Design Response

CHAPTER 6

DESIGN RESPONSE

So far, the literature and precedents reviewed identify the creative process and

cognition of architectural work to establish an understanding of perception, experience

and mental wellbeing of architects in the workplace. Further studies of architectural

precedents considered to be exemplary in understanding importance it plays in sensory

and emotional experience were also explored to align the qualities that inform these

experiences and perceptions. This cognitive process occurs instantaneously, taking

past knowledge and emotional experience to simulate an expected outcome, and these

multimodal experiences are arguably further enhanced or influenced by the integration of technology and their embodied experience through relative modes. The following

principles have surfaced from this exploration and use interaction design discourse to

summarise them into four possible elements in multimodal experience. These principles

will be used as a foundational approach in developing integrated design strategies that

discuss opportunities of technology and sensory experience in architecture and their

potential impact on supporting the mental wellbeing of an architect. These principles

are not prescriptive or final in nature and as the reviewed literatures indicates, results of such qualitative studies are likely influenced by many subjective qualities and a level of generalization is needed, instead they’re expected to act as a catalyst for the conversation

around the mental health of architects in the workplace.

Design Principles

Cues (environmental)

• Atmosphere and Mood (Looks at the ‘Pure’ qualities of architecture & experience,

tangible)

• Perceptual/Sensory Isolation (depriving or prioritizing sense(s) over the other)

Affordances (relationships and interactions)

• Behaviour & Response (Looks at the interpretation and response in behaviour,

feedback)

• Relationship with or to objects or people and space

Prompts (indications or notifications)

• Attention & Distraction (Talks about cognitive capacity and flow particularly fas-

cination and unconscious vs conscious)

• Change in or of agency, requires interaction or acknowledgement

Feedback & Feedforward

• Feedback loop of response and reflection • Interaction with space that indicates a change/response as a result or interaction

with space that informs an expectation for a response.

Design Aspiration

To illustrate and exemplify my research the following outcome proposes the integration

of 6 design strategies that explore the cognitive theory behind sensory experience and

emotional response in architecture. These strategies explore integrated design modes

that may have the potential to increase our own modalities towards conscious thought

and recognition of an individual’s mental wellbeing. Karklins and Mendoza (2016)

recommend strategies of early intervention as the most effective proposal towards mitigating the risk factors of mental health in the workplace, to which these design

strategies will respond. As an opportunity to explore an integrated methodology within

both practice and research, the design strategies will be situated within my current

workplace Plus Architecture. Reiterating Andreasen (2011) and Manlinin’s (2013)

comments that the creative processes is arguably one of the biggest contributing factors

to the discipline and mental health of architects, and furthermore is inextricably tied

to the cognitive processes of experience, this proposal will focus on aspects of creative

work that can be explored to identify interfaces between modes and modalities. The

additional contributing factors of mental health in practice that typically focus on the

psychology and culture are also considered within these strategies. The proposal aims

to provide a considered experience of moments and space through thresholds, public

and private space, communal space, isolated space, and functional or task-based space

that would be encountered in a typical day of an architect by using my own experience

as a narrative inquiry and empathic approach to establishing a context within the site.

The proposal is neither a new typology or a whole studio but rather the parts that have

been identified as significant in terms of sensory experience, narrative inquiry, and architectural space.

20m 100m

Figure 13: Site Plan - Diagraming My Daily Routine on the Way to Work (Mitchem 2019)

00. Site & Context

The proposal is situated in the design studio of Plus Architecture WA Pty Ltd where

I am currently employed. The site was selected for both relevance and convenience as

it represents the size of approximately 98% of the small enterprises (employ 20 staff or less)that occupy the architectural services industry in Australia (IBISWorld 2019) The

site also provides convenient comparison to my previous employment in other local

studios. Due to limitations and ethics of observation and surveying staff the research will use observations of my own experience to explore design strategies through the

following interfaces that were identified.

I consider my workday to start when I park my car at the state library, it’s part

of my habitual routine as I genuinely enjoy the walk to my studio even if I’m

running late or have meetings. I use the pronoun my because I think it makes

an important association with self and the ego of belonging to my identity. Plus

sits on the edge of Northbridge’s art and culture precinct where many Brutalist,

Art Deco, Federation, Victorian and Post-modernist exemplars still stand. These

buildings are occupied by schools of design, commerce and technology and each

with their own identity making the precinct diverse and interesting, and amongst

these building Plus is nestled in the ground floor of Perth’s first Protestant Hall (1901). The building sits among a small group of heritage buildings that remain

and is considerably polite to the street scape with a soft-shell white façade. As

I meander from the car park to the studio, I enjoy the shade of the trees, the

streets are a painted bright with colour & placemaking sculptures, building walls

have remnants street art, band posters and community notices.

As I approach the studio I’m always conscious of myself in this space as the

traffic is always at a stand still in front of the door allowing people to watch and observe me from their tinted car windows. Even though I know I’m being

watched I still have a sense of pride as I enter the building, it’s a window into who

I might be in their perception of myself.

Figure 14: Design Strateg 01 - Abstract Impression (Mitchem 2019)

01. A Door Handle – A Polite Greeting

In Pallasmaa’s (2012) book of essays The Eyes of the Skin, Mackeith describes Pallsamaa’s

work as a door handle, and being like the handshake to a building. The intimacy of the

entrance to a building has an ability to grasp the imagination and begin a narrative

with an observer. The strategy explores my experience upon entering the site, being

observed and interacting with the streetscape along the facade leading to the door. The

design of the strategy focuses on the interaction of these interfaces with an individual.

Approaching the entrance subtle cues in the ground material shift from the generic

block paving to soft brushed concrete, the colour remains similar, but the texture now

provides visual contrast. Shaping this textural cue is a tactile strip detail which politely

waits for chance encounters through interactive touch. An embodied experience as if

a passer-by on the street nods in a gestural greeting when the detail is active it softly

illuminates small portals within the windows of the façade acting like a gentle nod. The

portals are glimpses into the interior however slightly skewed for obvious reasons, they

peak the curiosity of an individual to contemplate the inner goings. These apertures

allow opportunities for further interaction with self and identity. The polite detail line

draws the participant toward the entry door, whether cognisant or not, where a formal

detail in the door handle presents a handshake. The affordances in design continue through the detail of these elements, even so within the handle which is significantly placed on one door leaf and not the other as unbeknownst to new visitors the second

door leaf is fixed in place permanently from past renovations. There is no detail of a handle to grab, just a simple flat rectangular shape, a symbolic design recognised as push rather than pull. Within this strategy a combination of conscious and unconscious

affordances in design elements, cues in the environmental change and prompts create a simple feedback loop in the act of a welcome. The front entrance experience becomes a

greeting to both strangers or familiar faces and supports the connection we might have

with place and identity. These are behavioural and psychological concepts that influence our perceptions and mental wellbeing as they inform our embodied experiences.

Figure 15: A door handle, a polit greeting - Door Elevation (Mitchem 2019)

Figure 18: Chance encounters - Perspective Street Elevation (Mitchem 2019)

Figure 17: Hello - Portal Window Elevations (Mitchem 2019)

1m

Figure 16: Contrasting Material Cues - Floor Plan (Mitchem 2019)

As I enter the front door a long corridor coerces my sight towards an ornate

grand arch doorway. Ornate details in the cornice, ceiling walls and skirting blur

the boundaries of their intersection and only further encouraging the eye down

the hallway. The marble floor tiles echo my footsteps up to the high ceilings, again I’m conscious of this sound because I associate it to when I hear people

entering the building and therefore know that any staff inside are aware of my presence. I quickly move through the hall to pass the threshold into the studio

hall as I anticipate catching the eyesight of other staff acknowledging someone entering.

Figure 19: Design Strateg 02 - Abstract Impression (Mitchem 2019)

02 - A Wall – Dissolving the in Between

A sense of anxiety falls into this space as it builds an expectation of judgement when

entering the main hall. On a day where someone is running late, this experience only

heightens the anxiety. On the other hand, the experience of the space for a new visitor is

generally one of astonishment with the level of detail overloading the sensory modalities,

and on reflection the ornate detail that covers the hall has a beauty to it the comes from the contrasting shadows and light that it captures. Using techniques in architecture

that deprive sensory modalities to simplify the experience a veil like wall brings about a

conscious cognitive process of experience. From the cornice to the skirting the walls are

canvased with individual fibres spaced ever so slightly apart so that the when entering the space ones perspective is subtly concealed into a minimal flat surface depriving the visual overload and calming the initial response. As the individual enters the space their

movement through plays a role in the experience and as they progress their peripheral

sight catches glimpses of the ornate details behind the veil. These glimpses through the

slight spacing only allow a small spectrum of the detail to be visible and then the fibres gradually dissolve the distant perspective. To heighten this interaction the space begins to

mimic the movement of the individual with the use of light behind the veil and filtering down to wash across the ornate detail behind. The light traces back and forth elevating

the perspective and experience. A familiar individual entering the space is reminded of

their presence still but through a gentle perspective that softens the experience in place

of the harsh sounds of footsteps, and a new individual is no more deprived of the first experience then before, instead the experience is more intimate. By isolating elements

of the architecture and only revealing them slowly the strategy effectively slows down the overload in sensory experience and allows you to consciously explore the constituents

and affordances in the space. Demonstrating that our movement between spaces has the ability to set our expectations and perceptions of the next space we encounter.

Figure 20: Disolving Threshold Detail - Perspective (Mitchem 2019)

1m

Figure 21: Focussed Sensory Experience - Section (mitchem 2019)

I spend the majority of my day at a workstation, I might go out for lunch, break

away from a meeting or casually chat at the high tables but generally speaking

my job is at a desk for the most part. At times this space is the most stressful place

I could be and at others I love the social interaction and freedom that it provides.

When I’m working corroboratively on projects I tend to move closer to the team

for convenience, however when I’m working on my own projects I notice I use my

headphones to focus especially when drawing or doing repetitive mundane tasks

and when there’s a lot of distraction happening around me. Sometimes I don’t

notice, but after periods of intense focus or work I lose the ability to socialise

from being isolated for so long. Sometimes I find myself drifting on too little things that I notice in my periphery, a common one being the ceiling details.

Pressed metal sheets line the entire ceiling and catch the daylight reflection. The detail is a four-leaf pattern in a square that is repeated over and over, the sheer

number and repetition is interesting and novel and highlights the imperfections

like dents or odd repairs to the ceiling…

Figure 22: Design Strateg 03 - Abstract Impression (Mitchem 2019)

03 – A Ceiling – Fascination and Flow

Heavy sighs and anxious tapping are being broadcast by frustrated individuals trying to

focus, others are oblivious with their headphones drowning out the background noise as

they work. Like an empathetic friend, a soft shell descends with a lightness in its material

creating an angelic and silent drift towards the stressed individual. It possesses layers

to its form in the shape of rings that ripple from its centre. These layers are flexible and provide volume, scale, depth and weight. An impromptu space is formed around the

individual shielding them from distraction and providing a space to focus whilst also

not entirely isolating them in a cocoon.. Whilst those individuals retire in sanctuary,

others are deeply imbedded in their work and a state of flow, not recognising the time spent has been cognitively taxing and long. Briefly over the tops of their screens in the distance as oft movement catches their eye, the ceiling ebbs and flows in a motion that is reminiscent of breathing in and exhaling, it’s fascinating and intriguingly organic

to watch with content. The Cognitive theory on attention illustrates concepts of how

we drift during intense focus and prioritize sensory monitoring based on the task at

hand to block out unrelated information to be efficient. It also outlines theory behind distraction which can be both disruptive and contenting. This strategy approaches the

interaction with the ceiling and task-based response to support an individual or group

by extension as a way of mitigating these stresses. The organic nature of the movement

uses a frequency that is universally embedded within us.

Figure 23: A hug from above - Perspective Ceiling (Mitchem 2019)

Figure 24: Strategy 03 Concept - RCP (Mitchem 2019)

Figure 25: Responsive Zones - Perspective (Mitchem 2019)

Figure 26: Adaptable Space Voids and Motion - Section (Mitchem 2019)

…further to this, I find that technology plagues my space now more than what paper used to, from my iPad, iPhone, Laptop, Display Screens, Keyboard, Mouse, USB

points, Task Lamp, Speakers, Telephone, Sit to Stand Desk and even a Laser Measure.

I interact with these devices or tools constantly yet none of them speak to the building,

they can speak to one another, just not to the architecture. The first thing I often do when I arrive in the morning is open the large wooden doors to the outside, as it helps

make my desk space more comfortable and then I fill a glass of water and my water bottle before sitting at my desk. I do both a full glass and a bottle because I often

forget to refill and it’s not until hours later that I consciously register that I should drink more water for my own health.

Figure 27: Design Strateg 04 - Abstract Impression (Mitchem 2019)

04 – A Habit – Efficient Comfort

Today’s workstations have come a long way from the drafting tables and technical pens

of the past and whilst hand drawing still plays a role in the process, most architectural

work is performed predominantly using technology. These interactions highlight a

significant interface between us and the work we do, and arguably represent a significant opportunity for device modes to not only extend our modalities in creative work as most

of them already have, but also extend our modalities into our physical environment

and affordances in architecture. My small rituals in the studio have built habits that are motivated by an endeavour for comfort and coping. Arguably for this to occur a spectrum

of comfortable and uncomfortable must exist whereby I cross a threshold that is consider

to be uncomfortable and change my environment to suit, however due to the nature of

our work it often becomes forgotten amongst other priorities, even when they benefit our own health mentally and physically. Whilst seated I’m interacting with multiple

device modes, a dominant one being physical touch. My chair holds and support my

weight and body stance, the keyboard and mouse translate touch into writing or gestural

actions. These points interact with biometric data constantly, they just aren’t required

to record or translate and act upon this information. This strategy proposes the use of

this information to communicate habitual notifications. Whilst seated the distant wall begins to produce a bloom of pigment. Over time whilst remaining seated the bloom

grows indicating changes in opacity and time, and its not until I stand up from my

chair that the pigment responds sharply and dissolves back to the pale wall. This bloom

represents an opportunity where our spaces can use sensory cues to prompt us using the

feedback of our device modes to act upon. Our devices already do this with alerts and

notifications but even the overuse of this format becomes ignored, this strategy explores the atmospheric qualities of architecture and art to express an empathic response to

notify us of our own behaviour which may be detrimental to our health.

Figure 28: Extending Modalities Through Interaction - Perspective (Mitchem 2019)

Figure 29: Visual Sensory Modility - Perspective (Mitchem 2019)

Most days by 3.00pm I feel the weight of the day begin to slow me down and take

the time to get up and make some afternoon tea. Its also around this time that an

adjoining business that shares the rear parking area begins to finish for the day, so when I prepare my tea I often people watch from the window pondering finishing at this time of day. The kettle boils, I pour the water and brew the tea leaves glancing

back to the window during pauses and taking in a moment to breath.

Figure 30: Design Strateg 05 - Abstract Impression (Mitchem 2019)

05 – A Pulse – Space to reflect

Wellness rooms, meditation rooms and quiet spaces like pods have seemingly evolved

out of necessity but this also highlights an attitude towards these spaces with the stigma

that exists in acknowledging and addressing stress, emotion and mental wellbeing

in the workplace. As a result, these spaces often become a box ticking exercise for

organisations to qualify in supporting their staff. These spaces are arguably necessary, as moments exist in our cognition that require contemplation and reflection on past events to make meaning. Whilst the previous strategies look at building conscious

processes of experience with a preventative nature, what happens when an individual

does recognise their wellbeing is at risk? It therefore stands that a space for an individual

to ruminate over their mental wellbeing is required. This space is simple, quiet and

sympathetic in material quality and lighting. The moment you enter the space the

sound fades away and an introspective process begins as the senses start scanning for

points of reference. The space is linear to draw attention to a warm stone wall that has a

reflection cast against its surface. The wall textures and lighting soften the space as the individual finds a position on the floor to relax facing the reflection. The floor is soft but conducive to touch. Interacting with the floor by placing your palms face down allows the space to observe you and visualise your state through the reflection that washes the wall with light. This reflection projects from a ceiling aperture down to a reflective pool that sits level to the floor, the only inclination it exists is by the thin separation in material and shimmering reflection. The water pulses a ripple causing the reflection to distort and dissipate against the wall in a way that uses the natural reflection to mimic how the space observes you. The more stressed, anxious or overwhelmed you are the

more erratic the pulses become, and this continues as an exercise in mirroring oneself

to consciously focus on their emotion until they feel that the can bring themselves to

a centred and calm state. This reflection helps to keep the individuals focus through a meditative exercise in mindfulness and awareness.

Figure 31: Reflective Pulse & Concious Emotion - Perspective (Mitchem 2019)

Figure 32: Reflective Interaction - Section (Mitchem 2019)

Figure 33: Integrated Opportunities - General Floor Plan (Mitchem 2019)

Figure 34: General Reflected Ceiling Plan (Mitchem 2019)