What factors to keep in mind while designing spaces? Read to know
Know the key factors that affect productivity and well-being. Read to know about the factors to create spaces creatively.
Our mental space stands in direct proportion to our perception of physical space. Special cells in the Hippocampal regions of our brains are attuned to the geometry and arrangements of the spaces we inhabit.
Read on to see the key factors that affect productivity and well-being, and how designers harness these factors to program these spaces creatively. Well-designed spaces positively reinforce and address Safety, Social Connectedness, Ease of movement, and Sensory Stimulation. In addition, it has been found that the following 3 aspects greatly influence our built environment.
Read to know about the factors to create spaces creatively. Scroll below:
Factors to create spaces: Harmony
“Architectural Cues can reinforce the desired behaviours that we would like to see enacted in specific place types”-says environmental psychologist and interior designer Migette Kaup.
Harmony(or Decorum-as some architectural thinkers like to call it) is a key, albeit elusive principle that affects how spaces get perceived and inhabited. It is a complex mix of balance, proportion, symmetry and the rhythm of elements in the spaces we inhabit. Working from whole to the part, Harmony-or the lack of it begins to affect us at the city level itself.
In the design of cities and neighbourhoods, it has been found that developing mental disorders like depression and chronic anxiety is because of “social stress”, because of the lack of social bonding and cohesion in neighbourhoods. Urban planners nowadays use a principle called “triangulation”, where they arrange objects and artefacts in public spaces in ways that foster serendipitous interactions of people and spontaneous connections.
In interior spaces, Harmony manifests in the following main ways:
Size and shape of rooms, Ceiling height and volume Arrangement and shape of furniture Openings to views connecting the interior space to the environment
Factors to create spaces: Colour
Colour has a huge impact on the way a space behaves and the effect it has on the well-being of occupants. For example, Yellow, Green and orange- or “warm” colours, are thought to encourage communication and socialising. Purple, Deep Green, Red and Dark Green reflect a more pensive mood, but if applied in a minimal amount, can evoke a feeling of comfort.
Optically, surfaces in cool colours seem to recede, whereas warm colours, such as orange and red, appear to be closer. Walls rendered in cool colours make the space feel like it’s expanding outward, while walls in warm hues can make the same space feel as if it were contracting. Designers use colour to program spaces and zones contextually.
Factors to create spaces: Light
Light is one of the most important aspects that affect how we perceive space, and can dramatically influence the way it is utilised and how effective it is. The source whether artificial or natural, has a direct influence on our biorhythm and well-being.
Colour and Colour temperature(measured in Kelvin-K), play an important role in how the volume of the spaces get perceived. For Rain of Light, Yuan Architects used light as a tool to help workers navigate the ups and downs of their productivity. Occupants can easily move from areas bathed in pure, high-intensity daylight to spaces illuminated by indirect daylight.
The three main types of lighting that designers make use of- are ambient, task and accent.
Ambient light is the general illumination surrounding the environment or subject. It is indirect and soft, reducing contrast and shadows and is achieved through natural and artificial light sources, as well as reflection from surfaces.
Ms Kalinga