Place Advantage: Applied Psychology for Interior Architecture

By Sally Augustin, Neil Frankel and Cindy Coleman

Using psychology to develop spaces that enrich human experience

Place design matters. Everyone perceives the world around them in a slightly different way, but there are fundamental laws that describe how people experience their physical environments. Place science principles can be applied in homes, schools, stores, restaurants, workplaces, healthcare facilities, and the other spaces people inhabit. This guide to person-centered place design shows architects, landscape architects, interior designers, and other interested individuals how to develop spaces that enrich human experience using concepts derived from rigorous qualitative and quantitative research.

In Place Advantage: Applied Psychology for Interior Architecture, applied environmental psychologist Sally Augustin offers design practitioners accessible environmental psychological insights into how elements of the physical environment influence human attitudes and behaviors. She introduces the general principles of place science and shows how factors such as colors, scents, textures, and the spatial composition of a room, as well as personality and cultural identity, impact the experience of a place. These principles are applied to multiple building types, including residences, workplaces, healthcare facilities, schools, and retail spaces.

Building a bridge between research and design practice, Place Advantage gives people designing and using spaces the evidence-based information and psychological insight to create environments that encourage people to work effectively, learn better, get healthy, and enjoy life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wiley
• Release date: Sep 23, 2015
• ISBN: 9781119214373

Book preview

Table of Contents

Cover

Title

Copyright

Dedication

FOREWORD

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

1: OVERVIEW OF THE PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPERIENCE OF SPACE

PLAN OF THE BOOK

APPLYING PLACE SCIENCE

2: FOUNDATIONS OF HUMAN INTERACTIONS WITH THEIR PHYSICAL WORLD

PLACE SCIENCE IN ACTION

SOUVENIRS FROM OUR LIVES ON THE SAVANNA

DESIGN EXPERIENCE AND RESPONSES TO PLACES

3: BASIC HUMAN NEEDS SATISFIED THROUGH PLACE DESIGN

4: UNIVERSAL FEATURES OF WELL-DESIGNED SPACES

COMPLYING

COMMUNICATING

COMFORTING

CHALLENGING

CONTINUING

5: EMOTIONAL AND COGNITIVE RESPONSES TO SENSORY INFORMATION

INTRODUCTION

SMELLING: MAGICAL, MYSTERIOUS, AND POWERFUL

HEARING: PRIMAL, DEPENDABLE, AND ENDURING

SEEING: VITAL, FOCAL, AND INFLUENTIAL

TOUCHING: SUBTLE, SENSUAL, AND UNDENIABLE

TASTING

FUTURE SENSATIONS

CONCLUSION

6: HUMANRE ACTIONS TO STATIC ELEMENTS

ENTRYWAYS

CEILINGS

SEAT PLACEMENT

PERSONAL SPACE

SEENOR NOT SEEN

CROWDING

TERRITORIES

DESIGNING WITH NATURE

7: PLACE DESIGN THAT REFLECTS INDIVIDUAL PERSONALITY AND ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE

PERSONALITY AND PLACE

ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE AND PLACE

8: NATIONAL CULTURE AND PLACE EXPERIENCE

DIFFERENT WAYS TO PERCEIVE THE WORLD

DIFFERENT WAYS TO USE SPACE

CONCLUSION

9: PREDOMINANT ACTIVITY AND THE DESIGN OF PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENTS

10: INTEGRATED APPLICATIONS OF PSYCHOLOGY-BASED PLACE DESIGN PRINCIPLES

INTELLECTUAL LIVING

ARTISAN LIVING

TEAMMATE LIFE

SOPHISTICATE LIVING

RECOGNIZING INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES

11: RESEARCH METHODS FOR PLACE DESIGNERS

RESEARCH OVERVIEW

WRITTEN SURVEYS

INDIVIDUAL INTERVIEWS

GROUP DISCUSSIONS

OBSERVATION

12: SPECIAL FOCUS: HOMES

COMFORTING

COMMUNICATING

COMPLYING

CHALLENGING

CONTINUING

13: SPECIAL FOCUS: WORK PLACES

COMMUNICATING

COMFORTING

COMPLYING

CHALLENGING

CONTINUING

14: SPECIAL FOCUS: RETAILS PACES

COMPLYING

COMMUNICATING

COMFORTING

15: SPECIAL FOCUS: LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS

COMMUNICATING

COMPLYING

COMFORTING

CREATING GREAT PLACES FOR TEACHERS TO WORK

16: SPECIAL FOCUS: HEALTHCARE FACILITIES

COMMUNICATING

COMFORTING

COMPLYING

17: PLACE DESIGNERS’ VITAL INFLUENCE ON HUMAN WELL-BEING

IMPORTANT SOURCES/RELATEDRE ADINGS

INDEX

End User License Agreement

List of Illustrations

2: FOUNDATIONS OF HUMAN INTERACTIONS WITH THEIR PHYSICAL WORLD

FIGURE 2-1 The Parthenon, an early achievement of place scientists. The symmetrical arrangement of the columns and the scale of the elements, for example, create a serene and awe-inspiring space for religious and civic events. Copyright © iStockPhoto/Keith Binns.

FIGURE 2-2 Many of our current environmental responses are related to our ancestors’ experiences while they scrambled to survive without the tools and technologies that we currently find so useful. Being near a tree was very desirable in the old, old days—it regulated air temperature and provided protection from at least some of the animals that preyed upon them. Copyright © iStockPhoto/Eliza Snow.

FIGURE 2-3 Humans enjoy dappled light inside and outside. The sun passing through a leafy canopy on a sunny day distributes dollops of sunlight on the ground, and our ancestors would have associated this splotchy light with good things (pleasant weather and nearby escape into the tree). Copyright © iStockPhoto/John Goldie.

4: UNIVERSAL FEATURES OF WELL-DESIGNED SPACES

FIGURE 4-1 Kitchens have functional zones that help us achieve concrete objectives. This space contains a stove for cooking and a sink for washing, for example. Copyright © iStockPhoto/Emre Arican.

FIGURE 4-2 This hospital room is zoned to promote healing. Patients can rest in one part of the space, bathe in a second area, and socialize with others, work, or relax on the balcony or in the nook with the couch and desk. Caregivers have workstations within the space, and patients’ visitors can also use these spaces in various ways. Image courtesy of Anshen+Allen, © 2008.

FIGURE 4-3 Even though we are social animals, sometimes humans need to be alone. When we are alone, we can mull over recent events or concentrate to solve difficult problems. Copyright © iStockPhoto/Nikada.

FIGURE 4-4 The blinds on the windows in these offices allow people to regulate their interactions with others. All human beings need to be able to control when and how they socialize with their colleagues, family members, friends, and strangers. Copyright © iStockPhoto/Andrey Popov.

FIGURE 4-5 This view is restorative. The water, open spaces, and bordering trees capture our attention, and we can effortlessly review the information presented to us through these windows—which is mentally refreshing. Copyright © iStockPhoto/Feng Yu.

FIGURE 4-6 Humans find it refreshing to look out over this sort of scene. Landscape paintings often capture similar vistas. Copyright © iStockPhoto/Nikada.

FIGURE 4-7 Good spaces provide the support we need to challenge ourselves in ways that we find personally meaningful. Copyright © iStockPhoto/bibi57.

FIGURE 4-8 Spaces must evolve over time to reflect evolving sociological and technological situations. Copyright © iStockPhoto/jacus.

5: EMOTIONAL AND COGNITIVE RESPONSES TO SENSORY INFORMATION

FIGURE 5-1 Sensory experiences that originate in our visual, auditory, tactile, and olfactory systems influence us psychologically. Copyright © iStockPhoto/Chin Soon Heng.

FIGURE 5-2 Many spices have scents that powerfully affect our emotional state. The influences of rosemary, marjoram, and others are reviewed in the text. Copyright © iStockPhoto/sasimoto.

FIGURE 5-3 The scent of lavender is relaxing and has been shown to reduce tension. Copyright © iStockPhoto/Scott Waite.

FIGURE 5-4 A very ordered space—it is carefully organized and the overall effect is calming, inviting reflection. Copyright © iStockPhoto/Nikada.

FIGURE 5-5 Rhythm leads users through a space that also provides prospect and refuge to visitors. Copyright © 2007 Farshid Assassi, courtesy of BNIM.

FIGURE 5-6 The rhythm in the arches at this airport is calming, and the sunshine that pours through the windows reduces stress. Copyright © iStockPhoto/byllwill.

FIGURE 5-7 The timbers in this old wooden roof are in a complex but symmetrical arrangement that captures our attention and invites visual exploration. Copyright © iStockPhoto/resonants.

FIGURE 5-8 Informal balance captures our attention and interjects energy into spaces where it is used. Copyright © iStockPhoto/FreezeFrame.

FIGURE 5-9 People walk near lights and lighted surfaces. Placing lights along walls in a hallway organizes travel in that space and ensures that people can efficiently move through it. Copyright © iStockPhoto/xyno.

FIGURE 5-10 The light from this warm incandescent bulb is relaxing and invites people to linger in this comfortable space. Copyright © iStockPhoto/Rick Rhay.

6: HUMANRE ACTIONS TO STATIC ELEMENTS

FIGURE 6-1 Diners will feel comfortable in these booths because nothing can sneak up behind them and turn them into lunch. The most prized spaces in restaurants are booths or chairs against walls that shield patrons’ backs. Copyright © iStockPhoto/Ivo Gretener.

FIGURE 6-2 Few people will be comfortable sitting in this bank lobby. The backs of people in these chairs are against a wall, but it is made of visually permeable glass. Courtesy of Sally Augustin.

FIGURE 6-3 Seats can be arranged to encourage people not to talk by keeping them all facing the same direction. In certain situations, conversation among people in a space is counterproductive. Copyright © iStockPhoto/Andrew Horwitz.

FIGURE 6-4 The members of the Dutch parliament, who use this space, can easily engage each other in conversation. This sort of interaction between legislators is desirable. Copyright © iStockPhoto/Jan Kranendonk.

FIGURE 6-5 Cross-corner seating can be useful in many situations, particularly during conversations that may cover difficult topics—participants can gracefully break eye contact. Copyright © iStockPhoto/bubbalove.

FIGURE 6-6 This bench provides passersby with many seating and orientation options. They can sit so that it is easy for them to make eye contact with other people or on parts of the bench where comfortable seating postures preclude direct visual contact—all of which leads to different levels of intimacy, cooperation, etc. Courtesy of Sally Augustin.

FIGURE 6-7 The executive assigned to this desk can choose to sit across the desk from guests or beside them at the conference table, as appropriate. Each of these seating configurations is useful in particular social situations. Copyright © iStockPhoto/Don Bayley.

FIGURE 6-8 Calm water has a soothing psychological influence on people, which may be useful where this pool is located, directly outside a hospital. Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula, Monterey, CA. Photo by Lawrence Anderson/Courtesy of HOK.

FIGURE 6-9 This hospital lobby incorporates many natural materials, which is a biophilic design strategy. Biophilic design recognizes the important relationship between human beings and their natural environment. Curt Knoke Photography, Shawano Medical Center, Copyright 2007, courtesy of Kahler Slater.

FIGURE 6-10 The natural forms in this church form a stark contrast to the lines of the modern office tower behind it. Use of shapes and other design elements that are reminiscent of the natural world is a principle of biophilic design. Copyright © iStockPhoto/Daniel Stein.

FIGURE 6-11 This mobile adds a moving element to its indoor environment, which is consistent with biophilic design. Copyright © iStockPhoto/Paul Giamou.

FIGURE 6-12 These windows have the sort of detailing suggested by Bloomer (2008). That detailing links people inside the spaces with the world they are surveying. Courtesy of Sally Augustin.

7: PLACE DESIGN THAT REFLECTS INDIVIDUAL PERSONALITY AND ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE

FIGURE 7-1 This home has an open floor plan of the sort that would appeal to an extravert. Copyright © iStockPhoto/Jorge Salcedo.

FIGURE 7-2 This sort of rectilinear environment would appeal to people who feel that they control their own fate. HCA Stone Oak Hospital, San Antonio, TX. Courtesy of HOK.

FIGURE 7-3 This space, with its many curved elements, would appeal to people who feel that their lives are controlled by fate. Copyright © iStockPhoto/laughingmango.

8: NATIONAL CULTURE AND PLACE EXPERIENCE

FIGURES 8-1 A TO D People from very different national cultures will be comfortable in each of these rooms. Each space uses structural elements and sensory stimuli (such as colors) in ways that are consistent with the national cultures of their primary users. Without that consistency, people are tense and distracted; they cannot thrive. Copyright © iStockPhoto/Alain Couillaud, Andrey Rodionov, atbaei, and Imre Cikajlo, respectively.

FIGURE 8-2 Physical barriers are associated with privacy in Western societies; behaviors can play a similar role in Eastern societies. Copyright © iStockPhoto/Gill Henshall.

9: PREDOMINANT ACTIVITY AND THE DESIGN OF PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENTS

FIGURE 9-1 This person is regulating her stimulation level by isolating herself in a meeting room. She has turned her back to passersby to avoid interactions with others and partially closed the blinds so that people can see the room is occupied, but the person in it prefers to be alone. Copyright © iStockPhoto/Nilgun Bostanci.

12: SPECIAL FOCUS: HOMES

FIGURE 12-1 Territories are not necessarily private. This balcony is clearly visible to passersby, but only the residents of the space through which it is entered can use it. More public territories give people who control them the opportunity to express who they are to a wider range of other people. Copyright © iStockPhoto/red_moon_rise.

FIGURE 12-2 This is a calming residential space. The colors, furniture arrangement, and views help people restock their mental energy and relax. Copyright © iStockPhoto/Galina Barskaya.

13: SPECIAL FOCUS: WORK PLACES

FIGURE 13-1 It’s hard to concentrate in this office; there is not acoustic or visual shielding from other workers. This office design is not unusual. Copyright © iStockPhoto/Igor Terekhov.

FIGURE 13-2 Sunlit work areas have been linked to worker satisfaction. Copyright © 2008 Farshid Assassi, courtesy of BNIM.

FIGURE 13-3 This pleasantly mysterious walkway spurs people to move forward. Copyright © iStockPhoto/pdtnc.

FIGURE 13-4 This stairway is a pleasant place to be, which motivates people to use it to travel between floors instead of an elevator. Copyright © iStockPhoto/Konstantin Sukhinin.

FIGURE 13-5 Task lighting provides some environmental control to workers. Environmental control has important implications for worker satisfaction and performance. Copyright © iStockPhoto/Alenjandro Raymond.

FIGURE 13-6 The doors on these workstations provide visual privacy to workers and also eliminate visual distractions. Jim Brozek Photography, Miller Brewing—Chicago Workstations, Copyright 2006, courtesy of Kahler Slater.

FIGURE 13-7 Workers traveling between floors on open, central staircases can see into the workspaces of other teams, which can spur communication and knowledge sharing (Allen and Henn 2007). Copyright © 2008 Farshid Assassi, courtesy of BNIM.

14: SPECIAL FOCUS: RETAILS PACES

FIGURE 14-1 The movement and sound of the water in this fountain will calm shoppers. That calming helps them to concentrate, which is desirable when certain goods (generally more expensive ones) are being purchased, but is not desirable at other times (when impulse purchases are important). Courtesy of Sally Augustin.

FIGURE 14-2 Music tempo influences how quickly shoppers move through a store; faster tempos lead to faster traveling. Copyright © iStockPhoto/ALEAIMAGE.

FIGURE 14-3 The lamps on these restaurant tables create tiny territories for each pair of diners. Those territories can inspire people to linger, which is desirable in restaurants that serve after-dinner drinks and desserts. Copyright © iStockPhoto/Xavi Arnau.

15: SPECIAL FOCUS: LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS

FIGURE 15-1 Pupils learn better in classrooms with more sunlight. Photo provided by Fielding Nair International, Architects and Change Agents for Education (www.fieldingnair.com).

FIGURE 15-2 Flexible seating allows meetings of different types to occur in the same space. Using the same space for multiple purposes can better serve user needs while reducing the assortment of spaces that must be constructed. Photo provided by Fielding Nair International, Architects and Change Agents for Education (www.fieldingnair.com).

FIGURE 15-3 Nature views at school help both students and teachers restock their mental energy levels. Photo provided by Fielding Nair International, Architects and Change Agents for Education (www.fieldingnair.com).

16: SPECIAL FOCUS: HEALTHCARE FACILITIES

FIGURE 16-1 This waiting area uses homelike furniture and has a dropped ceiling, which differentiates this space from the rest of the lobby. These effects combine to make this a more desirable space for visitors to linger. BJC Progress West, O’Fallon, MO. Courtesy of HOK.

FIGURE 16-2 This patient room has a restorative nature view and a nature video on the monitor, all drenched in healing sunshine. These interactions with the natural world promote psychological and physical health. Image Courtesy of Anshen+Allen, © 2008.

FIGURE 16-3 This waiting area has a stress-reducing nature view. Jim Brozek Photography, St. Clare Hospital and Health Services—Lake Delton Clinic Waiting Room. Copyright © 2006, courtesy of Kahler Slater.

FIGURES 16-4 AND 16-5 Two easy-to-use signs—one in a hospital and one at the entry to a transit line stop. Both make it clear where travelers should go. The subway signs, which are also color coded, are placed so that it is impossible for people not to see them and read them clearly (except during extremely busy travel periods). Figure 16-4 Copyright © iStock-Photo/Brandon Gunem. Figure 16-5 Courtesy of Sally Augustin.

17: PLACE DESIGNERS’ VITAL INFLUENCE ON HUMAN WELL-BEING

FIGURE 17-1 Applying principles from place science, you will create spaces in which people thrive. Copyright © iStockPhoto/Mark Evans.

Place Advantage

APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY FOR INTERIOR ARCHITECTURE

Sally Augustin, PhD

title.jpg

Copyright © 2009 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, [phone], fax [phone], or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, [phone], fax [phone], or online at www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and the author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.

For general information about our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at [phone], outside the United States at [phone] or fax [phone].

Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. For more information about Wiley products, visit our web site at www.wiley.com.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Augustin, Sally.

Place advantage : applied psychology for interior architecture / Sally Augustin.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-470-42212-0 (cloth : alk. paper)

1. Interior architecture—Psychological aspects. I. Title.

NA2850.A94 2009

747.01'9—dc22

2008045487

This book is dedicated to Stu Oskamp, PhD, and Harv Wichman, PhD, who taught me to be an applied psychologist. I am grateful for their lessons.

It is also dedicated to Sheila Rao and Joann Stock, who have been spurring me onward to expand my horizons since elementary school, and to my sister, Sandy Augustin Sivinski, who has been a positive force in my life for even longer than that.

FOREWORD

BY NEIL FRANKEL, FAIA, FIIDA, AND CINDY COLEMAN

A few years ago, a friend of a friend received a coveted design award for a replacement high school within an inner-city public school system. The design press heralded the project for its bold design statement and innovative technology. For the community, the project represented a beacon of hope in this blighted neighborhood. The school board benefited too and was able to boast about bringing in a project within tight budget and schedule constraints. Does this sound like the description of a successful project? Read on.

That fall, when students filed into the new building, expectations, as you’d expect, were very high. One year later, 43 percent of the freshmen through senior classes were still reading below grade level and similar scoring deficiencies were met in math and science. The absenteeism rate among both students and faculty continued to be below state standards, and after the new car smell wore off, low student morale and high rates of vandalism were back in full swing. Does this still sound like a successful project? That depends on how you define success.

For this project team, success was defined by visual appeal and satisfaction with the team’s ability to solve issues of space planning, budget containment, and adherence to the project schedule.

This may sound like the correct response on the surface, but here’s the flaw in this way of thinking: When space planning, budget, and schedule alone become a project’s foundation, the project brief lacks ambition and depth and disregards the needs and aspirations of the people who live, work, or use a particular place. A project, no matter how aesthetically innovative, is at risk when the project goals fail to focus on issues of user performance.

As the late designer-provocateur Tibor Kalman was famous for saying, The difference between good design and great design is intelligence. Great design requires greater knowledge about the human condition and how the spaces people inhabit powers their ability to achieve success.

Had our friend’s friend envisioned a different set of goals for the school project, like improved test scores, lower absenteeism, student/faculty morale, and student aspiration, the design team’s investigation would have centered on a scientifically based understanding of environmental psychology: specifically, what physical and psychological qualities of an environment influence a student’s ability to concentrate, promote a willingness to collaborate, and communicate a sense of collegiality. These questions would have led to a more ambitious design brief and motivated higher objectives for a successful project.

Whether the project is a home, a home office, or a large institution, the process of a user-centered project is typically more collaborative. In this scenario, the makeup of the project team varies based on the specialized information and new knowledge needed for a particular project.

Along with the designers representing the design firm, and, depending on a project’s complexity, interdisciplinary experts, different user groups, and consultants may join the project to represent their specific interest, knowledge, and expertise. The project team is able to expand its role, moving beyond problem solver—addressing issues preestablished by the client—to problem identifier—participating in defining the issues with the client and identifying and applying sources of new knowledge to support and address a project-specific response.

In her book, Place Advantage: Applied Psychology for Interior Architecture, leading environmental psychologist Sally Augustin, PhD, clearly outlines a scientific approach to what she describes as person-centered places and demonstrates how person-centered goals will improve the predictability and reliability of the performance objectives of place.

Today, the designer’s role is more complex than ever before and there is a more prominent role for social-scientific research and new knowledge to inform the design of our built environment. The financial and resource investment of space is great, and great designers seek out sources of new knowledge, which inform the performance aspects of their design decision making.

Understanding what physical and psychological spatial strategies can and should be employed in a specific project to alter the performance of a space is key in establishing the success criteria for a project. How daylight, view, color, and spatial organization alter a user’s response and how these same issues support collaboration or promote prolonged concentration are just some of the important sources of information examined in this book.

The focus of Sally Augustin’s thesis centers on the long-standing disconnect between research and design practices. Neither community has been very effective in bridging the gap, and both run the risk of being irrelevant without the other. At the same time, there is a wealth of knowledge in the social-scientific community that provides new sources of information for designers to assimilate and apply.

Augustin’s expertise as a translator of the scientific principles behind environmental psychology and person-centered design liberates design-related research and new knowledge from the annals of the scientific journals and demonstrates its place in the design process. Through her effective translations of research semantics into design language, Augustin presents an accessible view into the field of design research and environmental psychology.

Place Advantage is a systemic demonstration of the power of new knowledge and research. Each chapter outlines the advantages to the design outcome and its impact on the quality of life, human behavior, and organizational performance of place.

The content of this book applies to the interests of students, design practitioners, and those who use, benefit from, and have the ambition to design spaces that allow the users of the spaces to successfully meet their objectives. This book is most relevant to those who are willing to recast the definition of a successful project to include successful user performance.

Neil Frankel

Neil Frankel is a cofounding partner along with Cindy Coleman in the Chicago-based design and consulting firm Frankel + Coleman. Prior to accepting the Fitz-Hugh Scott Endowed Chair for Design Excellence at the University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Neil Frankel was responsible for Skidmore, Owings & Merrill’s Chicago architectural interior practice. In addition to his academic commitment, he is one of five Fellows of both AIA and IIDA, and is a Senior Fellow of the Design Futures Council. In 2005, Mr. Frankel was the sole recipient of the AIAS Education Honor Award.

Cindy Coleman

Cindy Coleman is a cofounding partner along with Neil Frankel in the Chicago-based design and consulting firm Frankel + Coleman. Coleman is an assistant professor in the Department of Architecture, Interior Architecture and Designed Objects at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, a contributing editor for Interior Design magazine and Chicago Architect, and the professional advisor for the Marcus Prize, a biannual global architectural prize acknowledging architects at the trajectory of their careers.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This book would not have come to be without the thoughtful support of its editor, John Czarnecki, and his assistant, Sadie Abuhoff. Their comments have been much appreciated.

I would also like to thank all of the groups that provided images used in this book. Its pages would be a lot less interesting and useful without their contributions. Specifically, I am grateful to

Anshen + Allen

BNIM

Fielding Nair International

HOK

Journal of Interior Design

Kahler Slater

Philips Design and Philips Healthcare

I am also glad to have had the opportunity to interview Dr. Nicholas Watkins (HOK) and George Marmaropoulus (Philips Design). I learned a lot during my conversations with them and had a wonderful time. They are both great people.

Brian Scott saved this project from technical collapse many times. He is a great designer, a great computer geek, and a great friend.

I have saved my thanks for Cindy Coleman and Neil Frankel till the end of this message because I hoped by the time I got here I’d have conjured up the words to thank them for writing the foreword to this book and for all their moral support. I still don’t have the words to adequately express my appreciation. Thank you, Cindy and Neil.

1

OVERVIEW OF THE PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPERIENCE OF SPACE

Places matter. And we’re always in one.

The design of a physical place influences the mental state of the people in that space. That shapes their attitudes and behavior. Not sure how much what we sense through our eyes, ears, nose, and skin matters? Consider these scenarios:

Susan was a poor student, and her mom could never get her to do her homework. Susan fidgeted a lot while sitting at her desk, her eyes often wandered, and she would pop from her seat frequently. Then Susan’s mom changed the color of the wall behind Susan’s desk from a very saturated but not very bright Kelly green to a less-saturated light green. She set up a scent diffuser that circulates a delicate lemon scent through the space where Susan studies. Susan’s mom also lowered the light levels in the room in general and placed a task light on Susan’s desk. Now Susan gets much more of her homework done and higher grades.

Tom’s bistro was in the right part of town, and people did eat at his restaurant all the time, but they never stayed long enough to order high-margin desserts and they almost never returned to eat there a second time. Tom brought in a cooking consultant who tasted the dishes on the menu and pronounced them delicious. Then there was a plumbing leak, and the gently curving wall that ran along one side of the restaurant had to be torn out to find and repair the leak. Since money was tight, the curved wall was replaced with a straight one, although the size of the dining room remained the same. People started to order desserts and to come back for second meals at the restaurant. A waiter who had been gone during the plumbing fiasco asked Tom when he returned about how he had found the funds to expand the dining room; the space seemed more spacious now than it had in the past.

The radiation therapy treatment room at the hospital was a heavily insulated, bunker-like space. No matter what color it was painted, no one liked being there. The new director of the radiation program decided to make it more inviting by adding art: abstract images that he loved. The patients found the space even more oppressive after that. Then the new head of the hospital’s art program whisked away the abstract pictures and replaced them with landscapes featuring meadows dotted with groups of trees. After that, everyone in the radiation treatment area, patients and staff, felt a little more upbeat.

Nothing ever seemed very appetizing in the light blue dining room at Celeste’s. Leftovers always tasted great, however, in her yellow kitchen. When Celeste painted the walls of her dining room an orange-peach color and replaced her blue and white china with warmer-colored plates, food started to taste as good in the dining room when it was fresh cooked as it did when it was eaten as leftovers in the kitchen from plastic microwave-safe containers. Now the blue china is used during the post-holiday January diet season.

Students in Ms. Johnson’s third-grade class seemed to have trouble concentrating. Then a hurricane broke the glass in all the windows around the school. The new glass installed in the windows had a transparent, nonglare coating, so the heavy blinds that had been used to cut glare were taken down. Now that the students can see the natural spaces outside, everyone in Ms. Johnson’s classroom, including Ms. Johnson, has a better day.

Sean could never relax in the new bedroom space his wife designed. Sean’s wife found the bedroom a cozy retreat. The bedroom walls were papered in an intricate geometric print, and Sean’s wife kept lots of fragrant potpourri in bowls around the room. The bedside tables were made of shiny lacquered bronze, and the carpet was a nubby berber. The room was never noisy or flooded with sunlight too early in the morning. When Sean learned more about his personality, he found he was not as extraverted as his wife and that her decorating style was too intense for him. After painting the walls, reducing the amount of potpourri, and draping cloths over the top of the shiny bedside tables, Sean could relax in his bedroom.

Nobody ever seemed to have a good idea in conference room A. It didn’t seem to be a bad place—the furniture and paint were new and heavy drapes kept daylight from creating glare on the projection screen. The chairs around the conference table were comfortable to sit in. Carl thought the space could be made better, so he stepped in and redesigned it. After Carl’s efforts the room is a hotbed of creativity. The windows have been coated with a clear, nonglare film and the curtains are gone, so there is always a view to the park outside. The wide conference table has been replaced by a narrower one with a natural wood grain veneer, and the chairs around that table swivel easily so everyone at a meeting can look at anyone else. The colors are warmer now, and several intricate paintings have been hung on the walls of the room. A soundscape of classical music, with about 70 beats per minute, plays softly in the background during meetings.

These scenarios show that place design matters. They illustrate place science principles that are fundamental to the experience of physical environments. These principles can be applied in homes, schools, stores, restaurants, workplaces, healthcare facilities, and wherever else people find themselves. Everyone perceives the world around them slightly differently, but people respond to that world in consistent ways—and the exceptions to the general ways of experiencing the world can be anticipated as well.

PLAN OF THE BOOK

This book will introduce you to place science and make you Place Smart. After reading it, you will create spaces that enhance lives. Place Advantage integrates information collected through rigorous scientific research by psychologists, biologists, physicists, and other concerned professionals. This book incorporates material that anthropologists, sociologists, and designers have learned in thorough and structured investigations. Place science is a tool kit that you can use every day.

Reading this book will teach you how to create specific places that influence people in desired ways. Designing spaces is difficult because the right place is different for different people at different times doing different things. The personalities and cultures of the people who use a space influence whether place designs are successful.

Scientists have been studying how people respond psychologically to their physical environments as a separate field of research for about 40 years, although even the ancient Greeks built places like the Parthenon to create particular effects. The place scientists (also known as environmental psychologists) who have been working since the 1960s have developed a collection of theories in conjunction with their work, but not enough attention has been paid to applying the information researchers have collected—that is the focus of this book.

This book is a professional conversation with people who create places and is based on the work of many researchers. The scientific references that I think designers might be interested in reviewing are marked in the text, so interested readers can get more information. Important sources of information are listed at the end of the book. Suggested readings (marked on that list with an S) are also good sources of additional insights. The design implications that accompany the text are a psychologist’s recommendations to people designing interior spaces. They should be seen as basic ways in which the principles covered can be used, not the only ways they can be applied.

This book begins by introducing general principles of place science. These general principles are usually initially discussed in a residential context to make them immediately accessible to all readers—after all, we all live somewhere. Specific chapters discuss how place science can be applied in schools, healthcare facilities, retail establishments (including restaurants), homes, and offices. Since people are people, no matter where they are, there are consistencies in the material presented in each of these chapters. Designing different sorts of places twists the application of place science in new ways, however. Retailers, restaurateurs, and the people who build schools, offices, and hospitals have learned a lot about how space influences us psychologically, and they use that info every day to encourage people to buy things, eat more, learn, work effectively, and get healthy.

APPLYING PLACE SCIENCE

Applying place science is challenging. People are complicated. They are a hodgepodge of rational and irrational thoughts and emotions, so their responses to places are complicated also (Vischer 2005). To create places that enhance human lives, you need to focus on a range of details and make a lot of decisions.

Some of our responses to places are inborn (Kellert 2005). Somehow, certain sorts of experiences affect people in different parts of the world in the same way, and have for generations. Colors of a certain saturation and brightness influence the moods of human beings in predictable ways, for example (Valdez and Mehrabian 1994). Personality, which is consistent throughout our life, also influences how we interact with our physical environment. Other responses are conditioned by national culture (Altman and Gauvain 1981): everyone has the same energy level while looking at a particular shade of black, but for some people that black represents authority and for some it denotes weakness. Culture has a big influence on the size of the buffer zone or empty space that people like to maintain around themselves in various situations, for example (Hall 1982). Germans talking to one another are situated much farther from one another than Mexicans would be in the same space, talking about the same subject. We also pick up social cues about the sorts of ways we can present the aspects of our personality we want others to perceive when we personalize our surroundings. We learn and apply the associations that other members of our culture have to a pattern or smell, for example. National culture is not the only