-for-youth-raises-troubling-questions

Infection Control and Human Response in Healthcare Environments

Big Idea Alert! Big Idea Alert! In class the other day we were discussing how to design for infection control in health care environments.  Our teacher pointed us in the direction of a study that found that many surfaces in hospital rooms are not adequately cleaned between patients.  That means that the little old lady with walking pneumonia walked out of the hospital and left her little old germs behind to infect you!  After hospital cleaning crew were trained the amount of germs left on surfaces did decrease but there were still far too many surfaces that were left unclean. 

This lack of clean surfaces poses a threat to everyone’s health.  First the individual in the hospital, their current condition may make them more susceptible to infection.   Their visitors, coming to console their friend or family member may be unknowingly contracting a germ that will put them in the hospital too.  The last group of people subject to these persistent germs is the hospital staff.  As a child, no matter how sick I was, my mother never caught what I had; it was as though she was immune.  It seems as though we consider our healthcare professionals to be immune to the germs we carry but in fact, they are not.

Thankfully my classmates and I have come up with a solution to the problems with post-occupancy hospital room clean-up.  Have you heard of these germ killing UV lights? Sites like this one market them to allergy suffers. Allergybyersclub.com said this about the light:

This revolutionary invention removes 99.9% of germs and bacteria in only twenty seconds, using the effective sterilization power of UV-C light. Simply wave the lightweight and easy to use light wand over any surface to obtain a germ-free and sanitized home. The wand is also beneficial to the safety of your children and the environment since it uses no harmful chemicals to achieve a sanitized home for your family.

What a neat product right? Well why not take it to the next level? Install these lights in hospital rooms.  Between patients the rooms can be locked and treated with the UV lights which would kill 99.9% of germs in the rooms.  Even on the surfaces that the cleaning staff may have forgotten to wipe down.  I’m going to get to work on getting this new product on the market. Until UV-C lights are in hospital rooms everywhere read this article on how to stay safe from germs in hospitals, published by the American Society for Healthcare Environmental Services.

http://www.ahe.org/ahe/content/learn/09142009-es-week-ashes-apic.pdf

Human Response needs in Multi-family housing

When discussing problems with multi-family housing many people refer to inner city housing projects.  I ran across an article that had this to say:

Most policy experts agree these days that big public housing projects are noxious environments for their tenants… Housing projects radiate dysfunction and social problems outward, damaging local businesses and neighborhood property values. They hurt cities by inhibiting or even preventing these rundown areas from coming back to life by attracting higher-income homesteaders and new business investment. Making matters worse, for decades cities have zoned whole areas to be public housing forever, shutting out in perpetuity the constant recycling of property that helps dynamic cities generate new wealth and opportunity for rich and poor alike.

Public housing spawns neighborhood social problems because it concentrates together welfare-dependent, single-parent families, whose fatherless children disproportionately turn out to be school dropouts, drug users, non-workers, and criminals…Public housing then became a key component of the vast welfare-support network that gave young women their own income and apartment if they gave birth to illegitimate kids. As the fatherless children of these women grew up and went astray, many projects became lawless places, with gunfire a nightly occurrence and murder commonplace.

All of this is according to bigoted Howard Husock of City Journal in the 2003 article “How Public Housing Harms Cities”.  While making wildly rash generalizations Husock brings up an interesting idea.  If these areas are deemed to be public housing forever, why must they be a part of the “welfare-support network”?  I am here to present 2 other options for public housing, rooted in environmental psychology, that may provide a more stable and fruitful environment: co-operatives and subsidized housing for specific user groups. 

One of my good friends from graduate school recently moved into an artist’s community in Baltimore, Maryland.   Artists’ Housing Inc. is a co-op that was developed in 1984 when the Neighborhood Progress Administration/DHCD, the Mayor's Advisory Council on Art and Culture and Citizens for Washington Hill were able to obtain a low-intrest loan from HUD as well as several grants and contributions to renovate a series of historic storefront row houses. These units are open to all artists: painters, poets, installation artists, musicians, writers, graphic artists, photographers, sculptors, film makers, fiber artists, costume designers, set and lighting designers, dancers, teachers, arts administrators and architects.  To be considered for residency one must go through an interview process, present a portfolio and demonstrate financial need. This affordable housing option provides a solution to low-income multi-family housing other than blighted housing projects.  These artists are also more apt to participate in community activities and feel a since of ownership because they feel as though they belong to a group of like-minded individuals.   Much like in a design studio class you would ensure that no harm came to your classmates studio project in this type of living environment you would want to ensure the safety of your neighbors. 

Similarly, one may feel more protective of an area if one has legal ownership of all or part of that space (Gifford, 157). This is why homeowners may take better care of their property than a renter would. For that reason developing housing co-operatives in areas that once were public housing may have a positive impact on the neighborhoods.  In housing co-operatives one actually owns a part of the community and elects board members to have a say so in how that community is ran.  Doing this would allow the members of a community to feel more in control and have a sense of ownership of their neighborhood.  If theories are correct this would cause them to be more protective of their community’s and have positive effects on crime rates.       

Reference List:

http://www.city-journal.org/html/13_1_how_public_housing.html

http://www.1448.org/about/ahi.php

Gifford, Robert. Environmental psychology: principles and practice. 3. Canada: Optimal Books, 2002. 157. Print.

http://www.coophousing.org/DisplayPage.aspx?id=122&bMenu=76&bItem=122

Human Response of Children in the Built Interior Environment

I recently mentioned an article that I came across on trends in educational design. According to the article one of the trends that we may see in the next few years is changing grade spans.  The article suggests that the transition to a new school that children experience may have adverse effects on them. To avoid this many school districts are contemplating K-8 and K-12 configurations.  While this avenue no longer requires children to switch schools throughout their educational experience it now brings up other issues.   Children would no longer be in an environment with a maximum age difference of six years.   The age range would now span up to 14 years. Equipment and fixtures would have to fit people ranging in size from toddlers to full grown adults.  There would also have to be designed elements that separate the older and younger children.  Young children may feel uncomfortable in an environment with children that much older than them.  When I was in grade school transitioning from elementary to middle and middle to the high school was a rite of passage. What effect will taking that away have on children? 

Reference List:
http://www.edfacilities.org/pubs/trends2007.pdf

Human Response to Interior Learning Environments

I ran across an interesting document published by National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities that discussed educational trends that will be shaping the schools of the near future.  These twelve trends included ideas like: “Paper is Disappearing”, “Technology Goes Big Time” and “Special Education has gone mainstream”.  The trend that I felt was most pertinent to designers was: “Classrooms are Being Reconfigured”. If proven to be true, this trend would require a major revamping of the way schools are designed. 

Let’s first discuss how classrooms are being reconfigured.  When I was in grade school on the first day of school you always knew that there was going to be 20-30 other children in your class. How your teacher was assigned was unknown, it seemed as though a computer just divided up the 100 children in your grade and assigned them at random to the 4 teachers that taught that grade.  All the class rooms were in the same vicinity and all of the students were taught the same curriculum.  Well this trend suggests that those days are over.  Have you ever heard of the VARK learning test? It’s a series of questions that helps you discover how you best learn. “V” stands for Visual. “A” is Aural. “R” is Read/Write”.  “K” is Kinesthetic.  Well, this design trend would take the VARK learning test to the next level.   Your education would be catered to the way that you best learn.  Read/write and Aural students may still be in the classrooms we have seen for the last 50 years, but that’s where the similarities end.  If you were a visual learner you would need a classroom that included visually based learning apparatuses.  These rooms would be shaped primarily by technology. If you were a kinesthetic learner you would need a classroom that allowed for hands-on demonstrations and student participation.  Rooms like labs and shops would be the norm in that style of learning.

This will not only affect the classroom but the building as a whole.  Electrical and ventilation systems will have to be designed to accommodate state-of-the-art science labs and every student having a digital workstation at every desk.  But hey, these are just prospective trends.  Maybe nothing will change. Maybe our children will be learning in classrooms just like the ones we learned in. I doubt it, but maybe.

Reference List:

http://www.edfacilities.org/pubs/trends2007.pdf

http://www.vark-learn.com/english/page.asp?p=questionnaire

Creating Comfort at Home

To make your home work for you, you have to arrange your home in the way that you work.  I have a long narrow room. At the end near the windows was a couch and loveseat with end tables,   set up kind of like a living room.  At the other end was my bed dresser and chest of drawers.  My television sat on the chest of drawers, in near the foot of my bed. My laptop lived on a TV tray at the foot of my bed.  This was my world; bed, TV and laptop, I rarely ventured outside of this 10 sqft area.  The problem was that with my computer at the end of my bed all-nighters were impossible.  I was literally already in the bed.  I got no work done at home.   So before the beginning of this quarter I re-arranged my bedroom.  I moved the living room furniture down around the television.  I moved my bedroom furniture down to the end of my room near the windows; I figured the sun would help me wake up in the morning. What I hadn’t counted on was my attachment to my television.  Many nights I end up asleep on my couch, in front of the TV.  I thought this furniture arrangement would fit the way I lived but I may have missed the mark.  When creating comfort at home you have to think about what you do every day and what is important to you.  But through it all you must remember that furniture can be re-arranged again and again.  When watching shows on television where people are looking to buy a house it always makes me laugh when people walk into a room and say “oh, I think my furniture will fit in here” or “I hate the color of these walls.”  These are not things that you should consider when purchasing a home.  If you’re spending $200,000 on a house you shouldn’t be concerned about a $2000 sofa or a $40 can of paint.  Think about the way you live and what your current and future needs are.  Buy a house based on those factors, not because you hate the carpet. 

Biophilia in furniture and furnishing design

Merriam-Webster defines biophilia as a hypothetical human tendency to interact or be closely associated with other forms of life in nature.  The University of Sheffield even conducted a study where it used neuroimaging to show the effects of scenes of nature on the brain compared to scenes of a man made environment with similar qualities.  This study proved that the brain responded positively to viewing natural scenes.  But how can biophilia be used in interior furniture or furnishing design to evoke human response? 

An Artscape Gallery based out of London has created what they call video paintings.  According to healthcaredesignmagazine.com  these framed videos taken by stationary cameras have “restorative, calming effects” because they “accurately display nature’s tempos.”  They are suggesting that placing the more cheerful images in healthcare environments would have positive effects on the patients.  Literally placing framed views of nature in a space is one way to incorporate biophilia in interior furnishings but it is not the only way.

Have you seen Gruppo Strum’s Pratone chair? If you’ve ever wanted to see grass from and ant’s point of view look no further.  The Pratone chair looks like manicured grass magnified 10,000 times.   According to designmatcher.com it is made of cold-foamed polyurethane and painted with varnish, so it’s not the most environmentally friendly thing you’ve ever heard of but short of rolling around in actual grass this is may be the next best thing.  But instead of spending $14,000 on magnified AstroTurf I’ll go outside and get close to real nature for free.

Refrence List:
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/biophilia
http://www.healthcaredesignmagazine.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&type=Publishing&mod=Publications%3A%3AArticle&mid=8F3A7027421841978F18BE895F87F791&tier=4&id=EEBFD510270548FAA117F1CE93F20743
http://www.shef.ac.uk/mediacentre/2010/1739.html
http://www.opengallery.co.uk/
http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/swishy-seating-get-lost-in-larger-than-life-lawn-lounger-giant-grass