DESIGNING FOR SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING IN INTERIOR ARCHITECTURE: A DESIGN ROADMAP. Interpreting design results in the field of SWB

Today’s public discourse on the design of care centers for the elderly population is increasingly emphasizing the importance of subjective well-being (SWB) and the value that architecture and interior architecture can have herein. This paper elaborates on a design exercise for 10 groups of 4 master students in interior architecture in which they had to rethink the design of the communal space system of an existing residential care center (RCC) with the goal of augmenting the living experience and SWB of the residents and add potential value for the neighborhood. This design exercise was developed from the dual perspective of (i) developing spatial solutions for improving the positive experience and perceived housing quality of elderly in residential care, and (ii) designing architectural spaces based on ethnographic research performed by the student-designers themselves. The purpose of this research is to develop a design roadmap from the data of the design exercise by analyzing the sequential stages that students ran through and the design strategies which they adopted. The proposed design roadmap is a first step in developing a tool that can ultimately assist designers in creating generous and stimulating architectural environments that have a positive effect on SWB.

Jaar van publicatie:2014

Toegankelijkheid:Open