Review: Awakenings
 In our daily lives we are often so busy and preoccupied that we don’t see obvious every day things in front of our eyes, writes Dr John Zeisel. We pass a particular store and don’t notice the shop window has been changed, and we sit in our favourite chair without noticing that it has been cleaned for the first time in years. These things pass unnoticed – until someone points them out!
That’s what evidenced-based research in the built environment can do for us, as is the case with this issue’s articles. Shopping in a crowded street market, women having babies, and looking out a window at an ocean view are some of the every day events in which the built environment can impact on our health and wellbeing.
Akers and Akers’ careful multi-method study of the health implications of selling vegetables and other household goods on crowded sidewalks in Baguio City, Philippines makes us take a second glance at all those who work outdoors in crowded cities. It is now de rigueur in New York City to have a gyro sandwich and fruit shake on the corner for lunch. In Bangkok, food and knock-off clothing vendors line every downtown sidewalk.
This study also demonstrates how important it is to analyse environments carefully when drawing conclusions – the width of the sidewalk and the slope of the street in this example – and to employ the most appropriate method for each dimension.
Forbes, Homer, Foureur and Leap carry out a similarly careful study of places for birthing. If birthing at home is so much more comfortable and natural, they posit, we ought to design hospital environments for birthing that have the same supportive characteristics. Their design recommendations include such subtle elements as the fl ow rate of bath water so that the water can be heated up quickly for comfort, and location of the bath against a wall so that mothers feel less “on display”.
Jones and Manighetti, in part of their research, examine the every day action of looking out of an office window – something we do many times a day. But are we aware of what we are looking at, how one view differs from another, and how that view affects our wellbeing? I seldom am!
Their final hypothesis focuses on what it is that makes views of nature so engaging and health promoting. What they conclude is that it may well be the colours – is it “nature” that makes us feel better or the colours blue and green?
All in all, evidence-based design research does more than just give us design guidelines; it helps us wake up to our surroundings. For this I am thankful.
Dr John Zeisel is chair of the international advisory board of the International Academy for Design & Health and president of Hearthstone Alzheimer Care
Prof Romano Del Nord is chair of the scientific committee of the International Academy for Design & Health and deputy rector of the University of Florence
|
1.1.jpg)
|