Overview of Human Response

Thoughts on the study of Human Response

Having graduated with a bachelor in architecture and two years of work experience in the related field, I would have through I have a sufficient level of understanding in how human response in the built environment.  Looking back to those years of study and work, I can say that I did not pay enough attention to this topic, as I should have.  In architecture, many attentions have been placed on how the building would influence and impact the surroundings.  The focus is on the external factors and not internally.  As the buildings are designed for human, I feel that the focus on how human interact inside those spaces is just as important as how they would affect the surroundings.  For a project to be successful, designers must design for both the human and the surrounding.

During this course, I have became more critical in interior space of different settings, looking for elements that could cause discomfort and negative effects to the human, hence also what could be done to achieve a better environment, designing for our well being.  It prepared me to design at a more in depth level and it got me to look at things more in the user’s perspective.  I have also taken in lots of different results from numerous studies and experiments, looking at how human react under a certain element inside the interior environment.  One of the most interesting one was how integrating nature into the interior space could have a restorative effects on human.  I have always known the importance of having nature inside the interior environment but I did not know it would have such astonishing effect.  I was also fascinated by the topic on good ergonomics designs, increasing my awareness of both short and long-term benefits it could have on human.  It inspired me to put more consideration on the users, creating better working and living environments.  The class on five sensory was also of my interest.  I remembered that we were asked how we could design for smell; it got me to think more on how a space would interact with human through their five senses like never before.   Trained me to think and design for an enhance experience in the future.

This study of human response is very essential to me, developed me into a better designer for the field of architecture and interior design.  It taught me to design and be more thoughtful on the occupants, building for their well-being.  In addition, this course also educated me on the differences and requirements of different types of settings, such as residential, working, educational, exhibits and healthcare environments.  It was very interesting to look at prison and institutional environments too, as I have never came across prison designs.  They all got me thinking that human response is essential in our built environments, as designers, we should put more consideration on how human would react within the space and how we could create a positive environment for them in all different types of settings.