Kim and colleagues evaluated the effects of a open-plan workplace redesign project on the environmental satisfaction of the people working in the space. Data were collected via objective measures of physical conditions and an online survey. The team report that one floor in a multi-floor office building in Seattle was renovated: “Changes were made to the floor’s layout, and to the size of employees’ workspaces. New sound-masking technology and a modern lighting framework were added. . . . After the new space had been used for 1.5 months, occupants reported being more satisfied, in general, than they recalled being in the original setting. The size of personal workspaces and a sense of privacy were especially important to employees. Despite overhead lighting illuminance levels being below recommended industry standards, occupants were not dissatisfied with light levels. . . . . occupants’ responses about the level of input they had into the retrofit process correlated significantly and positively with their perceptions of environmental satisfaction after its completion.”
Amy Kim, Shuoqi Wang, Lindsay McCunn, and Hessam Sadatsafavi. “Impact of Office Modernization on Environmental Satisfaction: A Naturalistic Field Study.” Frontiers in Built Environment, in press, doi: 10.3389/fbuil.2020.00058
Sally Augustin, PhD, is the editor of Research Design Connections (www.researchdesignconnections.com). Research Design Connections reports on research conducted by social and physical scientists that designers can apply in practice. Insights derived from recent studies are integrated with classic, still relevant findings in concise, powerful articles. Topics covered range from the cognitive, emotional, and physiological implications of sensory and other physical experiences to the alignment of culture, personality, and design, among others. Information, in everyday language, is shared in a monthly subscription newsletter, an archive of thousands of published articles, and a free daily blog. 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.