A.04 Designing with Purpose: Exploring How Form, Behavior, and Climate Shape Architecture

Based on the lectures, "agency" in architecture refers to giving people the power to shape their own environments. "Behavior Settings Theory" suggests that our inner experiences and actions are choreographed by the environment, itself. "Biophilic Design" is the intentional craft of weaving the pulse of nature into human-made spaces, fostering an architecture that resonates with our primal connection to the earth.

Ethical Responsibility through Agency and Empowerment (Dr. Simon Warren)

Dr. Warren frames ethical responsibility as a core element of fostering "agency" in both architectural practice and pedagogy. He sees architects as responsible for creating spaces that prioritize the needs and voices of users over the designer’s own vision or control. He mentions a project called The Real Junk Food Project, where architecture students used waste materials to make community spaces for people in need. This project shows that architects can use their skills to solve real-world problems, which Dr. Warren thinks is an important ethical responsibility.

Ethical Responsibility through Biophilic Design and Restoration (Dr. Alia Fadel)

Dr. Fadel emphasizes an ethical obligation to design spaces that cater to human psychological and physical health by integrating nature. She views biophilic design as a moral imperative, addressing issues like stress, pollution, and urban isolation by restoring a human connection with nature. She talks about a concept she calls Interval Biophilic Restoration (IBR), which is about adding small natural spaces in cities, like gardens or green walls, where people can relax and feel less stressed. Dr. Fadel believes that adding nature to urban spaces isn’t just a nice feature; it’s the architect's duty to improve people’s well-being.

Ethical Responsibility through Environmental Psychology and Behavior Settings (Zaid Awamleh)

Awamleh’s approach is rooted in the ethical consideration of how spaces shape human behavior. By studying how people interact within specific settings, he argues that architects hold a responsibility to design environments that positively influence social interactions and well-being. In his project in the refugee camp, Mr. Awamleh demonstrated the ethical responsibility of architects to support positive social change through design. By placing a tea corner along the husband’s usual path, he encouraged the husband to start serving tea, a task previously done only by the wife. This subtle design choice aimed to shift cultural norms, promoting shared domestic roles.

Ethical responsibility in architecture is important because the spaces architects create have an impact on people’s lives, behaviors, and well-being. Thoughtful design can promote equality, support mental and physical health, and foster community connection. By prioritizing ethical considerations, architects ensure that their work not only meets functional needs but also respects cultural values and promotes positive social change.

Why Use Cognitive Functions in Design?

Both Zaid Awamleh and Dr. Alia Fadel have unique motivations and methods for using cognitive functions based on scientific research to enhance their architectural designs:

• Awamleh uses insights from environmental psychology to shape spaces that guide and reinforce desired behaviors. His goal is to create settings that encourage positive social interactions and habits by making subtle design adjustments based on users' cognitive responses to space.
  

• Fadel's work in biophilic design focuses on how natural elements in architecture support human health and mental well-being. She believes that people have an innate need to connect with nature, and by designing spaces with natural features, architects can improve stress recovery, attention, and overall wellness.

Both Awamleh and Fadel ground their design methods in scientific research. Awamleh uses behavioral psychology research, while Fadel relies on studies in biophilia and restorative environments to inform her work. Each designer places the needs and well-being of users at the core of their design philosophy. They consider how people interact with and feel within spaces to improve users' experiences.

While Awamleh's designs focus on behavior-setting cues, using spatial adjustments to influence everyday actions, Fadel’s approach centers around biophilic principles that add elements like greenery and natural light to support psychological and physiological well-being. For example, in his refugee camp project, Awamleh positioned a tea corner along the husband's routine path, encouraging him to serve tea and subtly promoting a shift in domestic roles. This approach uses cognitive responses to spatial cues to gradually reinforce cultural shifts. In contrast, Fadel’s work, such as her concept of Interval Biophilic Restoration (IBR), introduces nature-like spaces within urban areas to reduce stress and enhance focus, aiming to create restorative environments for larger populations.

Both Awamleh and Fadel use cognitive research to design user-centered spaces, but their focuses differ: Awamleh's designs subtly adjust behaviors through spatial cues, while Fadel's work emphasizes direct, nature-based interventions to improve health and well-being.

Prioritizing Human Experience in Architectural Design

Each lecturer emphasizes starting with the human experience rather than the building’s form in their approach to design. All three stress that understanding the needs, behaviors, and well-being of the user is more critical than simply focusing on the structure's aesthetic form. This shift places people’s interactions, comfort, and experiences as central to meaningful design. However, their differences continue to lie in their individual approaches and focuses.

Dr. Simon Warren's approach is described as “agency as a pedagogical strategy”. It is said to empower users by allowing them to shape their spaces, challenging the traditional “master architect” role. He believes that the user’s involvement gives architecture more authenticity and credibility. For instance, Warren cites The Real Junk Food Project, a student-driven initiative that repurposes waste for community needs, focusing on how architecture can serve real social purposes​.

Dr. Alia Fadel focuses on the psychological and restorative benefits of biophilic design, advocating for incorporating natural elements to enhance users’ well-being. Her concept of Interval Biophilic Restoration (IBR) uses scientific evidence on how nature improves mental health. By designing spaces that provide accessible green elements, she aims to support users' psychological restoration. For example, adding natural light, plants, and green walls in urban spaces can help reduce stress and improve focus, grounding her design in the user’s health and connection to nature.

Zaid Awamleh applies "behavior settings theory", using spatial cues to subtly influence behavior and enhance cultural practices. For instance, in his refugee camp project, he positioned the tea station along the husband’s regular path, prompting him to serve tea. This spatial cue encourages a shift in social roles, showing how design can promote cultural inclusivity and equality by shaping everyday interactions.

This user-centered approach could influence my current and future designs by encouraging me to prioritize user behavior and well-being, ground my designs in research, and emphasize collaboration and agency. Considering how spaces can positively impact users' habits, health, and social interactions, could align well with my interest in adaptive reuse and community-oriented projects. Like Fadel and Awamleh, grounding my designs in research on how spatial features affect behavior or well-being can provide a strong foundation to structure my designs upon. This could involve designing with biophilic elements or strategically positioning features to support and encourage healthy behavior. Conclusively, Warren’s approach of "engaging with the communities you're designing for", could help me to create inclusive, responsive designs for my thesis project, in particular.

Exploring Agency in the Work of Warren and Awamleh

Both Warren and Awamleh share a commitment to creating designs that empower users, rather than relying on the traditional "top-down" architect-client relationship. Both architects put the needs and behaviors of users first, making the user experience a priority over the form or aesthetics of the building. By promoting user agency, both architects challenge the conventional role of the architect as a sole authority. They view architecture as an opportunity for collaboration and participation, where users have a voice in shaping their environment.

While Warren and Awamleh both emphasize agency, they approach it differently based on their unique areas of focus. Dr. Simon Warren promotes agency through his work in architectural education. He advocates for a participatory approach, where students engage in "live projects" that encourage them to work directly with communities. Warren believes that students and users together can be a “force for good,” using architecture to address real social issues and create meaningful change.

Awamleh, however, focuses on behavior settings and environmental psychology, using spatial cues to guide users’ actions within a space. His design approach embeds agency directly into the layout of a space, encouraging positive behaviors by aligning the design with users’ daily routines.

In contrast to traditional practice, where the architect is often the sole authority, Warren and Awamleh’s approaches place a greater emphasis on collaboration and user participation. Both Warren and Awamleh view the architect’s role as more collaborative than directive, allowing users to influence the design in ways that reflect their daily lives and needs. Instead of prioritizing the aesthetics or the architect’s vision, their methodologies focus on how spaces affect user behavior, well-being, and community dynamics.

A Multi-Disciplinary Approach to Biophilia

In her lecture, Dr. Alia Fadel emphasized that biophilia can be integrated across various scales and disciplines, from landscape architecture to architecture and urban planning.

One example that she presented to illustrate how architects consider the natural environment in their designs was Crown Hall by Mies van der Rohe. Fadel highlighted this example, as the landscape is designed to extend seamlessly into the building, creating a flow between interior and exterior spaces. This approach invites users to experience the outdoors even while inside, blurring boundaries and making nature an integral part of the architectural experience.

Another example Fadel shared is Harper Memorial Library, where the relationship between the building and its surrounding landscape creates a sense of openness and accessibility. The pathways around the library and nearby green spaces allow users to enter the landscape as part of the architectural experience, creating an environment that feels connected to the natural surroundings.

To integrate these ideas into my thesis, I would need to look beyond the building itself to the surrounding urban landscape to incorporate public green spaces, design transitional spaces, and consider a biophilic urban plan. Designing public spaces around my projects that serve as green, interactive environments for both users and the larger community is one method of integration. Another is by creating spaces that allow for a gradual transition from indoors to outdoors. This could encourage users to engage with the natural surroundings in stages. I would also need to think about how my project could encourage further biophilic urban development in the surrounding area. This could include the incorporation of features like green roofs, urban agriculture, or biodiversity pathways.

I believe that the terms “Behavior Follows Form” and “Form Follows Climate” can coexist and intersect. Awamleh’s approach centers on how spatial arrangement (the form) affects daily routines and social dynamics, subtly guiding users' actions without explicit behavioral instructions. Kamara's principle suggests that architectural form should respond to local climate conditions, creating structures that align with natural forces like sun, wind, and precipitation. These two principles can intersect in a design that uses climate-responsive forms that also facilitate behavioral patterns aligned with environmental adaptation.