Mustafa and Ali reviewed published studies to learn how workplace design can encourage people to use stairs instead of elevators. They report that “safety, motivations, appeal and comfort, and legibility were the most common features in the studies, followed by connectivity, building codes, and elevator programming. The good quality of mentioned features positively affects stair use level and vice versa. . . . Safety of stairs includes 3 categories; maintenance, natural surveillance, stair dimensional, and provision of the railing. Motivational techniques followed safety by including the point of decision prompts artwork, music, step numbering, cardio indicator, and current location map. . . . comfort and appeal [are also] design interventions for promoting stair use.” Getting people to take the stairs is worthwhile because “Stair use is of great importance in increasing physical activity and improving occupational health in the workplace.”
Faris Mustafa and Janan Ali. 2023. “Active Design: Architectural Interventions for Improving Occupational Health Through Reducing Sedentary Behavior – A Systematic Review.” American Journal of Health Promotion, vol. 37, no. 1, pp. 93-102, DOI: 10.1177/08901171221111108
Sally Augustin, PhD, a cognitive scientist, is the editor of Research Design Connections (www.researchdesignconnections.com), a monthly subscription newsletter and free daily blog, where recent and classic research in the social, design, and physical sciences that can inform designers’ work are presented in straightforward language. Readers learn about the latest research findings immediately, before they’re available elsewhere. Sally, who is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, is also the author of Place Advantage: Applied Psychology for Interior Architecture (Wiley, 2009) and, with Cindy Coleman, The Designer’s Guide to Doing Research: Applying Knowledge to Inform Design (Wiley, 2012). She is a principal at Design With Science (www.designwithscience.com) and can be reached at sallyaugustin@designwithscience.com.