Researchers have learned that feeling awed does all sorts of good things for us psychologically. When we are awed, we are less impatient and feel less pressed for time. Our satisfaction with our lives gets a boost when we’re awed, which has positive ramifications for our wellbeing. A feeling of awe in workplaces is particularly desirable, because when we’re in this special state, our high-level cognitive processing power is enhanced.
So, inspiring awe can be a good thing, but how can designers awe space users?
Majestic natural sites, such as the Grand Canyon, awe us. But recreating the Canyon or anything remotely similar to it in a reception area or even in the landscaped space visible from that reception area or nearby offices can be quite a challenge, to say the least.
Height leads us to feel awe, whether we find it in the soaring arches of a Gothic cathedral or in a ballroom with a lofty ceiling tucked into a modern palace. But there’s also only so much of that we can integrate into public and private spaces. Luckily, people are also awed by exceptional craftsmanship and the use of materials that are challenging to work with. Extraordinary craftsmanship and materials are much easier for us to incorporate into workspaces. They can be sourced from artists and craftspeople with skill and inspiration.
To reap the “awe benefit,” the ideas implemented in practice must inspire positive experiences. Menacing forms and trellis works overhead won’t do. Think more curving, gently colored sculptures than black spiky sea urchin forms grown large, for example.
Awe benefits space users when they feel it, not when a designer or supplier or art consultant does. It’s important that options being considered are shared with users before installation to understand their responses to planned projects.
Go and be awesome, and create awe-inspiring experiences for others.
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.