Culture Concepts

At the end of the year, people from different cultures, otherwise dispersed sets of friends, for example, find themselves in the same place at the same time.  As people from different cultures gather, keep in mind:

• People from more individualistic cultures expect more privacy and are not as good at sharing (bathrooms, audio systems, etc.) as people from collectivistic ones. People from more individualistic cultures also more likely to want to, and to actually, change spaces by moving furniture etc., than those raised in collectivistic cultures.
• People from some cultures are more interested in their wellbeing while in a space, e.g., for example, being able to relax, than others, who can be more attuned to developing a space which sacrifices wellbeing to do some task well—for example, apportioning kitchen spaces to efficiently cook meals as opposed to allowing for tension free gatherings.
• Cultures can also vary in their support for novel design options, just as concern about cleanliness (and even definitions of cleanliness) can vary from one area to another.