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The anthropologist E.T. Hall
created "The Hidden Dimension" back in the mid 1950's
where he coined the term "personal space" and defined
distances based on human psychology. He noted that two
humans interacting in proximity of 0 to 18 inches are
intimate. From 18 inches to 4 feet there is a personal
bond. Four feet to 12 feet creates a social bond and
beyond that is a public space. This helps us to identify
how to design spaces so that people can feel
comfortable. The psychology behind design is intriguing
and should never be ignored.
How do you apply proxemics to your designs? Know your
purpose of your areas first. If it is a dance club,
people are expected to be intimate and so having a
layout that lends to this close proximity can
automatically give patrons the feel they expect. Other
designs are most definitely public. An office space
waiting room should always be as large of a space as
possible. Many times reception areas are cramped and
people feel that their space has been violated. Consider
a doctor's office where you may not be comfortable
sitting 5 inches from another patient. Especially if you
are sick or you may want to have a private patient
related conversation with your spouse.
When designing rooms in your home, proxemics are also
very handy. Wide open spaces can be seen as too public.
You want to keep all your rooms to personal and social
measurements. Otherwise the room becomes
impersonal and therefore, not useful to you. The last
thing you want is to invite friends over and the space
to detract from your personal interaction.
If a room is too large, it is often useful to use
partitions to create smaller, personalized spaces. Even
in office cubicles, having that personal space can allow
employees to interact with telephone-based clients more
intimately than they would if there was no partition and
they were looking at their colleagues all day.
The shape of the room matters. Square rooms feel less
crowded than rectangular rooms. However the larger the
room, the less effect shape has on the psychology of the
people in the room. Another consideration in a room is
noise. Especially when you are trying to lay out plans
for surround sound music such as in a media room, sound
and the way it interacts with the size and shape of the
room becomes important. If you are feeling cramped in
your bedroom space, perhaps your room is shaped like a
rectangle, or the furniture you have in there is laid
out in such a way not to give you enough personal space.
Worse yet, it could give an illusion of a rectangular
room even though it may be shaped as a square. Want to
create more intimacy in the bedroom? Try trading in the
King size bed for a Queen. Use soft lighting to create
the mood you want. Lighting can illuminate only part of
the room, creating an intimate space even if the room is
spacious.
Christopher Car
http://thebedroomspace.com |
