The need for Organised Complexity: Architectural Manifesto

Proximity Order O Variety r Legibility g a Memorability n Change i Diversity Transparency s e Prevention Predictability d Autonomy Complexity Reflection of Our Wellbeing:

The need for

in Architecture

Manifesto by Eunju Kim

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Mental

Health Physica l

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Social

“ We ’ v e l ear ned how to m ake a livin g, bu t n ot a lif e .

We ’ v e added y ear s to l ife, n o t life t o years.”

— Geo rge Carlin

Healthy environment must be a basic human right.

In this fast-advancing world of the 21st century, all people of this contemporary society must reflect on what it really means to live a healthy and fulfilling life.

Definition of health itself is common yet complex as it varies according to each individual whilst no specific standard of measure applies universally. However, by exploring the effect of environmental design in our mental, physical, and social wellbeing, we are able to build a better understanding of ourselves to provide improved design outcomes in our surrounding environment.

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Photo: Lucnix via Wikimedia Commons Public Domain https://mymodernmet.com/leonardo-da-vinci-vitruvian-man/

The Vitruvian Man

Who are we really designing for?

Real People

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The Real ‘International Style’: Organised Complexity Modern movement of the 20th century discovered great innovations and technologies which form the basis of urban environment today. However, as the search of international style drew focus on productivity and utility, the very purpose of our environmental design has been neglected – us. Ironically, as modern ideologies and theories sought for the very answer of a utopian city based on the idealistic man, the diversity and real intricate human values has been overlooked. Such influences continue to impact the contemporary society today as mental health issues are prominent in urban cities whilst sick building syndrome represent the uncomfortable physical environment. Meanwhile as health products and facilities are presented as commodity, social gap is ever increasing.

Through careful analysis of our human health, we discover that no universal solution can exist for a ‘correct’ design. However, the need for organised complexity is eminent as we understand ourselves in the lens of our mental, physical, and social health.

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Pattern recognition in our surroundings

QVermincksel. Quintessentialarchitecture. September 02, 2013. https://quintessentialarchitecture.tumblr.com/post/60006136608/stan-allen-on-luis-m-mansilla.

Stock Photo. 16, January. “The Amsterdam Canal Houses: 300 Years Old and Still Standing.” Professional Builder. January 16, 2020. https://www.probuilder.com/amsterdam-canal-houses-300-years-old-and-still-standing.

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Psychological pleasure in Anticipating Surprise Predictable forms or pattern evoke positive feelings as it has allowed human ancestors to identify their surroundings and plan ahead for survival.1 These include our ability to recognise and memorise objects and places that were beneficial to our health. Meanwhile, our ability to recognise our loved ones are so important that 65% of the neuronal structure of a newborn’s brain is responsible for the facial recognition mechanism.2 These patterns in architecture include rhythm, progression alternation, composition and symmetry which are also evident in nature as we perceived pleasure from biophilia.3 Such perceptions of recognisable patterns are encoded to associate with security, well-being and survival which result in the release of oxytocin, endorphins and DHEA to restrain our primitive ‘flight or fight’ nervous system, allowing to relax our body and restore our immune system.4 Therefore, objects and systems that are digestible and recognisable provide psychological comfort. However, this is beyond providing a simple repetitive mass production of unitised form, as repetition and boredom can induce stress.

Merrifield and Danckert’s study find that boredom generates stress as high cortisol level and increased heart rate greater to sadness was observed.5 Meanwhile, Colin Ellard monitored electrodermal response to the emotional excitement of participants strolling through an urban street, which he finds that novelty and change is integral in urban design as long and plain building facades cognitively disengaged the participants.6 As recognised in ‘collage city’, Rowe and

1,2,4.

Ritchie, Hannah, and Max Roser. “Urbanization.” Our World in Data. June 13, 2018. Accessed October 06, 2021. https://our-

worldindata.org/urbanization#number-of-people-living-in-urban-areas.

3.

Kellert, Stephen R., Judith H. Heerwagen, and Martin L. Mador, eds. Biophilic Design: The Theory, Science and Practice of

Bringing Buildings to Life. Hoboken, New Jersey: Jon Wiley & Sons, 2008.

5.

Merrifield, Colleen, and James Danckert. “Characterizing the Psychophysiological Signature of Boredom.” Experimental Brain

Research 232, no. 2 (2013): 481-91. Accessed October 01, 2021. doi:10.1007/s00221-013-3755-2.

6.

Jacoba Urist. “The Psychological Cost of Boring Buildings.” The Cut. April 12, 2016. Accessed October 07, 2021. https://www.

thecut.com/2016/04/the-psychological-cost-of-boring-buildings.html.

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Jacoba Urist. “The Psychological Cost of Boring Buildings.” The Cut. April 12, 2016. https://www.thecut.com/2016/04/thepsychological-cost-of-boringbuildings.html.

Kohlstedt, Kurt. “Ville Radieuse: Le Corbusier’s Functionalist Plan for a Utopian “Radiant City”.” 99% Invisible. January 01, 1970. https://99percentinvisible.org/article/ville-radieusele-corbusiers-functionalist-plan-utopian-radiant-city/.

“Can you store your special memory ?”

“Meet me at the Big Purse at 2pm”

“Oh yeah that cafe around the ugly corner”

4.

Jacoba Urist. “The Psychological Cost of Boring Buildings.” The Cut. April 12, 2016.

5. https://www.thecut.com/2016/04/thepsychological-cost-of-boringbuildings.html.

6.

Kohlstedt, Kurt. “Ville Radieuse: Le Corbusier’s Functionalist Plan for a Utopian “Radiant City”.” 99% Invisible. January 01, 1970.

7. https://99percentinvisible.org/article/ville-radieusele-corbusiers-functionalist-plan-utopian-radiant-city/.

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Koetter discusses how monetary approach of total design is deceptive as ideals of utopia was temporal.7 The modernist egalitarian ideals of utopia city represented as Ville Radieuse also neglected humanistic aspects with plain rigid block of buildings with wide straight roads only suitable for transportation machines. Therefore, instead of repetition of ‘an ideal style’, a diverse range of personalised human design is integral to providing psychologically exciting space.

Kevin Lynch’s criteria on ‘Imageability of cities’ also reflect the importance of legibility and memorability of cities.

He observes that ability to build a clear cognitive map is responsible in providing a sense of public safety and counteract the fear of disorientation8. Cognitive maps consisted of 5 key characteristics, which are paths, edges, districts, nodes, and landmarks.9 These elements allow people to construct images, assign personal meaning and emotional connection, reflecting our positive neurological effects of perceiving discernible and stimulating elements that allow implementation of various meanings.

Nevertheless, Lynch also understands that total control these elements are not required, or in fact impossible as the meaning and feeling of various urban elements varies across people. However, rather than merely producing such legible patterns, the focus is to create physical environments which allow people to implement identity and meaning through their personal experiences and emotional connection.

Such legible and memorable features create an attractive environment for the users. Therefore, environments must be designed to be comprehensive and complex, which is important in stimulating and heighten our physical senses and to enhance the quality of our life.

7.

Rowe, Colin, and Fred Koetter. Collage City. Basel: Birkhäuser, 2009.

8.

“Review: Kevin Lynch – The Image of the City.” Review: Kevin Lynch – The Image of the City | The Mobile City. Accessed

October 03, 2021. http://themobilecity.nl/2009/05/08/review-kevin-lynchthe-image-of-the-city/.

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Lynch, Kevin. The Image of the City. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press., 1990.

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Wewack General Hospital How do you define invisible qualities?

Modern Hospital Taylor, Stephanie, Dr. “Buildings are our best medicine.” Lecture, CBISE Survival of the Fittest, Online, Sept. & Oct., 2021.

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Physical Health Effects in Transparency Despite having passed scientific enlightenment era and utilitarian approach to design, qualities of a hygienic environment are yet to be implemented in many hospitals today. Apart from the cold atmosphere of a hospital settings in attempts to maintain sterile environment and account for functional needs of hospital staff, poor control of indoor air qualities has been providing further health complications in an environment that is designed to heal. Through Dr Stephanie Taylor’s experience in Papua New Guinea, she witnessed patients in seemingly non-hygienic environments of open outdoor hospitals generally had fast recovery times and did not catch any infections.10 Meanwhile in Boston teaching hospital, she witnessed numerous cases where vulnerable patients suffered from infections during the recovery of their initial diagnosis. These observations have led her to discover strong correlation of 40-60% relative humidity associated with decreased infection rate.11 This study has been further supported from recent findings from Harvard-MIT research in role of indoor climate in covid-19 outcomes on the number of emerging cases. In dry indoor air conditions, defences for respiratory immune system decrease while virus containing air droplets evaporate to float longer in its lighter state.12 Therefore, she highlights the importance of monitoring indoor variables to understanding its effect on our respiratory health.

Transparency and visibility of indoor variables are therefore crucial in understanding how our body perform. Meanwhile standards for both building and medical term are essential as environmental qualities has direct links to our physical health.

With growing concerns for environmental sustainability, rating systems that reward positive building performance and energy efficiency has emerged. However, standards and practices

10,11.

Taylor, Stephanie, Dr. “Buildings are our best medicine.” Lecture, CBISE Survival of the Fittest, Online, Sept. & Oct., 2021.

12.

Taylor, Stephenie, Dr, Akiko Iwasaki,, Dr, Walter Hugentobler, Dr, and Adriano Aguzzi, Dr. “Relative Humidity of 40-60% in

Buildings Will Reduce Respiratory Infections and save Lives.” 40to60RH. May 14, 2020. Accessed November 03, 2021. https://40to60rh.com/.

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Pathogen, virus particles in our environments

PREVENTION

DIAGNOSIS

The best medicine

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TREATMENT

concerning our health has been lacking. International WELL building institute aims to change this by incorporating both the performance of buildings and the health of occupants.13 Whilst implementing these measures and certificates, they understand the complexity of these strategies whilst maintaining holistic approach to occupants’ health and the urban environment.

Such measures and design must be implemented to counteract the increase of infectious and autoimmune disease that affect the long-term health of people in urban developments. In Australia, one in third of the most expensive disease groups are preventable and are greatly associated with environmental factors.14 Despite this clarity, currently only 1.5% of the health spending is dedicated to prevention.

15 One can only imagine the large sum of financial savings that can be contributed for research into other disease where cure have not yet been found. Before doctors can serve to heal the sick, design can provide the best medicine of prevention.

13,14.

Crawford, Mark. “Healthy Place, Healthy People and the Rise of Social Sustainability.” Lecture, CBISE Survival of the Fittest,

Online, Sept. & Oct., 2021.

15.

https://fare.org.au/wp-content/uploads/Preventive-health-How-much-does-Australia-spend-and-is-it-enough_FINAL.pdf

Department of Public Health, La Trobe University and the Australian Prevention Partnership Centre., June 2017 Preventive Health: How much does Australia spend and is it enough? Accessed Oct 07,2021.

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Proximity and Interaction

‘The Fourth Wall’

Peter Bennetts “Gallery of Melbourne School of Design University of Melbourne / NADAAA John Wardle Architects - 1.” ArchDaily. https://www.archdaily.com/622708/melbourne-school-of-design-university-of-melbourne-john-wardle-architects-nadaaa/55382202e58ece7357000040-melbourne-school-of-design-university-of-melbourne-john-wardle-architects-nadaaa-photo.

14 Doud, Matt. “Council Post: How To Make An Open Plan Office Work At Your Company.” Forbes. July 19, 2019. https://www.forbes.com/ sites/forbesagencycouncil/2019/07/19/how-to-make-an-open-plan-office-work-at-your-company/?sh=7d2fc9886f5f.

Social health in Proximity and Control Places that allow easy interaction with diverse range of people will allow us to develop better understanding of each other whilst forming valuable experiences. Proximity effect is identified by Leon Festinger through his research experiment in observing the friendship of MIT’s marriedstudent housing complex. The results provided a strong correlation of proximity with friendship as 65% of friends lived in same building, 44% next door and 22% two doors apart.16 Additionally, building features that forced residents to come across each other increase their popularity. Meanwhile, units with direct entrance from street without access to dormitory tend to have less than half as many friends from the complex as they had no neighbours. Therefore, by providing spaces of opportunities for interaction, relationship was easier to form.

However, spaces to build better social bond is beyond just simple proliferation of interaction spaces.

Provision of privacy and control for individuals were an integral factor in increasing their willingness for social interaction. Bernstein and Waber’s analysis on ‘anatomy of collaboration’ through tracking sensors found 70% decrease in face to face interaction as the firms switched to open plan office. With lack of control in program and personal space, colleagues tend to increase their efforts to abstain unnecessary interaction by creating an ‘fourth wall’. 17 By avoiding eye contact and eschewing away background noises, workers had to control their senses to focus on their tasks.

Overtime, such collective behaviours become natural as interactions become less so. Therefore, provision of various level of program, privacy and control is required in building a safe environment for people to share their space, time and thoughts. Similarly, William H. Whyte state the importance of

16.

Schachter, S. Leon Festinger. National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoirs. 1994.

17.

“The Truth About Open Offices.” Harvard Business Review. September 02, 2021. Accessed September 11, 2021. https://hbr.

org/2019/11/the-truth-about-open-offices.

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Urbanism, Planum. The Journal of. Vimeo. November 08, 2021. https://vimeo.com/54006451.

The Municipal Art Society of New York. https://www.mas.org/initiatives/advocates-for-privately-owned-public-space/.

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providing opportunities declare autonomy.18 These include the simple act of adjusting furniture locations for their needs and finding spaces to occupy and form personal space. By giving people control, people can form a sense of ownership and security whilst personal value of the place develop.

Diversity and complexity are two key characteristics of us humans, which must not be forgotten when designing the space that serve them. Jane Jacob recognises the very core quality of a city is its capability to provide for everybody, which are only achieved when created by everybody.19 Whilst she acknowledges the need to design for, the need to give control to people are emphasized. Complex order is a consistent finding in her book ‘Death and life of great American cities’, as she describes the various aesthetics and programs of people induced streets. Here she outlines how ‘pretended order’ is dishonest and ignorant of the real and complex nature of our society. Rather than ideologies and theories, Jane Jacobs discovered such qualities through her personal observations of collective behaviour in various streets of the city. Whilst modernist ideologists were blinded by their utopian dreams, Jane Jacbos, was able to see real results from the streets.

18.

Whyte, William Hollingsworth. The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces. New York: Project for Public Spaces, 2018.

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Jacobs, Jane. The Death and Life of Great American Cities. London, UK: Jonathan Cape, 2020.

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Franzi draws, Diverse crowd of people. stock.adobe.com

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We are all People thus we are all Different The meaning of architecture varies from person to person with great complexity. As explored in the perception of our mental, physical and social health, our tendencies towards healthy design qualities are represented as intertwined network of various threads. Therefore, no true universal language can exist in designing for our intricate characteristic of our well-being. However, by unravelling these threads we draw a better understanding of the possibilities of patterns that may emerge to reflect who we are. We see our subconscious desire for a fine balance between the expected and unexpected. Our psychological wellbeing sought perception of legible patterns and forms while anticipating elements of surprise which stimulate our senses. Our physiological well-being was directly influenced from process of sensorial stimulation, while some effects were insensible.

Our sociological health improved with proximity and visibility to one another, whilst lack of privacy and division in open space decreased natural social interaction.

As our surroundings reflect the way we think, feel, behave, and interact, it simultaneously influences our perception of being. Therefore, we the need for our environment to constantly evolve and adapt, just like us. Reflection of the relationship of our wellbeing with our surroundings displays a clear quality of organised complexity. In this fast-paced modern society, “We expect too much of new buildings, and too little of ourselves” as Jane Jacobs points out.

As designers in our own ways, we must reflect and learn to allow for diverse qualities of our human nature to safely inhabit and interact with one another. In return, our human values will reflect in our surrounding environments.

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