Architecture and the Environment Paper - Essay Example

Narrow rooms with low ceilings make people feel suffocated. People feel uneasy being in such places. On the other hand, voluminous rooms with high ceilings lend a sense of freedom and openness to the people. If the employees in an office are granted separate rooms with boundaries between adjacent rooms, they feel more relaxed as compared to being in the room where there are several employees with no walls marking the boundaries of their spaces. Hence, they tend to be more careful and reserved when they cough, sneeze, or even talk over the mobile phone than when granted individual rooms.

The environmental psychological implications of commercial and residential design, including purpose and considerations “Environmental psychology is a science that studies how human behavior is influenced by the environment. The environment in this context comprises social, natural, constructed, learning and information settings” (Tipton, 2012). The environmental psychological implications of the commercial design include but are not limited to privacy and noise pollution. People don’t like to live in places where there are a lot of shops because such places remain crowded, and are not very peaceful.

The commercial design should be such that it should provide the customers with appropriate parking spaces so that they do not park their cars in front of others’ homes. The commercial design should allow for the construction of toilets. The acoustical design of a cinema or club needs to be designed properly so as to ensure that the sound does not pass through the walls to reach the people living in the surroundings of the building. The environmental psychological implications of the residential design are numerous.

The biggest concern in the residential design is privacy. For example, the window sills in the toilets should be high enough to block external viewers from looking inside the toilet. The windows in the rooms should be located such that the contents of the room are not visible to the neighbors. The exterior paint of the house should be attuned to the general trend, or it looks odd and destroys the color theme of the area. The purpose of providing windows in homes is both ventilation and illumination of the rooms with natural light, but when these windows become the unintended means to sneak into the neighbors’ private life, their change of location must be considered or may be demanded by the neighbors seriously.

“Architects are practical visionaries with an ability to project possibilities and to connect knowledge with action” (Glyphis, 2001, p. 10). It is the responsibility of an architect to make environmentally responsible design in all sorts of construction works. The importance of architectural development supporting sustainable development Architectural development supporting sustainable development is a topic of immense importance in the present age where people are concerned about running short of natural resources, and the increase of global warming, and where living green is encouraged at all levels.

Construction, whether residential or commercial, is one of the main areas where natural resources are required. Architecture creates several challenges for sustainability. It