I recently had a human response class on residential design, we talked about big houses or a space within a house doesn’t always bring comfort to the users. It was fascinating to see how a home could be comfortable in a smaller and confined space. We looked at architect Sarah Susanka, who was the author of The Not So Big House. In all of her residential projects, she showed comfort could be achieved through beautiful made, simple, functional small spaces inside a house. She also pointed out that, well made things last and people tends to preserve them. I think this is true not only in our living environments, but also in every other part of our lives. As a designer, it is essential to keep the balance between the functional aspect and the arts crafts of the project. The project won’t be successful if either one of those elements were missing.
Furthermore, I feel that users are equally as important as the elements mentioned above. This is because, different people rates comfort differently, and therefore to create a comfortable living environment, designers must first understand the users of the spaces. Designers should pay attention to the characteristics of the users, such as values, personality, culture, gender, age, occupation and etc. All those elements would influence the desires of the users. For example, designing for a female living space would be very different to designing for a male. Therefore it is essential to tailor make the living space for the users. What does a female space need? What does the user expect the space to have to suit their needs? Many questions would need to be asked before any designing begins.
To create a comfortable home would require communication with the users, to understand their needs. Hence design and make a well crafted and functional place that meets the requirements of the users.
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