Do you remember a place you always cherished as a little kid? A memorable spot where you kept smiling, roamed freely, felt excited, or was at peace? Next, just imagine the physical aspects of that place for a moment. Was it gloomy or inspiring, closed or open, dull or colorful?
That unforgettable location might be an interior garden within the residence, a comfortable room where you could relax, or simply an outdoor playground attached to your favorite architectural landmark. Whatever it may be, we constantly search for spaces that heighten our creativity and ignite our imagination as children. And as a result, we begin to understand the intimate connection between the built environment and our human experiences.
Since time immemorial, architecture guided us to navigate around spaces and helped us feel the physical impact of the surroundings even before we had the words to describe them. There was this hidden communication as we engaged with the place whether we were aware of it or not. It's this inner dialogue and the profound relationship we have with the built environment that impacts our way of life, our thoughts and emotions, and the human experiences attached to it.
Whether you're an architect, design professional, real estate developer, building contractor, engineer, or simply a homeowner, housewife, or someone planning to construct your dream house, these helpful ideas would ensure that you get the most benefits of the various spaces you create and live with on a daily basis. Here's a fundamental list of significant human experiences that should be part and parcel of every habitable built environment.
Warm Welcome
When approaching a house or a building, what do you expect first? Just like meeting a person for the first time or going on a first date, what impression would you like to see? There's nothing more delightful and satisfying in your approach when encountered with a friendly greeting, isn't it?
If your real estate property is compared to people, we have a natural tendency to be more attracted to open, positive, as well as responsive atmospheres. An authentic piece of architecture should ideally be tailored in this manner as well. Would you like your house guests to feel invited and welcomed whenever they come for a visit?
Inviting Entrance
The entry point of an edifice is the threshold between the exterior and interior spaces. It's the connection between the outside and inside environments where we depart from the limitless expanse of our planet's atmosphere and enter the safety and security of our physical man-made creations.
This is where architects introduce you to their designed and crafted world and is the crucial point where the human experience of the built environment unfolds. Does your home or building entrance attract the appropriate vibe?
Reflective Promenade
Because of today's hectic lifestyle, we require more spaces that allow us to slow down our fast and busy paces so we can relax and reflect on important activities that matter. It doesn't have to be a huge area, and could just be a regular corridor, hallway, or colonnade where you could walk slowly to engage in deep thoughts.
Aside from providing opportunities for meditation and contemplation, the promenade is also an ideal place where you can appreciate the surrounding beautiful spaces within your built environment. Where do you activate your mental processes at home or at work?
Smooth Passage
The mere act of changing locations between various spaces is as relevant as the spaces themselves. The social interactions and impromptu meetings that happen during these transitions are what add value to these important aspects of the physical architecture of the place.
Moreover, it's also the element of surprise that makes these movements between rooms an exciting ingredient in the design of the built environment. What physical aspects in your place have you incorporated to boost the human experience of communal exchanges?
Honorable Procession
We love to congregate for formal occasions like weddings, church activities, theater plays, traditional conventions, or other organized gatherings that celebrate the fullness of life.
The procession is the culmination to intensify human experiences that need dignified approaches to give importance and recognition to such happenings. Where do you hold your events of celebration and grandeur?
Social Gathering
One of our most fundamental needs as human beings is the social satisfaction we obtain from the sense of community. We are not solitary creatures but thrive on the valuable interaction with other people for our long-term survival.
These important interactions of individuals and groups are evident in movie cinemas, sports stadiums and gymnasiums, concert halls, and dining establishments such as cafes and restaurants. What's your best-loved location where you hang out with your friends or family?
Spontaneous Encounter
Plenty of the world's extraordinary spaces we see today are the products of the architect's ingenious creativity and vivid imagination. Most of these design elements are planned beforehand and are for the purpose of executing a single function - cooking, sleeping, eating, playing, etc.
On the other hand, a lot of significant interaction and informal communication happens in spaces that provide for such unplanned encounters. Similar to social meetings that occur in passages, it's equally important for architects, builders, and involved designers to take this into consideration the enhancement of this basic human experience. Where do you entertain your guests at home or at work?
Visual Vista
One of the greatest human experiences an architect can provide to the built environment is the ability to view outwards from the inner sanctum of the building. These opportunities provide the onlooker the enjoyment of the visual pleasures of breathtaking landscapes and scenic sightings.
An overhanging balcony, floor to ceiling height window, or open elevated deck would allow you to shift into the outer world to witness the spectacular panoramas for an invigorating human experience. Have you provided design elements in your place where you could appreciate nature and the beautiful surroundings?
Secure Protection
Being shielded from the harmful weather and unfavorable climatic conditions is one of the architect's main responsibilities in delivering protection from danger and unwanted exposures. Ancient dwellings with its thick walls used to give us a sense of security. However, the modern age of building construction utilizes technologies of thin claddings and glass panels that are sometimes questionable when it comes to our absolute safety.
But, despite the new inventions to enhance the field of architecture, there must always be design considerations for added protective features. What contemporary security measures have you installed in your house or building?
Conclusion
As architecture is a highly technical discipline and is benefited by technological advancement and breakthroughs of our era, it should not only be involved in the mere pursuit of modernity. Architects, design professionals, and other people involved in the industry must also consider the equally-important human aspect. As a matter of fact, the built environment is built for a wide variety of people who possess a range of thoughts, emotions, and actions - absolutely not for other living creatures on our planet that only rely on natural instincts. It is in the proper planning, professional execution, sustainable design standards, and creative mindset of the various architectural spaces for habitation that ultimately breathes life to our significant wealth of experiences as human beings.
In future posts, we will dive deeper into the different methods and techniques on how the marvelous world of architecture achieves the human experiences we've covered in this article.
Great post @aplusd and @storiesoferne. I really like what you mentioned about architecture and design - "to take into consideration the enhancement of the basic human experience. To design is not only about selecting materials or color inspired by pictures on the internet There's so much more to it and the planning that goes behind the concept creation and development of a project.
Hello Arni! For most of our lives, we were taught in architecture school to be mindful of 3 important factors when creating successful works of architecture: aesthetics, stability, and functionality. But it was only during the later stages of my profession that I realized how significant the human ingredient was for the built environment. Besides, what kind of purpose would this particular industry have if it doesn't satisfy its users and occupants in the first place? The human experience is indeed a key component to ensure a more vibrant, interactive, pleasurable, and livable world. Thank you so much for your remarkable comment!
Yes, aside from just focusing on the physical aspect of the built environment, architecture must ideally factor in the human element. At the end of the day, it's the people who occupy and use houses and buildings that matter a lot. Many thanks @discoveringarni for your thoughts!
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This is such an insightful article and I thank you for writing it, as you have given so many points to consider for people creating their own sanctuaries.
One of the reasons why I love watching Escape to the Country so much is to see the comparisons and collaborations between the core historical structure, the renovations of the aged spaces and the new additions so I can see how they have managed to achieve a balance between the old and the new, because quite often they have had to use some pretty unique methods and both old processes and new technology to achieve their plans without damaging the original structure as well as being able to cohesively meld it all together.
When I grow up and build my own house, I have to have an a sunroom/conservatory like one of these
But to me, this is where the warmth of a home comes into it- both in a literal and figurative sense because the fine line between inhabitants and nature is a sheet of glass and if you bring more nature inside, then there is even less of a divide and I think at our core- most humans beings realise that we are from the earth and so have a primal need to be close to it, otherwise we wouldn't spend most of our lives trying to get into nature by going to parks and camping and walks through the bush as much as possible.
I could very happily live in just a sunroom/conservatory- built with the right materials for safety and protection of course..lol...
Quick question, the photo that you have used as the example of the social gathering, where is that location? It looks so much fun!
We're glad this article has unveiled to you valuable insights on how to design and build your future home. As with other educational shows, Escape to the Country is a splendid TV program that gives you a glimpse of the world of real estate and how architecture has influenced it throughout the ages. Aside from the historical information we learn from its content, it shares ideas on how the industry influences everyday decisions for choosing the right property.
Your goal of incorporating a sunroom/conservatory/greenhouse within your planned residence portrays a basic example of Biophilic Design, an important category within the field of Environmental Design. This is the art and science of merging our natural landscapes with the built environment. This makes perfect sense because as human beings, we are already wired to Mother Nature as we have an innate connection with her since birth.
The photo that caught your interest and featured in this article's human experience of Social Gathering was captured inside one of the major shopping malls of Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. As a matter of fact, this vibrant metropolis contains some of the world's most remarkable works of architecture - a great destination to include in your travel bucket list if you'd like to explore more amazing architectural gems.
Wow, I never knew that my idea of home paradise had such a unique name as biophilic. You don't think about their official categorical names when you are living it.
Yes I have heard of the UAE as having some of the most vibrant and contemporary designs in the world and it is definitely on my list- after Spain and so many other places....
So if people all over the world can please stop getting Covid 19, then I will be able to travel again....next year is only around the corner and I do want to get to Europe- specifically Alicante in Spain for my 50th this time next year....
As you know, architecture is a very broad industry and has many specializations or disciplines under its wing. The more we focus on a specific goal, the more we can achieve our desired results. We also hope this pandemic would end soon, so we can continue to travel and experience the different architectural wonders around the world.