PROXEMICS IN ARCHITECTURE: Designing Spaces Affecting Human Behavior

INTRODUCTION

Have you ever been in a situation wherein someone you do not or barely know is being too close for your liking? Say you were commuting and you happen to board an almost empty bus, you will most likely choose to look for a row of seats that is unoccupied, and not sit beside a random stranger if you can help it. Then, someone decidedly sits next to you when there are clearly a lot of seats available elsewhere. I bet, at that time, you would instantly feel uncomfortable – wanting nothing but to have your personal space.

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Proxemics is the study of the nature, degree, and effect of the spatial separation individuals naturally maintain (as in various social and interpersonal situations) and of how this separation relates to environmental and cultural factors. Edward T. Hall, a cultural anthropologist who coined the term in 1963, defined it as “the interrelated observations and theories of humans use of space as a specialized elaboration of culture". The concepts of privacy, personal space, territoriality, and crowding are of primary importance to the study of environment and behavior relationships. As we all know, “Humans are territorial animals, everyday people claim space, built on it and this way, mark their territory” (Hall, 1989).

So how does the term “Proxemics” relate to Architecture? Recent scientific studies confirm that the physical environment can have a profound impact on one’s thoughts, emotions, and behavior. Appropriate use of various artistic components such as color, shape, and size have the capacity of enlightening the atmosphere. Meaning to say, architects should be careful and sensitive enough in dealing with different artistic components when crafting their designs of spaces because the understanding of human psyche is essential in establishing uniqueness in workplace design, learning environments, healthcare facilities, residential environments, and retail environments; each having its own specialties reflecting human mind, need, and use.

CONCLUSION

The interplay between architectural design and human psychology is significant, yet it remains largely unnoticed or even ignored both in and outside the design industry. Architects, as the designers of buildings and spaces, should have at least basic knowledge and understanding of sociology and environmental psychology to be able to carefully plan and design effective spaces that will affect the behavior of their users or, even better, collaborate with psychologists when planning for complex projects.