Healthcare Environmnet

  In the sixteenth session of the class my friend and I had a presentation of human response to healthcare environment. I mostly focus on the aspects of health care design like light, furnishings and art work.
  As I read in different resources the main factor that should be considered in designing a healthcare environment is stress. All design elements must be in purpose of reducing stress. Patients and staff in hospitals both have stress, so the design must help them to overcome this stress. Having view of nature receiving sunlight, make use of appropriate artwork and comfortable furnishings all can be beneficial in decreasing stress. 

 Fig 1. Patient Room. Cohen Children's Medical Center of NY. Francis Cauffman Architects. Watercolor

  It was very interesting for me when I came up with the fact that in the past hospitals and prisons were very similar to each other. They both had the same kind of buildings. But today there are two different kinds of places. But still both are places for healing, one mentally and the other physically.

  The fact is that human being’s health related to both psyche and flesh. A healthy person must have healthy mind and body. So in designing a healthcare environment not only high technologic facilities must be included, providing relaxing and positive environment should be considered too.

  For example good patient’s room gives them the chance to be able to have control over their room. Having control over temperature and access to internet could make patients more satisfied. Positive distraction is a critical part of hospital design, there must be something that distracts patients from focusing on their illness. Furthermore using art works in a way that patients can see them from their bed would be beneficial. They should have a chance to choose art work that they want to see. All these can help healing process.

Fig 2.Patient Room. Long Island Jewish Health System. P.Chow Architect. Watercolor

Art is something that enriches our life, so it is good to use it in all aspects of life.

                                       

Fig 3. Main Lobby. Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford. Perkins + Will. Watercolor

References

Fig 1, 2, 3. Retrieved from http://artanddesignstudio.com/architectural-illustration-healthcare-12.html

 

Future schools

   In this session we talked about educational environment. As we all know there are different types of schools like private, public, art school or military school and so many others. Also, each country has its own rules for education.

                                                 Fig 1.

 But beside all these, the intriguing part of the class was the You Tube video that was about a robot which was teaching instead of a teacher in a class.  I think that in future it is possible to have robots as teachers or maybe there will be no teacher at all. Now online education is become common in universities, so maybe in the near future schools become online too. It is possible that in the future there will be no school, no university, no books, and no students.

                                                 Fig 2.

  Maybe by the use of technology the world without school, school as a traditional term will be possible. I myself will be so happy to live in the world without school. Learning but not in the traditional way, having a lecturer and students who are just listening, will be no more exist. Learning without stress and choosing your own style of learning. Possibility for individuals to learn in their own pace. Don’t you think it would be so exciting?

Reference

Fig 1, 2. Retrieved from http://www.richard-wilkinson.com/2009/06/04/the-future-of-education/

Anxiety

   In the thirteenth and fifteenth sessions of the class one of our classmate who is working on dormitory design for her thesis had a lecture of anxiety in educational environment.

  Dormitories are places that should be designed in a way that give students relax feeling after so much stress at college.  But most of the time dormitories design does not fulfill this task. Design of the rooms with no private section for individuals increase the level of stress. Also, lack of enough storage can have negative impact on students.

  I myself never have had an experience of living in dormitory. But whenever I went to my friend’s room at dorm I wondered how they can live there. Living with different people with various lifestyle and characteristics is hard. Some were organized and some were messy it is hard to adapt yourself with others.

                                            Fig 1. messy dorm bedroom

   I think make use of proper furnishings and trying to provide private space for each student in their room can improve their quietly of life. Using adjustable furnishing will able students to change decoration and personalize it in a way that they like. Also, providing enough storage can reduce their stress.

                                           Fig 2. Enough storage

   I believe that all people need a place that can be called room for loneliness. It is a place for people to think, to pray and to be able to spend time with themselves. Providing this kind of places in dormitories could help students to refresh their mind. Hence, they can work more efficiently. Don’t you think it is a good idea?

                                                Fig 3. Room for loneliness

References

Fig 1. Retrieved from http://funiculifunicula.wordpress.com/2007/11/07/
swarthmore-dorms-willets/

Fig 2.  Retrieved from http://designstyleguide.net/community
/blog/dorm-room-design/

Fig 3. Retrieved from http://www.flickriver.com/photos/tags/
cmwdbw/interesting/

Home

  In the twelfth session of the class my friend and I had a presentation about residential environment. I mostly focused on cultural differences and meaning of home. When I was looking for resources for my presentation I had a hard time finding general characteristic of American homes. It is related to the fact that America has many subcultures and all these affected the form of homes in America. 

                                            Fig 1.

  As I realized in my research, one of the most important characteristics of American homes is individuality, which is the significant factor in American culture. Individuality in home design refers to considering internal privacy at homes and specialization of function which means that each room has its own function. Whereas in other cultures they may use one room for variety of functions. Also there is no sign of religion concern in American homes. You cannot find any special characteristic that is based on the religion.

 Then I searched for Iranian home architecture. Iranian people are introverted and this characteristic transferred to their architecture.  It may comes from Iranian mysticism that is mostly concentrates on the inner self than the material world. The key factor In Iranian traditional homes was privacy. Privacy from the outside and in inside.

                                           Fig 2. Traditional Iranian house in Kashan

  In order to achieve this goal, architectures divided house in two sections: inner and outer. The inner part devoted to the members of the family who lived there and the outer part devoted to the guests and strangers who are invited or visited. Also concern of religion can be seen in some parts of the design like using different doorknockers for men and women that made different kinds of sounds.

                                           Fig 3. Inside Iranian traditional house

  In general, architecture and especially home design are influenced by culture and so it has variety. What is so common between people around the world, without concerning their cultures and religion, is their attachment to their homes. It is the strong feeling that may remain with us even after leaving the place.

                                           Fig 4.

   I experience it myself nowadays. I just left my home three months ago and now everyday when I wake up I still have the image of my old bedroom in my mind. It takes me some time to remember where I am and recognize the new bedroom that now I live in. Finally the question is as a designer, how can we make use of this strong feeling of human toward a space? How can we design a place or space with feelings?

References

Fig 1. Retrieved from http://www.haynsworthrealty.com

Fig 2. Retrieved from http://www.simoontravel.com

Fig 3. Retrieved from  http://www.travelpod.com/photos/6/Iran/Kashan.html

Fig 4. Retrieved from http://www.homeinsurancefacts.com/

People & Weather

   In the eleven session of the class we learned about human response to weather. Human response to climate mostly is related to adaptation. People adapt their lifestyles, food and architecture to the weather that they live in. This may not be very obvious nowadays, because of the use of technology. Technology is changing the world dramatically in terms of globalization. But in the past, climate really impacted people’s lifestyles. In countries like Iran that have a variety of climate conditions, adaptation to the weather is really obvious in the architectural style and the kinds of food and clothing people wear.

                                      Fig 1. Traditional costume in North of Iran

  For example, the North of Iran is full of forests and it is near to the sea. Hence, it has a humid climate. People mostly build their homes with wood which is the most available material. The main crop is rice. Sea foods are available, so rice and seafood are main dishes. South of Iran has a hot climate and most of the parts are desert. Therefore, the architecture and food adapted to that climate. 

                                            Fig 2. North of Iran 

   Human always responded to the environment that they live in and try to find a way to be able to adapt in that climate. Architecture in the South of Iran, especially in desert part has the most genius architectures. Buildings are built in a way that they are cold in the hot summer without using any cooling appliances, just by locating summer rooms in places that receive less sunlight. 

                                           Fig 3. South of Iran architecture

  Iran is a country with different climate condition, so in winter just with one hour flight you can go to the South from North and visit the beach. You can experience two seasons at the same week. So these differences in climate require various kinds of lifestyle and architecture to get the best of the situation.

                                          Fig 4. Kish Island in winter

                                          Fig 5. Tehran in winter

References

Fig 1. Retrieved from http://www.parstimes.com/women/traditional_costume/

Fig 2.Retrieved from http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Middle_East/Iran/West/Gilan/Rasht/photo354816.htm

Fig 3. Retrieved from http://a-budding-architect.blogspot.com

Fig 4. Retrieved from http://meganima.blogspot.com/2006/12/kish-island.html

Fig 5. retrieved from http://www.ee.ryerson.ca/~rjavaher/Iran.htm

Aging

  Aging is an inevitable part of human life. Although nowadays scientists are working on combating aging, but there is still no way of escaping from it. So it is better to provide senior citizens sufficient facilities in order to give them a better life.

                                            Fig 1.

   There are some diseases that mostly occur with aging like lack of vision, hearing, sense of smell, and so many others. So by these changes in the human body we need some considerable alteration in living environment. Some factors that could be mentioned are: using round furniture, increasing ambient lighting and so many others. According to the National Safety Council (NSC) falls is the most common health problem for elderly people due to poor vision. So making use of sufficient light can prevent many problems.

                                               Fig 2.

 After we talked about aging we saw a documentary of an old photographer Bill Cunningham who works for the New York Times. That was an interesting movie. The guy had an attractive and unusual personality. He has been taking photos in the New York streets for so many years. What was really interesting for me was his strong passion towards his career. The fact that he wasn’t paid for his work made him a free man. 

                                                        Fig 3.

   At the end of the movie when director asked him some personal questions, that I think that was the peak of the movie.

                                           Fig 4.

  The guy asked him if he has ever had a romantic relationship in his life. It took him some minutes to answer and then answered no. He continued to say that he had never given a thought to it. He was persisting that he is not regretful of his decision. I was shocked. Despite all the prosperity that he gained in his career, he has lost something important in his life.
  I felt that he was not satisfied with his life although he did mention. He had a deep sadness in his eyes. Therefore, I came up with the question that what is the measurement of success in life? Is he a successful man? Is success bring happiness to our life or not?       


References

Fig 1. Retrieved from http://healhty-care.com/men-cant-stop-aging-but-aging-might-not-be-the-problem/

Fig 2. Retrieved from http://www.bocahomecare.com/behavior-changes-seniors

Fig 3. Retrieved from http://www.seat42f.com/bill-cunningham-new-york-poster.html

Fig 4. Retrieved from http://watchmovieinhd.com/watch-bill-cunningham-new-york-online-free/

      

Color

  In this session of the class we talked about sound, light and color. The subject of the color was the most attractive part for me. Light and color are somehow connected to each other. It is the light that enables us to see colors. 

                                             Fig 1.

  We experience color both physically and emotionally. We experience colors physically by the use of visual sense and emotionally by various perception of colors. Individuals have different perception of colors related to their memories and experience. Also, colors associated with different meaning. People in different cultures and countries may have various interpretation of the same color. Each country has its own national color and people have emotional attachment to that color. Hence, the flag in each country resemble their national color.

  I remember that when I went to China the overuse of red in clothing and decoration was interesting for me. Our tour guide told us that in the past, red was the color of empire. So, ordinary people did not have the permission to use that color at all. After revolution it became their national color and also became popular in design and clothing, as well as we see it in their national flag.

                                          Fig 2.

 In my country red is associated with the certain region in North West of Iran. I do not know the reason, but whenever someone like red or wears red clothing people recognize him to that area.

 However, turquoise, which is used mostly in tiling historic buildings  has certain meaning for us. Especially it used in mosques in Iran, it deliver the spiritual meanings with itself. So, I believe the memories of color have the most powerful effect on our psyche and impact our reaction to colors.

                                          Fig 3.

References

Fig 1. Retrieved from http://members.peak.org/~jeremy/bigfun/html_color_chart.html

Fig 2. Retrieved from http://www.picturesofchina.net/China-flag.JPG

Fig 3. Retrieved from http://www.culturalnomad.net/