Artists’ Studios
The design of artists’ studios is currently getting a lot of attention. For example, Clare Dowdy of bbc.com (“Behind the Scenes: 10 Revealing Images of Artists’ Studios,” https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20220914-behind-the-scenes-10-artists-studios-through-the-centuries ) probes studios depicted in James...
Way, Way too Hot…
Stress of any sort is bad for our physical and mental health. That’s why The Space Doctors often cover topics such as aligning environments with the task at hand and personality and culture, for...
Online IRL trials
Abrams writes about online trials; her work indicates factors that legal professionals feel are important in physical courtrooms. Courtrooms “tend to feel grand and formal, bedecked with wood panelling, an American flag, and security...
How your office looks affects employment choices!
Ronda and de Gracia report that “aesthetic attributes in the workplace can be equally important in the decision-making process as non-aesthetic attributes and that aesthetic attributes deliver as much utility as non-aesthetic attributes in...
Decision… by smartphone
Song and Sela reports that “compared with using a personal computer (PC), making choices using a personal smartphone leads consumers to prefer more unique options. The authors theorize that because smartphones are considerably more...
Two Circadian Lighting Studies
Two recent studies probed how circadian lighting influences the experiences of older individuals Grant and colleagues investigated falls in care homes by elderly (mean age 81 +/- 12 years old) residents: some test locations...
Co-Working Space and Knowledge Spillovers
Roche and colleagues report that they “examine[d] the influence of physical proximity on between-firm knowledge spillovers at one of the largest technology co-working hubs in the United States. Relying on the random assignment of...
Different places different thoughts
Schertz and teammates report that they “measure[d] differences in thought content and affect throughout a one-hour environmental exploration of a nature conservatory and a large indoor mall. . . . while visiting the conservatory,...
Connecting to a Place
We build relationships with places just as we do with other people and those relationships can be good or not so great. Also, as with humans, there are advantages to positive relationships, the sorts...
Building in familiarity
Humans usually like to be in places that seem familiar to them—but familiar does not mean exactly the same as spaces previously encountered, just consistent with those other places in important ways, areas where...
What is Home-y?
Many a quest is underway to create a place where someone or other, or some group or other, will feel at home. Workplaces, restaurants, stores, healthcare facilities . . . you name it, even actual...
Designing for Bonding
Design can influence the bonds we form with other people, just as it can affect how attached we feel to a space. We’ll form more positive and lasting attachments to other people in certain...
Moving beyond Bonding to Trusting
Design can make it more likely that people trust each other in few very concrete ways: Design that eradicates bad moods will lay a strong foundation on which trust in others can build. Designing...
The Most Common and Important Errors Design Professionals Seem to Make
None of us are perfect, even people who design for a living. Unfortunately, design professionals regularly do the following things, which are oh so very un-good for the people using what they’ve designed: Signalling...
Garden Rooms
Margaret Roach reports on “garden rooms” (“The Art of Making Garden Rooms,” https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/10/realestate/the-art-of-making-garden-rooms.html) in The New York Times. She focuses on the development of the Sakonnet Garden, “a private landscape in coastal Rhode Island”...
Ah the Trees of Paris…
Trees matter, a lot. Looking at them helps us revitalise our tired brains and they help keep temperatures, and stress levels in check just for starters. Writing about trees in Paris, Vivian Song (“Admiring...
Do we zoom creativity out of us?
Brucks and Levav investigated creativity during Zoom-type sessions. They found via a lab study (involving participants worldwide) and a field study that “videoconferencing inhibits the production of creative ideas. By contrast, when it comes...
Headphones and Privacy
Mueller and colleagues share that “Office workers lately use active noise-cancelling (ANC) headphones to improve the acoustic situation by blocking unwanted sound. . . . Two studies were conducted to examine if ANC headphones...
Circadian Rhythms and Weight Gain….
There’s a new reason to install circadian lighting: weight management. Teruel and colleagues determined that “Disruption of the circadian clocks that keep the body and its cells entrained to the 24-hour day-night cycle plays...
Reduce stress – exercise outdoors!
Das and Gailey studied the implications of exercising in green spaces during the pandemic. They report that “Previous cross-sectional literature reports protective effects of outdoor exposure on mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. We...
Music and Pain
Howlin, Stapleton, and Rooney collected information from adults experiencing acute pain. They share that “Music is increasingly being recognised as an adjuvant [auxiliary] treatment for pain management. Music can help to decrease the experience...
Views outside help prevent us from getting lost…
New research confirms that being able to see outside as we travel through a building helps us keep from getting lost. Qi, Lu, and Chen report that “General hospitals in China always present significant...
Colour and Taste – Sweet and Salty
Wang and Chang studied colours used on popcorn packaging and report that “Four experimental package design colours (red, blue, yellow, and white) and three popcorn tastes (sweet, salty, and tasteless) were used to evaluate...
Late Night Sets
Wonder how talk shows seem to have all ended up with the same sets? Read Jacqui Palumbo’s article in CNN style, “How the Late Night Talk Show Set Became an American Icon” (at https://www.cnn.com/style/article/late-night-set-design-history/index.html). ...
Avoid that coffee before you shop?
Biswas and team report that “Consumers often shop online and in physical stores immediately after or while consuming caffeine. This is further facilitated by the increasing prevalence of coffee shops and also with some...
Flying high!
It may seem that planes, trains, automobiles, buses, and other vehicles that move you from place to place (and some that you’ve only seen on a screen somewhere, such as spacecraft), are designed entirely...
Plants, Biophilic Design and Technology…
Plants and Biophilic Design You’re very apt to see potted plants, real or artificial, in any transit hub because research has shown that when plants are present in public spaces, people are friendlier, which...
Ever wanted to take the Hotel decor home with you?
Hotels are, literally, our homes away from home. We spend time in them when we’re on vacation and having a good time, but also when we’re on business trips and trying like crazy to...
Waiting in Line….
Have you ever found yourself getting all agitated while waiting in a queue for tickets? Bouncing from one foot to the other while you’re waiting for the shop assistant to finish helping the people...
For the love of Robots…
Although more and more things around us are being automated, from hotel check-ins to whole dining experiences, that doesn’t mean that we necessarily like working with a robot or anything “smart”. Did you know...
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