Architectural Psychology
Historically, it has been the role of architects,
planners, and designers to interpret the needs, wishes, and capabilities
of those who will use their buildings. But more often than not,
the architect's client (whether a developer, sponsor, or agency)
is not the end-user. The client may not even be an occupant. In
public facilities, those who manage the facility may differ from
typical users in education, mobility, and physical characteristics.
The "user" may be a prisoner in a jail!
Let's say you can identify a specific person or group as the user
and that this user is an alive and sentient being and is even
willing to be interviewed. Still, the user may not be able to
communicate their functional requirements to the designer and
the designer may really not have the means of "hearing"
what the customer is really asking for.
So who speaks for the visitor, customer, user,
or occupant? Perhaps BTeam is needed to identify, characterize,
quantify, and communicate the needs of users to the development
team, perceptively and correctly.
Making designs user friendly
Today, there is a need for specialized behavioral
sophistication in facility design to properly determine functional
and ergonomic requirements and to translate them into the language
of design and ultimately into bricks, mortar, and operating practices.
Making designs accessible to a diversity
of users
Universal access to public facilities is the
norm today, regardless of physical limitations, health status,
sex, or sophistication of visitors. Under these circumstances,
a developer needs to understand the specific needs, wishes, and
physical capabilities of the full range of users and the barriers
to the realization of their wishes.
Encouraging people to act wisely and
be nice
The design of the building should take the
behavior of users into account and the users' behavior, in turn,
can be modified to better suit the demands of the environment.
Undesirable behavior includes crime and vandalism, and also such
ordinary acts as getting lost in buildings. For these reasons,
specialists in behavior -- such as Behavioural Team -- are needed.
At what points in the cycle of development should Behavioural
Team be called in?
- Early planning: to establish the functional
requirements and basic specifications. What assumptions are being
made about the needs or wishes of users? Are these assumptions
realistic, are they wishful thinking, are they dour, or are they
Prozac speaking?
- "Translation": to help the design
team produce plans that actually do achieve an accurate representation
of the Functional Program; to see to it that safety, ergonomics,
and sensible amenity prevail.
- Design review: to examine development plans
before the concrete is poured. Are there safety hazards? Will
maintenance costs be low? Can users "figure out" how
to use the spaces? Is crowding under control?
- Start-up: to prepare "turn-key"
documentation, train staff in the new facility, and advise on
ways to minimize opening-week disarray of any kind.
- Post-occupancy fine-tuning: to confirm "building
performance" and identify solutions to operating problems.
In what type of building is Behavioural Team's
behavioral and ergonomic background useful?
- New or high-tech workspaces may be harder
for staff to adapt to than the old familiar premises. Often,
new offices are novel. The functions to be performed there may
be more complex, and they certainly will be more technologically
up-to-date. Staff services may be automated. For a variety of
good and bad reasons, executives and staff grouse about office
moves.
- Public facilities and retail spaces need
special care because of the variety of users and the complexity
of operations. Initial development costs and long-term operating
costs must be controlled while still ensuring public spaces meet
the needs of many segments of the population.
In the past two decades Behavioural Team staff have been called
upon to plan (and to provide solutions) for facilities both great
and small.
Settings we have served:
CN Tower
SkyDome and various stadiums and arenas
Meadowlands Race Track (world's largest!)
major rail stations, subway stations
major hotels
many libraries
homes
Roy Thomson Hall and other cultural edifices
in a life-raft in the arctic in February
Otis elevators
hospitals and nursing homes
Javits Convention Center, New York City,
CBC headquarters
a police communications center
nuclear power plants
A stadium concert by The Who
retail and banking outlets
naval warships
corporate headquarters
Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton
air traffic control tower
maintenance workshops
Banff Nat'l Park and many other natural and historic parks
nuclear fallout shelters, government and domestic
a small doughnut store
mail sorting center
museums such as the Canadian Museum of Civilization,
Ontario Science Centre, Royal Ontario Museum, etc.
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