Everything in the world has an impact on people. Every person one meets, every location one travels, and everything one see affects how one behaves as a person. Architecture has a significant impact on how people behave. Human behaviour may be significantly impacted by architecture. The surroundings, the design of the buildings around them, or the fact that they are in foster care may all affect how humans unconsciously modify their behaviour. Every decision an architect takes helps to create a certain atmosphere. When designing, architects integrate form, surroundings, human character, and function to express the goal their client desires. Architecture also helps in developing good habits.
The purpose of Architecture | Developing Good Habits
Architecture’s goal is to make its users comfortable through an appreciation of environmental psychology, a field that has received little attention in the modern day. Before learning more about how architecture affects behaviour, it is important to comprehend what environmental psychology is. Environmental psychology examines how people interact with their surroundings. Long-term effects include the sustainability of the environment and municipal development.
The Relationship Between Architecture and People
Buildings has an impact on our behaviour and provide information about the people who stand behind them and what is within them. A large part of this is determined by a building’s inside. While offices with doors demand more solitude, open office spaces promote collaboration and communication. The presence of several windows and natural light might improve one’s attitude. An architect can create a design that will have the intended impact when a structure only sometimes has it. Culture, profession, personality, and function are all communicated via architecture. Different building styles used by many cultures have produced recognisable visual characteristics. As human behaviour is influenced by everything a person is exposed to, the architecture of any particular culture reflects and influences that culture.
Impact of Architecture on People
In addition to having a large-scale impact on society, architecture may also have a significant effect on an individual’s life. The design of the environment and the finishes on the materials may all affect the well-being, disposition, and productivity of its users. People who work in well-designed settings have been demonstrated to be more productive, have fewer sick days used, and are overall happier with their jobs. It is difficult to quantify the emotional impact that well-designed architecture has on people. But everyone has experienced entering a location that just seems perfect. It appeals to you on a deeper, subconscious level in addition to being useful. Designing for functionality is vital, but it’s also necessary to draw on those feelings since they both relate to the sensation of experiencing architecture. It involves a link between the user and the area itself on an emotional level as well as intellectual comprehension.
Factors Affecting Human Behaviour through Architecture | Developing Good Habits
1. Colours
Given its strong emotional influence, colour is a crucial component of design. Our relationship with space is reflected in it. According to research, colours may alter the physical and unstable reactions of the body, including blood pressure, heart rate, sweating, respiratory system, and even the patterns of the brain waves.
2. Natural lighting
Natural Lighting evokes feelings and a sense of location. Due to its effect on enhancing the spaces and enhancing human wellness, it is one of the most significant parts of architecture. The absence of natural light makes one feel alone and cramped, which can cause stress and sadness.
3. Green Areas
It has been discovered via study that having access to nature improves sleep, boosts productivity, lessens stress and anxiety, boosts happiness and lessens negative emotions, fosters pleasant social connections, and creates a feeling of life. The inclusion of green spaces in the living area should be taken into consideration by architects since it appears that green spaces have a significant impact on psychological effects.
Three elements are essential to a perfect place:
- unity (a feeling of harmony between people and their surroundings inside the space and its purpose),
- legibility (easy access for all users without becoming lost in the area)
- and mystery (the desire to learn more about the surroundings).
These all directly or indirectly affect human behaviour and help in developing good habits in people. Clean and neat spaces provide a good outlook of space, making people maintain decorum. There are several methods by which architects may advance their profession and adapt to the shifting demands of contemporary society. This also results in the character development of humans and improves their way of living.
Designs and equipment attract us to specific ways of interacting with and utilising them, just as spatial features encourage certain activity patterns. Vandalism, incorrect usage, and other phenomena like dilapidation sometimes have structural reasons. Such effects can be avoided if design fosters a strong feeling of responsibility and a good emotional relationship with locations. As a result, the How, Where, and Why of any residential and building project should be thoroughly considered and addressed. Environments where we live or work can also represent our personalities. If such processes take place, we start to feel responsible for the places we live.
Images
- Alamy Stock Photo. Streets of Vancouver. [Photography]
- A21Studio. The Chapel by A21 Studio. [Photography]
- Carl Martin. Benesse House, japan – Courtesy of Tadao Ando. [Photography]
- https://wallpapercave.com/singapore-airport-wallpapers. Singapore Changi Airport. [Photography]
Online sources
- The hidden ways that architecture affects how you feel (no date) BBC Future. BBC. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20170605-the-psychology-behind-your-citys-design (Accessed: December 26, 2022).
- Trivedi, A. (2022). Psychology Of Architecture: Impact Of Spaces On Our Behavioral And Emotional Patterns | The Decor Journal India. [online] Available at: https://www.thedecorjournalindia.com/architecture-eye/psychology-of-architecture-impact-of-spaces-on-our-behavioral-and-emotional-patterns.
