The space around us is best when actively managed. Unconsidered empty volumes can be wasted places, and few of us have enough resources at our disposal to not use whatever we’ve got as well as we can.
Yes, I’m talking volumes here. The empty air space around us.
We’ve discussed scenting in the past, positively putting users’ noses to work, in previous articles (in brief, always very subtle, lemon for more brain intense work, peppermint for less cognitively demanding efforts, lavender to boost trust), but that’s not our focus here.
Neither is ventilation, which we’ve also talked about before (in short, more clean air from outside and an airflow minimum of 30 cfm/person, whenever possible).
Here, we’ll focus on empty space that can reasonably be not empty; that is it can have people in it.
Standing up moves us into a different part of the volume of a workplace than sitting and can be good for some aspects of our cognitive performance, such as our ability to pay attention. It also gives us a choice of how we work, and that has desirable effects on what goes on in our heads. Standing workers can loom over ones sitting nearby, which is stressful for those seated, but screening and distancing can help make looming less likely.
Standing height meetings can improve group performance. The meetings studied were 30 minutes long, and it’s key to note that some people may have trouble working while standing because of their physical condition (which can be more long-term or shorter term, say a broken foot). And when not all can stand it’s important to recognize that and default to a seated meeting.
Photo by A-Frame Studio, Ben Rahn
Everyone at a meeting needs to be standing, sitting in chairs that are generally at the same height or sitting on the floor (which can be really hard for some, see comments on standing meetings, above).
We relate to each other in different ways when we’re looking up or down at someone at the angles that result when one person is sitting on a chair with taller or shorter legs than another, when one person is standing and another sitting, when one person is sitting on a chair and another on the floor, or any combination resulting a noticeable difference in vantage point. The people being looked up to are perceived to be more powerful and experienced, basically more adult, while those who are being looked down on seem more childlike, inexperienced, and less powerful—not a desirable meeting dynamic.
And don’t forget the power of the lean. Sitting down with someone to talk, on a chair of any height, is a commitment. When we sit we’ve agreed to carry a point of discussion through to its end. A lean signals a more fleeting interaction, with less potential damage to the schedule. Building in alcoves at the edge of circulation spaces where people can lean while they talk to each other, actually, incorporating comfortable leaning zones throughout a workplace, can lead to a flurry of swift and productive conversations.
Designing into what will otherwise just be an empty void can mean using visually interesting acoustic treatments in or hanging from the ceiling. Suspending art from the ceiling, particularly if it moves ever so slightly in the HVAC (like curtains in a gentle Spring breeze or a mobile in a peaceful HVAC current) can be biophilic, which is a plus.
Walls that don’t quite reach to the ceiling or floor can block visual distractions or divide a space in a way that reduces visual clutter. There are oodles of options here and designers should not overlook the otherwise empty spaces in the total volume of a project.
Actively managing “the void” is certainly time, effort and money well spent!
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.
