Title: Greening Modernism by Carl Stein (affiliate link)

URL: Greening Modernism by Carl Stein (affiliate link)

Purpose: Greening Modernism’s author, Carl Stein, makes a case for a more unified and holistic architecture that reaches a sustainable synergy through building reuse, with particular attention to the balance between the qualitative aspects of science and the more effect-driven aspects of utility and human experience.

Merging the Finite with the Wisdom of Occupant Experience

This beautiful book, Greening Modernism (affiliate link), encourages readers to take on the finite nature of natural resources, as they may serve as impetus to design buildings which offer occupants more meaningful human experiences. In his discussion, the author Carl Stein, highlights the relationship between occupant and building — where “limitation” can be used to re-frame design problems, and thus, lead to more holistic and cooperative design solutions that invite occupants to connect with their environment in ways that meet today’s environmental challenges while still offering, what Stein calls, the “authentic human experience”.

Often emphasized in this book is the notion of how the authenticity of experience is frequently missed due to our lack of awareness regarding the finite nature of that which surrounds us: the environment, its resources, and the energies which buildings utilize (for their demolition, construction and operation). I agree with Stein as he eludes to the notion that authentic experiences are hard to come by these days, as there is an epidemic of “devalued experience”, which may be a by-product of the lack of awareness that our resources are, in fact, limited.

As you may surmise, Greening Modernism offers a narrative that will lead you through the strategies, relationships and consequences of how to “build” sustainably for our time, complete with color images that often serve to reinforce the links between what we need to do, and what has been done.

Energy, Restraint and Smart Reuse: Beyond ‘Buildings as Objects’

As one delves deeper within Greening Modernism (affiliate link), Carl Stein invites his reader to look beyond ‘given’ systems of analysis — to question what already exists, to decipher what will be required to meet human need, and to weigh architectural design strategies to find new and smarter ways to both preserve and reuse resources.

Astutely, Carl Stein investigates the interrelationships between ‘quantified analysis’ and ‘subjective effects’ with such questions that weigh the thought process of decision-making between specifics like the importance between a “5% increasing cooling load [versus] a visual connection to the outside world”. (Stein, 192) Thus, through both its big-picture and detail-oriented lens, Greening Modernism is an insightful read in that it juxtaposes architectural design’s larger challenges with specific scenario-based solutions and applications, so you can see how truly sustainable and holistic architectural design thinking might play out.

Building Systems and Controls That Interconnect Rather Than Divide

As an architect, reading Greening Modernism (affiliate link) will be time well spent. It offers strategies to tackle both the simple and complex with the intent of keeping building occupants in touch with what is most important — achieving a more sustainable architecture and way of living where, through occupant behavior, they never lose ‘touch’ with that which surrounds them.

For instance, Carl Stein explains how automated and manual building control systems may serve different purposes when each is taken to its extreme. And as such, each scenario has caveats as well. The fully automated building system that self adjusts and self corrects may be more efficient in real time, but as Carl Stein explains, it may further disconnect building occupants from their environment, in turn, making them lose touch with the cause-and-effect relationships between their building, its operations, other occupants and the larger surrounding environmental context. (Stein, p. 215)

In the end, Greening Modernism (affiliate link) presents a way forward where sustainable design becomes more than just about efficiency and quantitative analysis — Carl Stein, instead, suggests how meaning can be further developed within architecture, particularly when that architecture has been designed in true synergy with the environment, not for the sole purpose of saving limited resources, but to also design buildings that are truly worth experiencing.

To learn more or to buy Greening Modernism (affiliate link), please click here. (affiliate link)

Review by Maria Lorena Lehman, Founder of Sensing Architecture

Citation:
1) Stein, Carl. Greening Modernism: Preservation, Sustainability, and the Modern Movement. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2010.

Disclosure: Please note that the book entitled Greening Modernism was provided to me for free by the publisher for the purposes of this book review publication on Sensing Architecture. For more information, go to Sensing Architecture Disclosures

© 2008-2011 Sensing Architecture by Maria Lorena Lehman

The sign on the door doesn't look good, pushing heavy doors doesn't feel good, and both can leave a negative impression upon your building occupants.
Image: gruntzooki | Flickr

The other night as I was approaching (to enter) a restaurant, a group of people happened to be exiting. And as they were making their way through the main doors, one of them exclaimed (with a lot of passion in her voice), “we had to eat a lot of food to be able to push these doors open” — the doors were just “so heavy“.

As it became my turn to enter, it also became my turn to hold the door and I quickly discovered just how right she was in her observation.

While this was a good restaurant…There were some lessons to be learned here.

As an architect you must make a concerted effort to go beyond the visual and aural senses — for, in the restaurant design that I recently experienced, it would have helped immensely if the designers had made their entrance/exit “gateway” feature more than just look good…because despite their best efforts to do this, once occupants interacted with the doors, their negative perceptions reflected badly upon the restaurant and their dining experience.

So much of architecture is a touch-based and tactile experience. Just think of how many times your occupants “touch” something (architectural details) while experiencing your building design.

It may help to actually walk yourself through their journey, while paying particular attention to what their sensorial journey will be like. For instance, what do they hear within each spatial zone of your design? What do they touch? …whether to open a door, pull up a chair, turn on a light switch, lean against a wall, hold a handrail, and so on? Think about how each architectural zone transitions into the next, and about what core points you intend to make in each within your design.

The First and Last Thing They Remember

Not only is it important to understand the sequence of the way your architectural design impacts your occupants through their journey, but it is also good to think about where within the sequence they experience those things. For example, the extremely heavy doors within the restaurant that people experienced became the first and the last thing that those restaurant goers had to contend with during their dining experience at that place. What kind of message do you think that sends to them, especially if this was their first and last impression?

Now, if you are trying to make a bold statement, then it may be wise to work within your designs by juxtaposing different sensory modalities. Perhaps slightly heavier doors are purposely set there to create a certain atmosphere and expectation within the occupant before they experience the full breadth of an interior space. But be careful, making a statement too bold may create the opposite effect that you are aiming for.

Thus, when you are working to get all of the architectural detailing just right, do not overlook (or take for granted) the most simple and obvious within your architectural designs. You may often find that it is within these “details” that many designs (which may have otherwise been good), simply fall short or are otherwise ruined. So, again, do not overlook the details — and I am talking about the ones that are most simple and obvious. Think beyond what might look good to also incorporate how it will actually feel within the overall experience of your design. For, even building details can have strong and long-lasting impact on your entire overarching building design, either positive or negative.

In the end, create your architectural details to give your building occupants the experience that they need, while all the time trying to surpass their expectations.

Please Tell Me What You Think

I would really like to get your feedback on my post today, so please leave me a comment in the form below. And if you enjoyed it, make sure you share it with your Twitter and Facebook followers by clicking on the “re-tweet” and “like” button at the beginning of this page.

© 2008-2011 Sensing Architecture by Maria Lorena Lehman

Image: D'Arcy Norman | Flickr

Architects often look at where their occupants travel within their building, what makes them decide to go wherever they are going, and what behaviors they engage in once they arrive. But what actually happens to building occupants as they move through your building? Does the speed at which they move through your building have impact on their experiences while they are there? And upon how those experiences are remembered?

In a recent research article published by Science Daily, it was cited that the Society for Neuroscience studied and found evidence that “activity in rats’ memory-related brain areas varies with how quickly they move to explore their environments”. (1) So, for our purposes, we can begin to deduce that the speed at which a subject moves, can alter their memory of the setting within which they moved. (1)

Here is a slightly more detailed description of why this happens in the first place:

“They found that the pathway associated with storing and consolidating memories was most active when the animals moved slowly. At faster speeds, the balance shifted from these circuits to circuits bringing in info from the outside world.” (1)

Speeding Your Occupants Up Versus Slowing Them Down

So, within your own building projects, how might you go about designing for the way in which your occupants move? And what about your design solutions might benefit them as they engage in their real-time activities within your building?

First, you must ask yourself how you would go about slowing them down versus speeding them up as they travel to and fro within your built environment. For instance, might putting in a sloping floor impact their travel speed and behavior? Might there also be impact if you changed the material composition, color or pattern with which the floor is made? And by juxtaposing the rising and declining slopes, while also transitioning between flooring materials, might that serve as a “friction” or “smoothing” process that would yield different occupant travel speeds?

On the other hand, you could take a more generalized approach, where perhaps, a change in lighting color, strategically positioned architectural features, or a certain amount of contemplation or learning space might serve to give building occupants more to sensorially take in, and thus, causing them to linger. Whereas having a more subdued design fabric that is more goal-oriented and efficiency-based might make occupants move about more quickly.

Of course, this all could be taken to an uncomfortable extreme — if perhaps an architectural space has a superfluous amount of design activity that becomes too busy, and in fact, overwhelms occupants.

The Journey Your Occupants Take and The Memories That Form

In the end, speed of occupant travel really impacts the behaviors that they engage in once within a space, thus impacting the benefits they get from those behaviors. Subsequently, memories are formed, and as the Society of Neuroscience study implies, the way in which they are stored is now thought to be determined significantly by their motion and speed.

So, how can you as an architect begin to apply all of this to your work?

Perhaps within your designs you can re-assess the overall intended function that you are planning to hone in upon within your designs. Then, you can assess what role memory will play both while your occupants are engaging in their behaviors and once they have left the space. For instance, will learning be a key component while within your space? If so, at what spatial and experiential points within your design do you want your occupants to learn? How will you get them there? What will they do while they are learning to help them with memory formation (which is linked with learning)? And how will you design for the way in which they leave?

As a preliminary step, I would recommend assessing whether it be beneficial for your occupants to engage in a more exploratory travel experience within your building, or a more targeted goal-driven one. Think about how much they might need to absorb while they are there, and what they should remember once they have left. Then think of ways that you might design for all of this — floor slope, feature materials, lighting colors, goal-driven versus contemplation space, and so on.

In short, think about what your occupants actually engage in while within your building, then think about their “motion” while engaging in those behaviors — both of these will impact what they remember, and that may very well push your architecture from being simply good, toward being great.

Please Tell Me What You Think

I would really like to get your feedback on my post today, so please leave me a comment in the form below. And if you enjoyed it, make sure you share it with your Twitter and Facebook followers by clicking on the “re-tweet” and “like” button at the beginning of this page.

——–

© 2008-2011 Sensing Architecture by Maria Lorena Lehman

image: Manky Maxblack | Flickr

As you design your building, do you ever think about what will remain “standing” both physically and in the minds of those that experience it in the future?

Yes, buildings weather and must pass certain “tests of time”, but do you ever consider whether your building will be worth “saving”, or will even be in use as time passes? It has been said that “[i]t takes a lot of money to build a building, but it doesn’t cost that much more to get it right”.

Thus, you should think about how to gain the most “design leverage” to ensure that your architecture will not only “stand” in the future, but will also be of value to those that experience it.

What Makes a Building Stand the Test of Time?

Eventually as time passes, you will reach a point in your career where you will need to expand, preserve or even tear down a building as occupant’s needs change or even as zoning or codes change. Needless to say, it can be quite tricky if you are the architect who must resurrect or modernize the “old” to give way to the “new”.

So, what is your design philosophy when tackling this set of challenges? How do you integrate the collective memory of the people who have experienced the old? And then turn around to rise above the collective expectations of those that want their “site” to receive that proverbial “facelift”?

Of course, there is no one-size-fits-all answer to architecturally exploring, integrating, deconstructing, demolishing or preserving what once was into what will become. However, one ideal goal might be to reach true architectural innovation that brings a site’s potential forward so architecture can leap toward elevating the lifestyles of the people it serves.

It is your job as an architect to pay attention to what came before, with much attention to what is needed now — and how you will rise to the needs of occupants in the future, with your foresight today.

Designing a building that stands the test of time takes much ingenuity and insight. But in the end, it seems that great architecture usually resonates with its occupants not only in their everyday individual memories, but within their collective memories — which are shared and passed on — as they contribute to overarching cultures.

Please Tell Me What You Think

I would really like to get your feedback on my post today, so please leave me a comment in the form below. And if you enjoyed it, make sure you share it with your Twitter followers by “tweeting” it using the re-tweet button on this page.

© 2008-2011 Sensing Architecture by Maria Lorena Lehman

One way to Juxtapose A Door/Corridor cliché
Image: Andy Miah | Flickr

I recently read an article by Seth Godin who describes a very powerful writing technique where an author takes a popular and widely used cliché, points it out in his or her work and then writes about its exact opposite. When done cleverly this can produce a very powerful result whether an author is trying to stir humor, thought, emotion or even trying to change a reader’s belief or behavior.

As architects, we should take a cue from this author’s “gem”.

For example, the way many architects spec doors and corridors in a building design is one type of architectural cliché you’re probably used to seeing. You know — the type of door with “typical” dimensions, hardware, materials and so on.

But what would happen if you pointed this type of cliché out in your design and then immediately juxtaposed it with its complete opposite? What would you create?

If done well, your solution would make for a remarkable occupant experience. Such a juxtaposition would surely redefine what you and your occupant think a “doorway” can do. Also, you would remove those overused clichés that pollute and weaken your designs as they emerge as unnecessary.

Make your occupants re-experience what they take for granted by asking yourself what it is you take for granted. Give both you and your occupant a fresh lens.

Please Tell Me What You Think

I would really like to get your feedback on my post today, so please leave me a comment in the form below. And if you enjoyed it, make sure you share it with your Twitter followers by “tweeting” it using the re-tweet button on this page.

© 2008-2011 Sensing Architecture by Maria Lorena Lehman

Image: wauter de tuinkabouter | Flickr

Great architecture exists as a rich conversation between critical parts. I know that is fairly basic — but when you start to consider all of the parts that go into a building it sometimes can become muddled as to which parts are most important and some may be forgotten all together.

Rich Balance for the Visually Impaired Occupant

I recently came across a great model by which to think about architectural design balance. Yes, balance is more that just a visual experience. So, to take this a step further lets explore what it would be like to achieve great architectural balance to best accommodate the visually impaired occupant.

By considering how to design for an occupant that puts less emphasis on the visual sense — it becomes clearer just how important balance is for good architectural design. In this example, there are three main parts that need to be in meaningful dialogue and, thus, balanced: they are aesthetic, function and economy. Now, by removing the visual aspect to our hypothetical design project, you as an architect, may begin to think of each in new ways: (1)

It is interesting that aesthetics for a visually impaired occupant may mean that you design more variation using pleasing acoustic, textural and even olfactory stimuli. Similarly, functional requirements may mean that you pay attention to flooring and other material textures, aural stimuli or even renewed wayfinding techniques. (1)

Now — balancing the budgetary requirements means that you must wisely use the budget to provide an array of useful, practical and meaningful building features to not just accommodate the visually impaired person — but to take them on a stimulating experiential architectural journey. (1)

Hence, balancing without the visual sense in play should give you a mind-shift so your designs are not only more accessible but are actually more integrated and fully dimensional architectural works.

When Something Feels Balanced

Balance means more than just getting the physics of your building to aesthetically and structurally “hold” — both on the drawing board and on the construction site. Architectural balance means designing for all the senses so that your built environment yields a rich architecturally designed fabric that meets more people’s needs.

When something “feels” balanced its pieces and parts seem to need one another to “stand up”, their conversation becomes an orchestration. Hence, the experience of such a design becomes a pleasure because of its comprehensive beauty and inherent rhythms.

Balance may seem simple on the surface, but in reality it can be quite challenging and complex to truly achieve. But when it works, there arises a most beautiful equilibrium state.

Please Tell Me What You Think

I would really like to get your feedback on my post today, so please leave me a comment in the form below. And if you enjoyed it, make sure you share it with your Twitter followers by “tweeting” it using the re-tweet button on this page.

(1) The Equilibrium of Appropriate Balance and Econo-Functional Aesthetic Balance.

© 2008-2011 Sensing Architecture by Maria Lorena Lehman

Image: kamikazecactus | Flickr

Early on in my architectural education, Paul Klee inspired me when he wrote that “movement underlies the growth and decay of all things.” I think this quote is so true on so many levels — at whatever level of architectural expertise.

I am paraphrasing here but, I can remember this quote coming alive for me as I understood that a point “grows” to become a line just as a column “grows” to become a wall. At its most basic level, this seems to be a simple notion, but there is much to learn by stopping for a moment to contemplate its possible meanings.

“A Line is a Point that Went for a Walk”

The latter is a frequently quoted Paul Klee quote. I like it because it challenges me to think of ways I can use it in my designs. For instance, what if the point is actually an orientation point defining the beginning of an occupant’s physical journey through a building. The line can then become the culmination of that occupant’s steps through the building. Hence, in its simplest form, that circulation route may begin to define a physical and experiential journey for the senses through an architectural space(s).

The gist of what I am saying is this: Every point you incorporate within the design of your building culminates in an overarching experiential journey — starting as a vision, then a point, then lines and so on. Ultimately, as an architect, you are building an experience. That may not be the only thing you do…but you are designing “walks”.

Simple Ideas Can Help Solve Complex Problems

Using Paul Klee’s quote as a way to make us think beyond the “line”, ask yourself these questions about your projects. Here, the “walk” refers to your occupants and how they engage in and perceive their journey through your building:

1. What should that “walk” be like? What mood do you intend to stir?
2. Who should go on that “walk”? How far do they “walk”? With whom?
3. Is the “walk” different for different people? Ages? Genders?
4. When do they go on that “walk”? Morning? February? 2 o’clock?
5. How do they know where to “walk”?
6. How do they know when to “walk”?
7. Does their “walk” change each time they do it?
8. Is there a story or narrative that makes up their “walk”?
9. What happens to mark different milestones along their “walk”?
10. Is there repetition during their “walk”?
11. What do they do during their “walk”? See? Work? Listen? Be still?
12. What happens at the end of their “walk”? Silence? Fanfare? Rest? Healing?
13. What will they remember about their “walk”? Beauty? An idea? Something they’ve never seen before? A job well done?

In the end, it is nice to revisit some fundamental design ideas. Often to our surprise, they make us think about current complex design problems anew.

Please Tell Me What You Think

I would really like to get your feedback on my post today, so please leave me a comment in the form below. And if you enjoyed it, make sure you share it with your Twitter followers by “tweeting” it using the re-tweet button on this page.

© 2008-2011 Sensing Architecture by Maria Lorena Lehman

As you design architecture, it is important to consider your occupant’s memory. You should consider not only what your occupants remember, but also how they remember.

Why?

Just after experiencing your building design, your occupant will be full of a large portion of the information they just absorbed. The memory of walking through your design will be fresh in their mind and the nuances about their experience will be easy to recall. But, what do you want them to remember about their experience? Do you have any control over what they remember as a great moment? Do you want to have a say?

HOW OCCUPANTS REMEMBER

When your occupant processes an architectural “scene”, they actually dismiss a lot that they don’t think is important…. In the video below you will watch a scholar from Princeton University further explain that the brain uses processes (like shortcuts) to help people remember things in a certain way.

Thus, your occupant can only pay attention to the things they think are important.

Your client will convey their functional needs, but you need to figure out how best they can carry out those functions. It is in this design orchestration that their experience will be not only functional, but also more beautiful, meaningful and personalized.

If you can strike this chord within your occupants, then your architecture will become a beautiful catalyst for meaningful experiences.

It is likely that those are the moments your occupants will remember.

VIDEO: The Ups and Downs of Forgetting

© 2008-2011 Sensing Architecture by Maria Lorena Lehman

Image: Ethan Hein | Flickr

It’s hard to find a quiet place on earth anymore. Human-caused noise seems to be everywhere, and that’s because it is. (1) Our living environments are “soundscapes”, and “noise” quickly becomes a relative term.

Yes, your architecture greatly contributes to the “soundscape” that people experience. Sound within your building is greatly linked with functions going on within it, but what about the design of sounds that you purposefully inject and mold into your project?

WATCH OUT… SOUND CAN BECOME NOISE

For architects, it is common to be concerned with the elimination of sound, otherwise referred to as noise. Some hospitals are filled with noise that keep patients from sleeping “soundly” (pun intended) and some schools are bombarded by urban noise that interferes with learning.

For some, these are just manifestations of modern living — where there is a fine line between sound and noise depending on who and when is listening. For architects, closer attention should be given to this phenomenon.

TAKE CONTROL…DESIGN A SOUND SPECTRUM

As you design architectural complexes ranging from an urban master plan to an individual building project, you need to keep both sound and noise in mind. You should be asking yourself not only what noise you want to keep out, but also what sounds you want to encourage.

Most all places on earth today have their own “soundscape”, but few are deliberate and designed. Think of your architectural projects as having their own sound spectrum where the sounds you hear were consciously thought out and intentional.

Architecture is more than just a visual experience. Pay close attention to how the sounds your occupant will experience contribute to or take away from your designed spaces. Their thoughts, behavior and emotions are all affected by sound. In fact, they use sound as stimuli that contributes to the processing of their other senses.

Give your occupants an aural journey through your space.

(1) Barone, Jennifer. What Do Urban Sounds Do to Your Brain? Discover Magazine. July 24, 2009.

© 2008-2011 Sensing Architecture by Maria Lorena Lehman

Image: Steve Kay | Flickr

IT ISN’T WHAT IT USED TO BE

I discovered a site that has a thought-provoking section on workplace by design. Read this introductory quote to get you thinking about workplace design and what principles you use to create healthy and productive work environments.

The workplace today is a result of historical innovations that were designed to make the workplace a productive environment. However the world of work continues to change, and the design factors that once were helpful are adding less value than they once did. (1)

Today, workplaces must answer to a wide range of needs using various new technologies and design principles that not only foster productivity — but also creativity. In addition, workers want to work in healthy, stress-free environments that promote everything from spaces for focus to spaces for social interaction. Work environments need to meet a multitude of needs at once, and that is why workplace “by design” is so important.

With all the hours you spend working, I’m sure that you can appreciate the result of good workplace design. When creating such spaces for clients, it is important to go beyond the typical layouts and schemes to try to tap into the culture of a business.

PATTERN, PRINCIPLE AND EXPERIENCE DESIGN

Again, the site where I found the above quote delineates certain characteristics, patterns and principles that go into workplace design.

• Here is the link: Workplace Design

By understanding things like working patterns, layout principles, psychological principles and work experience design — you better equip your occupants to use their work space(s) effectively. Better yet, you foster meaningful work environment “relationships” — yes, by design.

With design you impact not only how well an individual or team “works”, you also impact the success of a business’ identity, operation and growth. The key is to tap into the significant relationships that define a business’ culture — as it grows and evolves.

(1) Workplace Design. ChangingMinds.org.

© 2008-2011 Sensing Architecture by Maria Lorena Lehman