Astrid Weguelin
To what extent does architectural and environmental design manipulate our behaviour? The built environment has always been part of the human lifestyle; it has influenced the evolution of the human race through behaviour and actions. The lifetime of the human race has been through vast amounts of environmental changes that has always been adapted to, as well as mass changes to society that has moved humans from mobile villages to the megalopolises that we have today. Although some still live in the nomadic lifestyle, it is hard for a person to escape evidence of ways humans have dominated the planet, even looking at the smaller cities there are today, they outsize the largest of ancient cities that now cease to exist. After this drastic change into vast urban environments, it encouraged a new culture of experiment and interpretation that was committed to studying these new surroundings and explaining their psychological effects on human behaviour. This essay will explore the anxieties created by certain environments, how workspaces have an effect on productivity and the effect of colour on behaviour in order to determine whether the environments humans exist in can alter behaviour and mood. The movement into these metropolises during the 19th century has given rise to the discovery of new anxiety disorders relating to spacial surroundings such as claustrophobia and agoraphobia. Theories suggest that agoraphobia came about because of the new urban spaces; Viennese architect Camillo Sitte believed that in traditional, intimate human scaled cities, the disorder would be unknown because ‘one naturally feels cosy in small, old plazas… on our modern gigantic plazas, with their yawning emptiness and oppressive ennui, the inhabitants of snug old towns suffer of this fashionable agoraphobia’ [Vilder 2000 p.g. 28]. Sitte used the new found disorder to criticise the newly built Ringstrasse in Vienna, which was a road built to replace the city walls, by emphasizing the ‘spacial emptiness’ of the road with it’s ‘limitless and infinite expanses’ in comparison to the ‘compositional qualities and smaller scale of traditional squares and streets’ and so some people experience a ‘certain anxiety or discomfort’ [Vilder 2000 p.g.26] whenever walking across such a vast, empty space. Sitte thought that the ideal street for the 1
Astrid Weguelin human psychology ‘must form a completely enclosed unit’ [Vilder 2000 p.g.265], the human mind becomes anxious when dealing with the unknown, and so a road where the end is not visible becomes a cause for concern for someone with agoraphobia because there is no reassurance to where it will lead. By WW1 the word ‘metropolis’ had both the meaning of a physical site and a pathological state, which represented modern day life. Although in the present day vast cities and architecture are the norm, spacial anxiety disorders are very much still experienced, but designers for architecture and environmental spaces now have more knowledge of what makes the urban landscape a pleasant place to be. However in some structures such as shopping centres, which are designed to hold mass amounts of people, anxiety can be caused by the combination of a confusing layout and feelings of crowding. The psychological term ‘cognitive perspective’ relates to the process in which we learn and it develops out of the relationship we have with our environment and through our senses, but when someone is placed in an area with lots of visual stimulation, such as a busy shopping centre where there is constant noise, bright lights and masses of people, it can lead to a cognitive overload. A cognitive overload can cause an individual a great deal of stress, confusion and sometimes push them into a ‘fight-or-flight’ state of mind, which is often the case on busy shopping days such as ‘Black Friday’ [1] where people were pushed into an almost animalistic state while trying to buy products in the sales because of the high amount of cognitive stimulants they were experiencing. High amounts of stress caused from similar situations can be quite serious; it is the ‘body’s natural self preservation system’ but when exposed to constant stress ‘we lose the ability to think, behave and function normally’ [Kopec 2006 p.g.XV]. This can be the case is shopping centres such as the Trinity in Leeds [2] which is a bright and open design when empty but when filled with people it becomes very busy and difficult to navigate around, making the structure feel more like a cage than a pleasant shopping experience. This causes people stress and frustration, so they make quick judgements about purchases without thinking them through, and the layout leads them around the centre past the majority of the shops with the intention of luring customers in.
2
Astrid Weguelin However, feelings of crowding are subjective because crowding is different to density and the actual amount of people are present, crowding is to do with a person’s mental state and how they deal with a situation. Feelings of crowding can be relived if the individual ‘believes they have options or that they can control a situation’ [Kopec 2006 p.g.277] so for example if someone made an active decision to go shopping at a time they know to be significantly less busy to avoid a stressful situation. Crowding can also be relieved by the layout of the shop, if they lessen the amount of products on display so that there are wider aisles, also using clear exit signs and ceiling suspended signs that indicate where the free cash registers are it will greatly reduce the confusion and frustration felt by the customer trying to pay and leave the store. This demonstrates how important the planning of layouts is when designing an already stressful environment and how much of a positive or negative effect they can have on anxiety. The workplace is an environment that people spend the majority of their days in; the design of it can have an important effect on the morale and work productivity. There are lots of elements to consider when designing a workspace such as light sources, spacing between individuals and temperature. Some environments can have quite a negative effect on productivity such as the typical office environment which has the bullpen style layout for the employees, as shown in [3], where they are sectioned off into cubicles so to give them isolated space to do work but also not sectioned off completely so it can still encourage communication. However, this layout causes employees to be subjected to a ‘host of distracting stimuli’ [Kopec 2006 p.g.236] such as constant noise from other employees and the office machines, varying odours, varying temperatures and often bright lights which cannot be altered causing levels of frustration within the office especially when combined with stresses from the workload. Many of these types of offices are susceptible to ‘sick building syndrome’; an illness generally related to buildings that have air conditioning, which is often found in all occupants of the building to some extent, it consists of; headaches, fatigue, sore throats, flu symptoms, irritability, back and shoulder pain. It is due to the poor indoor quality, as the building is air tight and windows do not open, leaving the air conditioning to be the only source of ‘fresh’ air which is constantly moving the same air around the 3
Astrid Weguelin office, carrying masses of germs and bacteria. Also, the lack of natural light and excess of bright, sterile lighting causes fatigue in the employees as it strains the eye muscles, the lack of sunlight also results in low levels of serotonin in the body, serotonin is a ‘chemical that regulates appetite, mood, sexual desire and sleep’ [Kopec 2006 and a decreased levels are directly linked to depression. Having no open windows or greenery in the office means there is nothing to absorb the CO2 being released by the office machines, cleaning products and building materials, high levels of CO2 also leads to tiredness and headaches. Once the office becomes associated with being ill it generates negative feelings towards these towering office buildings and induces high amounts of stress. There are some offices which recognise these problems and have purposely set out to counteract those environments with a space dedicated to producing more work productivity, such as the Google offices. In Britain today, according to the Office for National Statistics, under a fifth of the population are ‘suffering from anxiety and depression’ [Monica Parker 2013] and a lot of that is caused by poor satisfaction in the work place, at the Google offices they aim to cater for their employee’s every need in return for an increased amount of good work productivity. They offer up free breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks, game rooms, nap rooms [4], lots of space for social interaction and private thinking, bright colours and a great deal of visual stimulation. It could seem that not much work would be done but it offers a lot of time for creative thinking and stimulates good, new ideas. The atmosphere at Google is a much more positive and energetic one than at the majority of work offices, Teresa Amabile – professor and Harvard Business school said that the ‘physical space enhances creativity’ and watching the employees at Google it is clear that there is a ‘cross-fertilization’ [James Stewart 2013] of ideas. However, actually applying the whole Google layout to all offices would not be feasible as it is incredibly expensive and would not be relevant to all places of work, as in many work areas creativity is not a necessity. They do however have the right idea in that they are taking into consideration the employees interaction with their environment and seeing how they can use their surroundings to the advantage of the individuals and the company. This can still be achieved in 4
Astrid Weguelin normal offices by just by making a few changes to relieve stress and ‘sick building syndrome’ symptoms, such as; smooth leather surfaces surrounding the cubicle along with glass extensions which will increase the natural light and feeling of privacy. Furthermore, putting plants around the office, which adds a natural feel to the workspace, as well as increasing oxygen and decreasing CO2, which will help relieve tiredness. According to professor Alex Haslam, who conducted a study of the psychological effects of design in the workplace, he found that ‘people working in spaces decorated with plants and pictures were 17% more productive than those working in bare offices’ [Charmaine Li 2013]. Also, allowing for bigger windows, preferably with a view of nature, to allow more natural light in and increase morale – office employees often spend a lot of time in ‘artificially illuminated office spaces’ [Kopec 2006 p.g.244] while also in front of computer screens and TVs which causes mental and physical tiredness, bigger windows would allow for a break from this while also inducing a sense of calm and give the mind a chance to revitalise. The work environment is one that is so central to human life and so should be designed in a way that promotes a positive atmosphere and encourages good work productivity. The home environment is very important for individuals as it is where they should feel their most comfortable, it is their safe haven and should be personal to them. Because human perception is influenced so much by physiology, culture and life experience it means that they are ‘most satisfied in environments where they feel a connection between what they see and who they are’ [Kopec 2006 p.g.XV] this could link in to why many people feel uncomfortable in sterile environments such as doctor or dentist waiting rooms where it is often a very dull, impersonal environment that no one can make any personal connection with. To say what design makes a surrounding more comfortable wouldn’t be right however, because to say something is comfortable is very subjective to the individual, it is only through the way they make a connection with a place that makes it a comfortable place to be. The basic home layout nonetheless does follow how society has evolved for example, during the Edwardian era in the homes of the upper class, the kitchen would be the smallest room of the house because it was only used by the kitchen staff, then moving to after WW2 when 5
Astrid Weguelin the television was invented and common in homes, it moved the main room to be the living room as that was what held the family together. Nowadays having a television is very common, even to have multiple throughout the house as well as laptops, iPads etc. so making the kitchen the main base of the house as it is often the only place the whole family will be together. Many hospitality environments have tried to recreate the typical ‘homely’ feel, such as pubs where it has a very cosy atmosphere with the low ceilings, dim lights, comfortable seating, dark colours and often a warm fire which all aim to make the customer feel as welcome as possible so that they are comfortable enough to keep buying food and drinks. Many environments such as this have such strong design that they create a certain type of atmosphere as soon as one enters, it is interesting how the same feeling can be felt when viewing a painting of a similar environment, such as David Hockney’s ‘Montcalm Interior with 2 Dogs 1989’ [5] which holds an immediate sense of comfort when looking at it, the warm colours for the ceiling and floor holds the room together, along with the patterns and artwork on the walls which turns it into a more personal environment. Also the spacing between the three deep, dark coloured, comfortable looking chairs resembles a close, intimate, social environment which are also leaving a space open for the viewer, inviting them in which gives the painting a very welcoming atmosphere. Colour is incredibly important to consider when designing a space as it has such a noticeable effect on a person’s mood and behaviour. It is often thought that some colours represent certain symbolic meanings such as yellow for cowardice and blue for loyalty, however this is very subjective as it can only really be applied and make sense if a group of people viewing that colour agree on the same meaning as it is all opinion and out of that group it may have an entirely different meaning to another person. Yet to state that colour affects the human psychology is much more agreeable as ‘colour meaning seems to spring from a psychological reaction to physical experience’ [Hornung 2005 p.g.129] which is how we group colours together for example, warm colours consist of reds, yellows and oranges because warm things people have experienced are often those colours such as fire, sunlight, sand and then cool colours such as blues greens and white with ice, deep water and shadows. 6
Astrid Weguelin This association of certain atmospheres and feelings with colour links in well with art and illustration, particularly reportage illustration because reportage is the process of capturing a scene or moment. The illustration will depict how the illustrator is feeling at the time through their mark making, colour usage, focus points, so how the design of a place is affecting the illustrator will be shown in the drawing, even if subconsciously. The reportage piece of Lucinda Rogers for the V&A annual review, ‘Madejski Garden’ [6] is a good example, she uses ‘warm’ colours like reds, purples and yellows which gives the scene a welcoming atmosphere, it suggests she had a positive response to what she was seeing. The fading yellow lights make the environment look very cosy and alluring as if the warmth is coming from inside the building. The limited detail of the building s intriguing, it is just enough to make the viewer want to see more and follow the figures inside. If the drawing had been another colour such as a light blue it may have implied a completely different atmosphere, perhaps one a bit more sterile. Certain colours have been known to create varying responses, as Henri Matisse once said ‘pure colours…have in themselves, independently of the objects the serve to express, a significant action on the feelings of those who look at them’ [Hornung 2005 p.g.128] so looking at one object in a variety of different colours could create a range of different emotional responses. This can be shown in the findings of the physician Felix Deutsch who carried out experiments to study the connection between emotions and colour, he brought some people to sit in front of a window overlooking a garden, the window was tinted in a warm red which then changed to a cool green, the individuals were later questioned about their emotion and general feelings. One person ‘complained of shortness of breath, air hunger and palpitation of the heart’ another spoke of ‘attacks of weakness, shortness of breath and fear of choking’ [Birren 1978 p.g.47]. Colours clearly bring out reflex actions that affect feeling and emotion although it is again subjective as one person may find calm in warm colours and another excitement. How we associate colours such as green with nature and red with fire then leads to deeper memories, which affect the attitude towards the said colours. Although it can be subjective how someone responds to a colour, there have been patterns of some colours generally creating one response, researcher Kurt Goldstein stated that the ‘equilibrium o the human organism is disturbed far more 7
Astrid Weguelin by red than it is green’ and that this knowledge can be used to the advantage of design, for example, for creative thinking spaces. Red is ‘inciting to activity and favourable for emotionally determined actions’ due to how it increases blood pressure, skin response and brain activity, whereas green ‘creates the condition of meditation and exact fulfilment of the task’ [Birren 1978 p.g.120] due to the relaxing effect it has both physiologically and psychologically, it allows for the ability to block out distractions and ‘concentrate inwardly. So if there were two rooms, the red one in which creative ideas can be formed and then the green room in which the ideas will be developed and actually tuned into something useful. So among all the other aspects of design such as layout, lighting, natural elements, positioning, colour is one of the most important because of the undeniable effect it has on mood in an environment. Before people are born they occupy a ‘safe, nurturing, responsive and physical environment’ in which they obtain everything they could possibly need, once having to provide for themselves they try to ‘create physical constructs that are equally satisfying’ [Kopec 2006 p.g.XVI] This is where architects and designers come in, through careful planning that is based around environmental psychology they attempt to make up for the ‘uncertain, messy, tiresome, crowded, dangerous’ aspects of life by creating a space that is comfortable, pleasant and pleasing to individuals. Yet to do this knowledge has to be known about how some environments can positively and negatively affect a person’s mood and behaviour. After looking at how certain layouts can cause stress, how poor usage of lighting and natural greenery in work spaces can cause sickness compared to how some work environments can create better work productivity due to how they use space, and most importantly how colour can have such a major effect on mood, it is clear that due to the human psychology, environmental design can massively manipulate people’s behaviour.
8
Astrid Weguelin BIBLIOGRAPHY REFERENCES Books Birren, F. (1978) Colour and Human Responses, New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Hornung, D. (2005) Colour: a Worshop for Artists and Designers, London: Laurence King Publishing Ltd Kopec, D. (2006) Environmental Psychology for Design, New York: Fairchild Publications, Inc Vilder, A. (2002) Warped Space: Art, Architecture and Anxiety in Modern Culture, Massachusetts: MIT Press Online Sources Carlson, L (2010) Getting lost in buildings, Architecture can bias your cognitive
map [Online] Association for Psychological Science (Updated 2015) Available at: http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/news/releases/getting-lost-inbuildings-architecture-can-bias-your-cognitive-map.html (Accessed 17th January) Haller, K (2013) Business office colour and design – the Google effect [Online] Karen Haller colour and design consultancy (Updated 2014) Available at: http://karenhaller.co.uk/blog/business-interior-colour-and-design-the-googleeffect/ (Accessed 17th January) Li, C (2013) What workers want. Can spending on a Google office make employees
happy (and more productive)? [Online] Venture Village (Updated 2015) Available at: http://venturevillage.eu/art-workplace-design-startup-culture (Accessed 21st January) 9
Astrid Weguelin
Parker, M (2013) Good office design can alleviate stress and increase productivity [Online] The Guardian (Updated 2015) Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/good-office-design-stressproductivity (Accessed 22nd January) Pert, A (2014) Build me up: How architecture can affect emotions [Online] The Conversation (Updated 2015) Available at: http://theconversation.com/buildme-up-how-architecture-can-affect-emotions-22950 (Accessed 19th January) Stewart, J (2013) Looking for a Lesson in Google’s Perks [Online] The New York Times (Updated 2015) Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/16/business/at-google-a-place-to-work-andplay.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2 (Accessed 22nd January) Imagery [1] Black Friday 2014,BBC News UK http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-30241459 (Accessed 20th January) [2] Leeds Trinity 2013, The Institution of Structural Engineers http://www.istructe.org/structuralawards/2014/categories/retailstructures/2013/trinity-leeds-gridshell-roof-structures (Accessed 20th January) [3] Bullpen 2007, AppsLab http://theappslab.com/2007/10/09/life-in-thebullpen/ (Accessed 21st January) [4] Google Offices 2008, e-architect http://www.earchitect.co.uk/switzerland/google-offices-zurich (Accessed 21st January) [5] Montcalm Interior with 2 Dogs 1994, LA Louver http://www.lalouver.com/html/hockney_bio_80s.html (Accessed 24th January)
10
Astrid Weguelin [6] Madejski Garden 2006, Lucinda Rogers http://lucindarogers.co.uk/illustration/victoria-and-albert-museum.php (Accessed 26th January) [1]
[2]
[3]
11
Astrid Weguelin
[4]
[5]
[6]
12