Spaces can move us in profound ways. They can fill us with awe and wonder, enchant us with their delicacy and beauty, or overwhelm us with their magnificence and magnitude. They can send our spirits soaring or enfold us in silent serenity. Beyond their aesthetic and practical functions, beyond their sense of place, spaces have the potential to address our deepest human needs.
When we think of spaces in this way, they take on a whole new dimension.
In “A Return to Introspection: Towards the Creation of ‘Fulfilled’ Interior Spaces,” presented at the 2004 Interior Design Educators Council Conference, Florida State University Professor of Interior Design Jill Pable observed, “Designers and their clients are not harnessing the full potential of built space to enhance all aspects of personhood. … The spaces we design—beyond merely providing users with a functional, aesthetically expressive container for activity—may also at times serve as a change agent for the social betterment of ourselves as human beings.” Rather than thinking of a space as something to be filled with things and people, argued Pable, we could be designing spaces that are fulfilling, in the sense of meeting a deeper human need.
Fulfilled spaces are designed with the intent of impacting human behavior. They might invite occupants to explore their connection to a particular place, prompt them to take action or make a change, heighten awareness of an issue or problem, or evoke surprise or delight. They are places that stimulate not only the eye and other senses, but the mind, heart, and soul. Beyond simply being experiential, such spaces address the human experience holistically.
Designers and their clients are not harnessing the full potential of built space to enhance all aspects of personhood. … The spaces we design—beyond merely providing users with a functional, aesthetically expressive container for activity—may also at times serve as a change agent for the social betterment of ourselves as human beings.
—Jill Pable, Professor of Interior Design, Florida State University
We don’t just inhabit spaces; we interact with them. Research shows that the design elements in a space can alter our emotions, color our moods, affect our thought processes, and even cause physiological changes, such as raising or lowering heart rate and blood pressure. Studies have demonstrated that fulfilling spaces—which take into account the human need for daylight, nature views, socialization, and a sense of control over one’s environment—have a positive impact on behavior and well-being, such as accelerating healing, increasing productivity, and promoting learning.
A recent event in our family really brought home to me what a powerful impact spaces—or lack thereof—can have on us. My stepson and his wife gave birth to twins. Because of their low birth weights, the twins were put in neonatal care for observation. Understandably, my stepson and his wife wanted to remain at the hospital to keep watch on the twins, but as the mother had already been discharged, they did not have a room in which to spend the night. One of the nurses took pity on them and cleared out a utility closet, moved in a recliner and then offered the place to rest. It wasn’t much, but it provided them some respite and allowed them to stay close to the neonatal unit, for which they were very grateful. Their very human need transformed that humble space into a place of refuge. Imagine what might have been possible if the hospital had planned for such contingencies and given consideration to the parents in the design.
Across the life spectrum, from neonatal to end-of-life care, we are affected by the design—or lack of it—in the spaces we occupy. Why should we settle for sterile or merely filled spaces when they can be so fulfilling? As designers, we must continue to take up the challenge Jill Pable discussed by striving to realize the critical potential of the built environment to address the full range of the human experience.
Key to achieving that goal is developing the metrics that will help make our case to clients. We need meaningful ways to measure the impact of design beyond standards of profit and loss. To begin with, we need to acknowledge that what has greater and more lasting value cannot be quantified—but it can be documented, demonstrated, and equally certain. Then we must demonstrate that we can deliver those results through intelligent and intentional design. The American Society of Interior Designers is already engaged in this effort. Its mission is to demonstrate how design impacts and transforms lives, highlighting the effect of design on the human experience. That’s why the ASID Foundation is funding research to develop the criteria and metrics needed to measure that impact.
We have come a long way from the days when design was perceived as little more than decoration. While beauty and decoration are a human need as well, today we also are aware of how design impacts the health and well-being of occupants as well as the environment. We continue to take the next steps in designing with the whole person in mind, creating spaces that express and embody our fullest humanity.
Stephanie Clemons, Ph.D., FASID, FIDEC, serves as national chair of ASID's Board of Directors and is a professor and University Distinguished Teaching Scholar at Colorado State University. ASID can be reached at 202-546-3480 or [email protected].