Cultural Meaning + Spatial Identity:
Observing Public Space + Behavior Settings
Arch 3711 // Lecture 04.2
ANNOUNCEMENTS
RECITATION: Check-In #1
Spatial Syntax + Site Context
05.1 Lecture: Guest Lecture – Kristine Miller
Cities On Water Study Abroad
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Design through the Lens of Equity:
Equity in our Urban Environments
Arch 3711 // Lecture 05.1 – Guest Lecturer: Professor Kristine Miller, PhD
ANNOUNCEMENTS
05.2 Lecture: Paper 1 Final Due
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OVERVIEW
+ General Comments on Paper 1 Drafts
+ Moodlemania Running Wild
+ Behavioral Concepts
+ VIDEO: The Social Life of Small Urban
Spaces – William Whyte, 1988
+ Body Exercise // Free Writing
+ Observing Public Space
CRITICAL PAPER 1 DRAFT COMMENTS
Avoid anecdotal evidence
Beware the first person narrative (I think)
Cut the FLUFF
The importance of Topic Sentences
Make sure you substantiate your Thesis
Finish STRONG
APA Citations + Bibliography
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05.2 Lecture: Paper 1 Final Due
CRITICAL QUESTIONS + RESPONSES
For Weeks 4/5 Readings
Due every other week
At least two posts/responses
CRITICAL QUESTIONS + RESPONSES
For Weeks 4/5 Readings
Due every other week
At least two posts/responses
CRITICAL QUESTIONS + RESPONSES
For Weeks 4/5 Readings
Due every other week
At least two posts/responses
CRITICAL QUESTIONS + RESPONSES
For Weeks 4/5 Readings
Due every other week
At least two posts/responses
How do we make the professional language more understandable?-- Section 5 We always hear professors say that our
diagrams can be more clear, there is a certain way that how we should represent our ideas professionally. Architecture drawing is quiet
different than art drawing… My point is, we do all these thing and designs in a professional way, just like we are creating our own
language that only people in our field can understand. … Brown mentioned in the book Mutil-cell analysis that we usually need two
types of program documents. One have visual details that for the designer and another quality render for the clients. He agreed that is
very hard to put them together and let them work equally. The clients will not understand the detail documents and the designer can’t
design from a nice looking render. My question is, it there a way that we can make the details readable for the clients?
The House as Symbol of the Self- Section 11 The article The House as Symbol of the Self discusses how our society use their
homes to reflect their personality, as well as how they would like to be perceived. …I think that this speaks true to the overall
personality of America - that we must be different enough to be considered our own person, while not too different so as to become an
outcast. I had never thought of this in terms of our houses, but it makes even more sense in the article's argued context of our houses
reflecting those personal conflicts within us.
One question that comes to mind when I consider how our personalities influence our homes, is if that influence could be reversed.
That is to say, if our personality is reflected by our houses, then who is to argue that our homes don't influence our personality? I think
that this becomes more relevant as people settle down with families and start actually owning property, since it is then that one's
personality is almost only shown through what they own, like their property and house. …
Re: The House as Symbol of the Self- Section 11 I think you make a very interesting point, that our homes may influence our
personalities. For me, this is very true. Living in a dorm for the first time last year was a struggle. I do feel that the brick walls, banged
up furniture, and generally dirty-beyond repair look of the room impacted how I felt. I did my best to clean and decorate, but there was
only so much I could do with so many limitations. So from personal experience, I do think the idea that our personalities influence our
homes can be inversed, and very easily too.
CRITICAL QUESTIONS + RESPONSES
For Weeks 4/5 Readings
Due every other week
At least two posts/responses
ANNOUNCEMENTS
05.2 Lecture: Paper 1 Final Due
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
OVERVIEW
+ General Comments on Paper 1 Drafts
+ Moodlemania Running Wild
+ Behavioral Concepts
+ VIDEO: The Social Life of Small Urban
Spaces – William Whyte, 1988
+ Body Exercise // Free Writing
+ Observing Public Space
Concepts: Cultural Relativity
- Cultures must be judged by their own
internal criteria
- Cultures must be understood within their
own context
- Such understanding provides perspective
on our own cultural patterns & ways of
thinking
Concepts: Etic & Emic Approaches
Etic & Emic Approaches
Etic = the professional perspective
Emic = the native perspective
-The two concepts derive from the
linguistics terms (phonetic alphabet)
- phonetic- how sounds are
described objectively by
professional linguists
- phonemic- how sounds are
made by native speakers
Etic = the professional perspective
Emic = the native perspective
Concepts: Behavior Setting
Behavior Pattern-a stable pattern of activity &
place/ a recurrent activity- a standing pattern of
behavior
1. a particular layout of the environment-
the milieu
2. a congruent relationship between the two
synomorphy
3. a specific time period
(Roger Barker, 1968 from Lang Reading)
Representing an activity, person or
organization
Located in time and space
Culturally defined
Concepts: Personal Space
Personal space –an area with
an invisible boundary
surrounding the body into which
intruders may not come
(Sommer, Personal Space: The Behavioral
Basis for Design?)
Concepts: Privacy
A process of regulating access to the self -
importance of cultural differences-
(Altman & Chemers p77)
Concepts: Crowding
Image: James Cridland/Flickr
A feeling resulting from too little privacy,
and associated with a lack of control over
the environment
(Altman 1975, Rapoport 1977)
MSN
Concepts: Territoriality
Territoriality- Claiming ownership or
occupancy of a space or area
-
Occupancy claim
Legal claim (Western idea)
Farm in Mali
Concepts: Marking
Marking- Staking a claim to a territory by tagging
(Becker, 1978 in Lang 147)
Concepts: Prospect-Refuge
A theory that addresses our biological inheritance as both
predator and prey, suggesting that we seek
simultaneously to have
a. maxiumum visual access (prospect) and
b. protection from the view of others (refuge)
(see Jay Appleton, The Experience of Landscape,Wiley 1975)
Concepts: Affordances
Affordances
-the physical properties of an object or
setting that allow it to be used for some
overt activity
(James J Gibson 1979 in Lang p80)
VIDEO: The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces
William Whyte, Observations 1970s, Video 1980s
EXERCISE: Personal Space
Free Writing Exercise
The golden bricks of knowledge versus the structure of &
generalization
Background: Two Approaches to Knowledge
Difference between the making of knowledge and the need to apply
it
Traditional Social Scientist’s Perspective Typical approach of designers
Social Science vs Design
Difference between
the making of knowledge and the need to apply it
The golden bricks of knowledge versus the structure of
relationships
Background:between information
Two Approaches & generalization
to Knowledge
Difference between the making of knowledge and the need to apply
it
Traditional Social Scientist’s Perspective Typical approach of designers
The golden bricks of knowledge versus the structure of relationships
between information &
generalization
Difference between
the making of knowledge and the need to apply it
The golden bricks of knowledge versus the structure of
relationships
Background:between information
Two Approaches & generalization
to Knowledge
Difference between the making of knowledge and the need to apply
it
Traditional Social Scientist’s Perspective Typical approach of designers
The golden bricks of knowledge versus the structure of relationships
between information &
generalization
Difference between
the making of knowledge and the need to apply it
Architecture 3711:Environmental Design & the Sociocultural Context
Background: Two Approaches to Knowledge
Traditional Social Scientist’s Perspective Typical approach of designers
The integration of bricks and structure
Observation of Public Spaces: Factors in Observation
Elements in Environmental Behavior Observations
Who is Actor
doing what Act
with whom Significant others
in what relationship Relationships
aural, visual, tactile
olfactory, symbolic, etc.
in what context Sociocultural Context
situation
culture
and where? Physical Setting
props
spatial relations
From Zeisel Inquiry by Design, (2006) p 124
Constructing a Thatched Roof in Shirakagawa Japan (photo by JWR, 210)
Observation of Public Spaces: Factors Affecting Observation
Consider:
Vantage point
Interference/
Participant Observation
Documentation
Time & Cycles
Expectations-
-Whyte- 30 ft2 of seating per
1000ft2 of plaza
- Space Syntax- was it predictive?)
Constructing a Thatched Roof in Shirakagawa Japan (photo by JWR, 210)
Observation of Public Spaces: Factors in Observation
Consider:
Vantage point
Interference/
Participant Observation
Documentation
Time & Cycles
(Expectations- Whyte
30 ft2 of seating per 1000ft2 of
plaza)
Constructing a Thatched Roof in Shirakagawa Japan (photo by JWR, 210)
DISCOVERY!
Observation of Public Spaces; Behavior Traces
Recording Devices
Annotated diagrams/ maps
Drawings
Photographs
Counting
What to Look for
By-products of use
Adaptations for use
Displays of self
Public messages
Context
From Zeisel Inquiry by Design, (2006) p 124
Constructing a Thatched Roof in Shirakagawa Japan (photo by JWR, 210)
Mali: Millet Farm from the air
Observation of Public Spaces; Behavior Traces
Products of use
Adaptations for use
Displays of self
Public messages
Context (rules, conventions, etc)
Constructing a Thatched Roof in Shirakagawa Japan (photo by JWR, 210)
Examples of Observation Studies: Behavior & Traces
Constructing a Thatched Roof in Shirakagawa Japan (photo by JWR, 210)
Examples of Observation Studies: Observing a Bus Stop
Diagram
What do you see documented
here?
Sequence, gender, Different variables Comments
apparent
race/ethnicity?,
Constructing a Thatched Roof in Shirakagawa Japan (photo by JWR, 210)
Examples of Observation Studies: Observing a Bus Stop
Diagram
What do you see documented
here?
Sequence
Gender Different variables Comments
Location
Interaction
Constructing a Thatched Roof in Shirakagawa Japan (photo by JWR, 210)
Examples of Observation Studies: Annotation
Constructing a Thatched Roof in Shirakagawa Japan (photo by JWR, 210)
Examples of Observation Studies: Annotation
Constructing a Thatched Roof in Shirakagawa Japan (photo by JWR, 210)
Examples of Observation Studies: A Quick Hand
Constructing a Thatched Roof in Shirakagawa Japan (photo by JWR, 210)
Examples of Observation Studies: Study of Mann
Constructing a Thatched Roof in Shirakagawa Japan (photo by JWR, 210)
Examples of Observation Studies: Study of Mann Courtyard
Constructing a Thatched Roof in Shirakagawa Japan (photo by JWR, 210)
Architecture Court Study: Young, Asseselstine,Hutts & Steigler, 1975
Student Project Work - Urban Courtyards
Gather/Loiter
)
Nicole Sjternsward, Andra Zerbe & John Karlen, Calhoun Square & Block E Study, Fall 2013
Student Project Work - Urban Courtyards
McNamara Alumni Center Minneapolis Central Library
Quinn Feller, Evelina Knoedel & Austin Young, Macmara Center and Central Library Minneapolis Fall 2013
Student Project Work - Urban Courtyards
Occupancy
)
Shawn Halvorson, Caitlin Dippo & Rah Riley, Butler Square & IDS Crystal Court, Fall 2012
Student Project Work - Urban Courtyards
Cozy Hannula, Elizabeth Hendrickson &Wen Zhu: Global Market & United Noodle Factory Study, Fall 2012
)
Student Project - Urban Courtyards
Cozy Hannula, Elizabeth Hendrickson &Wen Zhu: Global Market & United Noodle Factory Study, Fall 2012
)
Student Project Work - Urban Courtyards
Global Market United Noodle Factory
Cozy Hannula, Elizabeth Hendrickson &Wen Zhu: Global Market & United Noodle Factory Study, Fall 2012
)
Student Project Work - Urban Courtyards
Number of People Entering the Two Theaters Gathering Spaces in Lobby Areas
at 5-minute Intervals between 6:00 and 7:30 PM
Guthrie Theater State Theater
)
Max Dickson, Shawn Gaebel, Caitlin Roberts Guthirie and State Theaters Study, Fall 2012
Graduate Student Work: Waldorf & Montessori
Classrooms, 2009
Activities on Chairs
Activities on Rugs
Floor Activities
Feet on Floor
Shoes & Jackets
Lighting
Location of Activities
Time
)
Amanda Severson, Observation Study: Montessori Classroom GD1, Spring 2009
04.2 LECTURE TAKEAWAYS
+ Activity in public places is Related to the
body in a fundamental way
+ Observation of people is complex, but
different methods allow focus on particular
behaviors or traces of behavior
+ Documentation of behavior must be
carefully done so that you have data that is
useful and that you can reliably analyze
+ See Lecture Online for another Student
Example
Study of Northrup Plaza, 2005- Honors Section
Bridgett Ayers-Looby, Claire Antelman, Ward Davidson, Julia Hill, Sarah Steadland
