scholarly journals What is Architectural Psychology?

Dimensions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 201-208
Author(s):  
Alexandra Abel
Keyword(s):  
Architectural Design ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Human Centered Design ◽  
General Potential ◽  
Architectural Spaces

Editorial Summary Alexandra Abel explores the general potential of disciplinary fusion and, specifically, the incorporation of psychology into the field of architecture, aiming for an architectural psychology. In her contribution »What is Architectural Psychology?«, she questions the possible intertwining of the two disciplines, highlighting their reciprocal interconnectivity. She draws specific attention to the substantial ways in which the consideration of psychological findings affect the perception and appropriation of architectural spaces and their sensual and attentive impact on human well-being. In regard to the integration of perceptual and sensory principles into the architectural design, the consideration of psychology becomes inevitable when aiming for a human centered design. [Katharina Voigt]

scholarly journals Evidence-Based Landscape Architecture for Human Health and Well-Being

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 1360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert D. Brown ◽  
Robert C. Corry
Keyword(s):  
Human Health ◽  
Architectural Design ◽  
Landscape Architecture ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
The People ◽  
Outdoor Environments ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Health And Well Being

More than 80% of the people in the USA and Canada live in cities. Urban development replaces natural environments with built environments resulting in limited access to outdoor environments which are critical to human health and well-being. In addition, many urban open spaces are unused because of poor design. This paper describes case studies where traditional landscape architectural design approaches would have compromised design success, while evidence-based landscape architecture (EBLA) resulted in a successful product. Examples range from school-yard design that provides safe levels of solar radiation for children, to neighborhood parks and sidewalks that encourage people to walk and enjoy nearby nature. Common characteristics for integrating EBLA into private, public, and academic landscape architecture practice are outlined along with a discussion of some of the opportunities and barriers to implementation.

scholarly journals Evidence-Based Design in Architectural Education: Designing the First Maggie’s Centre in Israel

2021 ◽  
pp. 193758672110079
Author(s):  
Nirit Putievsky Pilosof ◽  
Yasha Jacob Grobman
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Architectural Design ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Architectural Education ◽  
Local Context ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Architecture Education ◽  
The Impact

Objective The study examines the integration of the Evidence-based Design (EBD) approach in healthcare architecture education in the context of an academic design studio. Background Previous research addressed the gap between scientific research and architectural practice and the lack of research on the use of the EBD approach in architectural education. Methods The research examines an undergraduate architectural studio to design a Maggie’s Centre for cancer care in Israel and evaluates the impact of the EBD approach on the design process and design outcomes. The research investigates the impact of the integration of three predesign tasks: (1) literature review of healing architecture research, (2) analysis and comparison of existing Maggie’s Centres, and (3) analysis of the context of the design project. Results The literature review of scientific research supported the conceptual design and development of the projects. The analysis of existing Maggie’s centers, which demonstrated the interpretation of the evidence by different architects, developed the students’ ability to evaluate EBD in practice critically, and the study of the projects’ local context led the students to define the relevance of the evidence to support their vision for the project. Conclusions The research demonstrates the advantages of practicing EBD at an early stage in healthcare architectural education to enhance awareness of the impact of architectural design on the users’ health and well-being and the potential to support creativity and innovative design. More studies in design studios are needed to assess the full impact of integrating EBD in architectural education.

scholarly journals The Impact of the Physical Environment on Intrapartum Maternity Care: Identification of Eight Crucial Building Spaces

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 67-98
Author(s):  
Nicoletta Setola ◽  
Eletta Naldi ◽  
Grazia Giulia Cocina ◽  
Liv Bodil Eide ◽  
Laura Iannuzzi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Maternity Care ◽  
Physical Environment ◽  
Architectural Design ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Physical Characteristics ◽  
Interdisciplinary Studies ◽  
Room Size ◽  
Direct And Indirect Impacts ◽  
Indirect Impacts ◽  
The Impact

Objectives, Purpose, or Aim: This article investigates whether the physical environment in which childbirth occurs impacts the intrapartum intervention rates and how this might happen. The study explores the spatial physical characteristics that can support the design of spaces to promote the health and well-being of women, their supporters, and maternity care professionals. Background: Medical interventions during childbirth have consequences for the health of women and babies in the immediate and long term. The increase in interventions is multifactorial and may be influenced by the model of care adopted, the relationships between caregivers and the organizational culture, which is made up of many factors, including the built environment. In the field of birth architecture research, there is a gap in the description of the physical characteristics of birth environments that impact users’ health. Method: A scoping review on the topic was performed to understand the direct and indirect impacts of the physical environment on birth intervention rates. Results and Discussion: The findings are organized into three tables reporting the influence that the physical characteristics of a space might have on people’s behaviors, experiences, practices and birth health outcomes. Eight building spaces that require further investigation and research were highlighted: unit layout configuration, midwives’ hub/desk, social room, birth philosophy vectors, configuration of the birth room, size and shape of the birth room, filter, and sensory elements. Conclusions: The findings show the importance of considering the physical environment in maternity care and that further interdisciplinary studies focused on architectural design are needed to enrich the knowledge and evidence on this topic and to develop accurate recommendations for designers.

scholarly journals BIM for Healthy Buildings: An Integrated Approach of Architectural Design based on IAQ Prediction

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (24) ◽  
pp. 10417
Author(s):  
Alessandro D’Amico ◽  
Giacomo Bergonzoni ◽  
Agnese Pini ◽  
Edoardo Currà
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Model ◽  
Architectural Design ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Building Design ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Fundamental Aspect ◽  
Control Instrument ◽  
Building Information ◽  
And Control

The relationship between users and the built environment represents a fundamental aspect of health. The factors that define the properties linked to health and well-being are increasingly becoming part of building design. In these terms, building information modelling (BIM) and BIM-based performance simulation take on a priority role. Among the key features for the design of Healthy Buildings, indoor air quality (IAQ) plays a central role. There are numerous indoor pollutants with significant health effects; volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are to be mentioned among these. The paper presents the proposal of an integrated workflow in the BIM process for the check and control of VOC emissions from building materials and their concentration in confined environments. The workflow is developed through the systematisation of IAQ parameters for the open BIM standard, the integration in the BIM process of a numerical model for the prediction of the VOCs concentration in the indoor environment, and the development of model checkers for performance verification. The results show a good adhesion between the numerical model and the implementation in BIM, providing the designer with a rapid control instrument of IAQ in the various phases of the building design. The present study is the first development focused on TVOC, but implementable concerning other aspects of IAQ, as needed for the effectiveness of performance building-based design for health and wellness issues.

scholarly journals Integrating Microclimate into Landscape Architecture for Outdoor Thermal Comfort: A Systematic Review

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 196
Author(s):  
Jiawei Lin ◽  
Robert D. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Architectural Design ◽  
Landscape Architecture ◽  
Heat Waves ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Outdoor Thermal Comfort ◽  
The Public ◽  
Outdoor Environments

Global climate change and urban heat island intensification are making many cities dangerously hot during heat waves and uncomfortably hot much of the time. Research has identified ways that urban environments can be designed to reduce the heat, but much of the information is too technical or has not been interpreted or communicated so as to be available to landscape architects. This study identifies ways that landscape architecture researchers have applied microclimate information in design to proactively create more thermally comfortable outdoor environments. A systematic review that assessed the growing recognition of microclimatic factors in design revealed four main approaches: principles and guidelines, strategies, mapping, and evaluation. The advantages and limitations of each have been noted, and a diagram has been developed that matches each approach with specific steps in the landscape architectural design process. The study also identified four areas where microclimate has potential for use in landscape architecture but that are currently not being very actively studied: education, modeling and visualization, policy, and ideation. Microclimatic design has the potential to enhance the health and well-being of the public through the design of thermally comfortable outdoor environments.

scholarly journals Functionality analysis and natural ventilation of social housing in times of pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. e45101220114
Author(s):  
Kátia Jocasta Ortiz Grings ◽  
Valéria Costa de Oliveira ◽  
Francisco Roger Carneiro Ribeiro ◽  
Jayson Pereira Godinho
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Social Housing ◽  
Architectural Design ◽  
Natural Ventilation ◽  
Technical Specification ◽  
Performance Standards ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Remote Work ◽  
Single Family ◽  
Window Frames

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, inadequate spaces in terms of the dimensions of the environments and lack of flexibility for possible adjustments, not only accentuate health risks, but also interfere in the productivity of remote work and school performance. In this sense, social housing has an unsatisfactory performance in terms of functionality, mainly because they have small spaces and inadequate window frames to achieve satisfactory natural ventilation and reduce the contagion by coronavirus. The objective of this article is to analyze three single-family social housings, aiming to rethink spaces, focusing on some elements necessary to protect the health and well-being of the inhabitants. The method applied concepts of functionality and useful area, in addition to the requirements and criteria of the Brazilian bioclimatic zoning and performance standards, including the construction guidelines for single-family social housings (SH) reflecting on the need to adapt SH to guarantee well-being and inhabitants' health. Analysis results showed that low-income buildings are precarious in terms of functionality and do not allow adaptations due to the architectural design and technical specification of walls and window frames.

scholarly journals Serious Game Design to Support Children Struggling with School Refusal

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-128
Author(s):  
Marikken Høiseth ◽  
Ole Andreas Alsos ◽  
Sindre Holme ◽  
Sondre Ek ◽  
Charlotte Tendenes Gabrielsen
Keyword(s):  
Game Design ◽  
Serious Games ◽  
Well Being ◽  
School Refusal ◽  
Serious Game ◽  
Digital Tools ◽  
Human Centered Design ◽  
Design Elements ◽  
Number Of Children ◽  
Computer Interaction

A significant number of children worldwide struggle with school refusal. Games and digital tools represent a novel take on how to address this phenomenon. Our research aims to support children who are at risk or in an early phase of developing school refusal through serious games. In this paper we present current work, grounded in human-centered design, involving the application of a game design framework to elaborate on design elements and empirical evaluations of a serious game called Gnist (English: Spark). Based on this we discuss some implications for game design and key takeaways for researchers and practitioners working to design technologies for supporting children's well-being in attending school. We contribute to position serious games in a new context and anticipate our findings to be valuable to the Human-Computer Interaction community in general and specifically to the Child-Computer Interaction community.

scholarly journals Perceived Sensations in Architectural Spaces through Immersive Virtual Reality

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 70-81
Author(s):  
Hugo C. Gomez-Tone ◽  
Jorge Martin-Gutierrez ◽  
John Bustamante-Escapa ◽  
Paola Bustamante-Escapa ◽  
Betty K. Valencia-Anci
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Construction Materials ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Immersive Virtual Reality ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Group Of Seven ◽  
Head Mounted Display ◽  
Real Scale ◽  
Architectural Spaces

To design architectural spaces that not only respond to the basic needs of users, but also seek their emotional well-being, it is necessary for the architecture students to have a special sensitivity and be aware of the different sensations that their designs should and can evoke. To achieve this competence without exploring real spaces, Immersive Virtual Reality technology offers an important contribution to the field of architecture. The purpose of this research is to determine if the sensations perceived in virtual architectural spaces by students are similar to the real ones and to determine the characteristics of this technology that allow a better perception of sensations. Six architectural modules were designed to be walked through and experienced at real scale using a Head Mounted Display by 22 students of the first and fifth year of studies of Architecture career in Peru. An ad-hoc questionnaire allowed to know the perceived sensations and the benefits of the tool. The results obtained showed that the perception of sensations of the fifth year students is a little closer to those expressed by a group of seven experts compared to that of the first year students and that the students consider the characteristics of accessibility, real scale of the space and the possibility of going through and looking at the space in all directions are those that have given more realism to the experience and therefore better perception of the space, while the characteristics of natural light and shadows, construction materials and external environment have been less valued in the realism of the experience. It is concluded that the sensory experimentation in architectural spaces modelled realistically in virtual environments allows the perception of sensations very similar to those that the architect seeks to convey initially.

scholarly journals Homeless. Self-Build Housing for Wellington's Transitionally Homeless

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Jake Goodger
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Affordable Housing ◽  
Architectural Design ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Design Guidelines ◽  
Design Strategies ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Screening Process ◽  
Business Innovation ◽  
New Zealanders

<p>Housing is an important precondition for people to live healthy and prosperous lives. Access to suitable housing is an essential factor in the overall well-being of individuals, families, and communities. Housing suitability and quality has ramifications for physical and mental health, education, employment, social cohesion and intergenerational mobility. These outcomes directly impact the functioning of communities, broader society, and the economy (Ministry of Business Innovation & Employment).  Per capita, New Zealand has one of the highest rates of homelessness in the world. At 1% of the total population, it is estimated that approximately 42,000 New Zealanders are experiencing some form of homelessness. These individuals are either in temporary or insecure accommodation (OECD). Our capital’s housing supply is evidentially not meeting demand. Wellington is currently 9312 dwellings short of what is required, resulting in multiple tenants residing in singular rooms, and an increase in homelessness (Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment). This issue arises when there is an intermediate population deemed ‘too rich’ for social housing by the Ministry of Social Development screening process. However, due to low current median incomes this group are not able to afford Wellington’s rental prices, leaving them with little to no options in securing healthy and stable accommodation. Those fortunate enough to secure tenancy find themselves marginalised by society as they are not in permanent ‘homes’ but transitional residences on the city fringes.  This thesis explores a novel approach to our capital’s housing crisis, with the specific intention of provoking conversation about alternative approaches to the re-housing of New Zealanders most at need. Giving individuals the opportunity to up-skill, combined with the ability to craft their own permanent home will provide the helping hand needed to get them back on their feet and re-introduced into productive society. Interviews with Wellington’s housing providers and those working directly with the homeless have informed the key considerations for providing housing for the transitionally homeless. The literature review highlights the importance of creating and enhancing a sense of belonging through architectural design strategies. Precedent studies are analysed to understand the importance of location, planning, appearance and the materiality of housing units as well as assessing the validity of self-build housing for New Zealand. This research develops a universal design response to affordable housing in Wellington. A non-exclusive approach facilitates residents as a whole rather than focusing on site specifics, thus achieving a more holistic design concept. This model can be implemented in a broader context to ultimately support the provision of quality and affordable housing to those in most need.  The outcomes of this thesis include; a set of design guidelines for those involved in the provision of housing for the transitionally homeless, and a detailed design proposal for a conceptual housing intervention in urban Wellington.</p>

scholarly journals Where can I cry?: Providing for Emotionality in the Built Environment

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Claire Ford
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Emotional Expression ◽  
Architectural Design ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Multiple Scales ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Body ◽  
Urban Life ◽  
Emotional Wellbeing ◽  
Design Experiments

<p>Increasingly, research suggests that urban life is characterised by rising levels of distress (Söderström, 2017). We exist in a melee of social, political, cultural and environmental constructs, many of which require individuals to repress emotional expression and experiences. Without consciously doing so, we take cues from the designed environment as to what behaviours should be acted out in that space, and this has a direct impact on our well-being. This thesis explores how the built environment can be designed to support the emotional wellbeing of its occupants.  Current practice addressing well-being predominantly looks at cases of severe mental dysfunction (Söderström, 2017) or designing spaces that privilege physical concerns (Jencks & Heathcote, 2010). The research in this thesis is not directed towards such extreme instances of distress; it focuses on the capacity of designed environments to emotionally enable and empower all building users, taking into account a broad spectrum of emotional expression and responses to space. To accomplish this, existing literary research on emotional well-being is traversed and used to inform a series of design explorations. These aim to discover how the design of space can enable occupants to feel supported; to live their emotional lives with complete agency. A conceptual framework is developed, drawing on philosophy, psychology, sociology, neurology and geography, which informs architectural design experiments that test relationships between the body, the mind, and the architecture we engaged with.  This thesis involves a speculative approach to design research. Using design experiments at multiple scales, this thesis explores the potential of moments in the built environment where people have strong emotional connections to space, in order that a consciously compassionate design approach may be developed. Four architectural briefs are explored at three scales - installation, domestic and public scale - allowing design to inform the research. Each investigation is successive and becomes a testing ground to evaluate and critique the design outcomes prior to it. The design tests also involve progressively more architectural and interactive complexity. This sequence of design tests explores the potential of spaces to empower an inhabitant in architectural space to experience joy and sadness; to directly associate architecture with emotional well-ness.</p>

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document