Architecture and the Environment Paper - Essay Example

In particular, it describes how physical structure affects human behavior, analyzes architecture as a means of controlling human behavior, describes the environmental psychological implications of commercial and residential design, including purpose and consideration, and analyzes the importance of architectural development supporting sustainability. Effects of Physical Structure on Human Behavior The behavioral effects of physical structure on humans are believed to be due to a number of factors such as surroundings, layout, light, color, texture, and so on.

There are immediate feelings when one enters new places and this affects people’s moods. In environmental psychology, it is understood that our surroundings also affect our intellectual development. The effect can be either positive or negative but there is a relationship between environment and behavior regardless. Christopher Day (2004) explored the theme of how architectural design affects people and places in his book ‘Places of the Soul’. Close associations are shown between architecture and our consciousness, health and various other aspects of human life.

Frumkin (2003) explored the evidence for the existence of healthy places, i.e. buildings, public spaces, etc. that could have a positive impact in terms of human health. It was found through various studies that the quality of a place, beyond its mere physical features, has important implications for public health. Architecture therefore has the potential to be used positively such as for promoting public health, as long as it is designed appropriately. Use of Architecture for Controlling Human Behavior Supermarkets make effective use of environmental architecture in subtle ways in order to persuade shoppers to buy its products.

In this case, architecture is used to control purchasing behavior. Examples of environmental factors that contribute to influencing consumer behavior in the retailing context include store layout, interior design, focused in-store lighting, color effects using bright and warm colors, and background music. A study by Richardson et al. (1996) showed that the store atmosphere does affect consumers in the case of perceptions of store brand quality. Background music also helps to create the right ambient conditions to influence consumer behavior in service environments (Oakes, 2000).

In the field of education, architecture plays a key role in Waldorf or Steiner schools and color is an important tool used for influencing student behavior. Rudolph Steiner described color as “the soul of nature”. Thus, in a Waldorf school classroom, colors are used to support specific stages of child development. For example, pink is used in the nursery and kindergarten because of its innocent and loving feminine quality. The rest of the colors of the rainbow are used for the remaining classes in order, which are believed to suit the child’s development.

In Steiner’s philosophy, “the best architectural and utilitarian design does not arise only from considerations of structural and physical functions, but rather should be ‘living forms’ that also speak to the emotional, psychological, mental, moral, and spiritual natures of human users” (Adams, N.d.). These extra qualities of architecture are what grant it the power to control behavior. The control of human behavior is more pronounced in the practice of what is known as ‘