RDC Blog

Lenzholzer and van der Wulp investigated the ways that perceived temperature can be influenced in urban squares through spatial forms and materials.  They determined that “Dutch people experience thermal discomfort [feel too cold] when spaces are “too wide,” “too open” [spatial openness], and consist of “cold” materials” [appearance of materials].  This research indicates the importance of recognizing cultural associations to design. 

Sanda Lenzholzer and Nickie van der Wulp.  2010.  “Thermal Experience and Perception of the Built Environment in Dutch Urban Squares.” Journal of Urban Design, vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 375-401.

We now have a better idea why people purchase so many jasmine plants each year and wear so many jasmine-based perfumes.  Researchers have determined that the smell of jasmine has the same effect on humans as prescription medications that reduce anxiety.  Landscape architects creating calming gardens and people scent-scaping indoor environments can use jasmine in their practices to soothe people who will be in the spaces they are developing.

Olga Sergeeva, Olaf Kletke, Andrea Kragler, Anja Poppek, Wiebke Fleischer, Stephen Schubring, Boris Goerg, Helmut Haas, Xin-Ran Zhu, Hermann Luebbert, Guenter Gisselmann, and Hans Hatt.  “Fragrant Dioxane Derivatives Identify B1 Subunit-Containing GABAA Receptors.”  The Journal of Biological Chemistry, in press.

Knight and Haslam corroborated the findings of environmental psychologists, who have established the importance of workers’ control over their physical office environments.  The Knight/Haslam experiments compared various psychological factors in offices that were  “lean” (without plants or art), decorated by the experimenter with plants and art, by their users with plants and art, or by the users with plants and art and then redecorated by the experimenter:  “We examined the impact of these conditions on organizational identification, well-being, and various forms of productivity (attention to detail, information processing, information management, and organizational citizenship). . .  superior outcomes are observed when offices are decorated rather than lean. However, further improvements in well-being and productivity are observed when workers have input into office decoration. Moreover, these effects are attenuated if this input is overridden.”  The findings reported here indicate that organizations should provide space users with control over their workspaces: “employees . . . should be empowered to design their own workspace rather than having predetermined space configurations thrust on them.”

Craig Knight and Alexander Haslam.  2010.  “The Relative Merits of Lean, Enriched, and Empowered Offices:  An Experimental Examination of the Impact of Workspace Management Strategies on Well-Being and Productivity.”  Journal of Experimental Psychology:  Applied, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 158-172.

School cafeteria design is receiving increased research attention as the youth obesity epidemic broadens.  Researchers from Cornell have found, not surprisingly, that when fresh vegetables and salad items are more readily accessible to students moving through a cafeteria line, more are consumed.  Sales of certain salad bar items increased up to 300% when the salad bar was moved to a more prominent location in a New York state middle school.  These effects were measured over a one year period.  The salad bar was relocated 4 feet from a position against a wall to one near the cash registers.  This research was done by the Smarter Lunchroom Initiative at Cornell, which focuses on lunchroom design that encourages children to eat more nutritious food.

Laura Smith, Brian Wansing, and David Just. 2010.  “Convenience Drives Choice in School Lunchrooms.”  Experimental Biology Conference; Anaheim, CA.

Ackerman and his colleagues have completed an interesting series of experiments linking tactile experiences and social judgments/behaviors.  Their results show how significantly our sense of touch influences our worldview.  Study participants who reviewed resumes when they were attached to heavy clipboards were more likely to evaluate the experience described on those resumes as substantive than people who read the same resume when it was attached to a lighter weight clipboard.  The study finding that will have the most significant influence on place design is that negotiators sitting in soft chairs did not drive as hard a bargain as ones sitting on harder chairs without cushions.  The researchers conclude, “First impressions are liable to be influenced by the tactile environment, and control over this environment may be especially important for negotiators, pollsters, job seekers, and others interested in interpersonal communication.”

Joshua Ackerman, Christopher Nocera, and John Bargh.  2010.  “Incidental Haptic Sensations Influence Social Judgments and Decisions.”  Science, vol. 328, 5986, pp. 1712-1715.

Cognitive performance, and particularly memory, is improved when people are walking, and more specifically, when they are walking at their own pace.  These recent findings support the development of walking tracks or paths (both indoor and outdoor) at workplaces, schools, and healthcare facilities.  Circulation systems, in general, should encourage walking, to enhance building users’ mental and physical health and performance. 

Sabine Schaeffer, Martin Lovden, Birgit Wieckhorst, and Ulman Lindenberger. 2010. “Cognitive Performance is Improved While Walking: Differences in Cognitive-Sensorimotor Couplings Between Children and Young Adults.”   European Journal of Developmental Psychology, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 371-389.

Susan Rodiek and her colleagues have developed an extraordinarily valuable tool for people creating outdoor spaces for the elderly.  Research has shown there are significant benefits for seniors when they spend time outdoors (mood, sleep patterns, health), and this video series provides the information/guidelines needed to create spaces that the elderly will use.  Rodiek interviewed 1,600 people in 68 randomly selected assisted-facilities scattered across the United States to learn more about how the physical design of healthcare settings encourages or discourages the elderly from using outdoor spaces.  “The Value of Nature for Older Adults” also incorporates insights gleaned from recent research in psychology, gerontology, and design. Material is provided on 3 DVD’s.  The first “shows how access to nature and the outdoors affects quality of life for older adults, with information on research, health benefits, and interviews with leading experts,” the second “uses photos, sketches, and 3D models to show how building layout can impact outdoor use, and provides cost-effective solutions for improving outdoor access,” and the third “describes the main outdoor features that are reported by residents to impact their outdoor usage, and how these can be improved – such as seating, shade, and walkways.”  A full review of this material will be published in an upcoming issue of Research Design Connections.

Susan Rodiek.  2009.  “The Value of Nature for Older Adults:  People, Policies, and Places.”  Center for Health Systems & Design, Texas A&M, College Station, Texas.

Researchers have known for some time that familiar objects and places are generally preferred to unfamiliar ones, possibly because they indicate safety.  De Vries and her colleagues have investigated how this fondness is affected by mood.  They determined, not surprisingly, that people are more adventurous, and have less preference for the familiar, when they are in a positive mood than when their mood is negative.  This has implications for the design of places where people can be more expected to be in a negative mood (a chemotherapy center) than a positive one (a restaurant). 

Marieke de Vries, Rob Holland, Troy Chenier, Mark Starr, and Piotr Winkelman.  2010. “Happiness Cools the Warm Glow of Familiarity:  Psychophysiological Evidence that Mood Modulates the Familiarity-Affect Link.”  Psychological Science, vol. 21, no. 3, pp. 321-328.

Manning and his colleagues investigated “design features that satisfy or dissatisfy worshippers who attend Mass at a traditionally designed Catholic church and a modern Catholic church design.”  The modern church studied is laid out in a fan shape to increase interaction among members of the religious community, while the traditional church is laid out in a fan shape, so that worshippers had some view of each other.  The modern church also has a relatively large area where congregants can gather out of the weather, which the traditional church does not.  The sense of community was equivalent among parishioners at both the traditional and modern church:  “This was unanticipated as it should follow that with parish 2’s [modern church] explicit attention to community in its design intent, there would have been a higher connection between parish members.  For instance, the church is more available to the disabled and elderly, has larger interior gathering spaces, and has a fan-shaped arrangement of pews and visual focus on the alter consistent with ‘communal’ design.”  This study indicates the power of nonverbal communication by design elements and the importance of prior place experience.   The researchers conclude that “This study seems to indicate that traditional churches designed to house God may well foster communion with God and, in turn, other congregants.”

Kevin Manning, Nicholas Watkins, and Kathryn Anthony.  2009.  “The People or the Steeple?  An Examination of Sacramental Architecture Among Parishioners.”   Sacred Architecture, vol. 16, pp. 17-19.