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by
Chuck First, AIA
2001 Corporate Architects Group Chair
Over the past century, the physical effects that buildings can have on
people have become more apparent. A body of scientific data and preventive
guidelines has emerged to create the discipline of ergonomics, and repetitive
motion syndrome, height-adjustable chairs, and keyboard wrist supports
have became a part of the vocabulary of design professionals, especially
those who plan for corporate offices.
Another issue of the workplace is indoor air quality and the damaging
effects of toxins such as asbestos, mold, and product off-gases. Designers
who created environments that exposed occupants to these substances joined
the ranks of manufacturers and professionals vulnerable to legal action.
Here again, scientific analysis eventually defined the original problems,
and the resulting data became the basis for new solutions.
Uncharted territory
Today, the scientific community has shifted its focus from physical effects
to psychological and sociological impacts. More specifically, researchers
are asking this question: “How does stress affect people, and how
can it be abated?” The focus of this article is the psychological
impact of stress and how buildings either increase or reduce stress levels.
In “Stress at Work,” the National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health (NIOSH) reported:
- 40 percent of workers reported their jobs were very or extremely stressful
- 25 percent view their jobs as the number-one stressor in their lives
- 75 percent of employees believe that workers have more on-the-job
stress than a generation ago
- 29 percent of workers felt quite a bit or extremely stressed at work
- 26 percent of workers said they were “often or very often burned
out or stressed by their work”
- Job stress is more strongly associated with health complaints than
are financial or family problems.
The 2002 Gallup Poll, “Attitudes in the American Workplace,”
found that:
- 80 percent of workers feel stress on the job; nearly half say they
need help in learning how to manage stress, while 42 percent say their
coworkers need such help
- 14 percent of respondents felt like striking a coworker in the past
year but did not
- 25 percent felt like screaming or shouting because of job stress,
and 10 percent are concerned about an individual at work they fear could
become violent
- 9 percent are aware of an assault or violent act in their workplace,
and 18 percent had experienced some sort of threat or verbal intimidation
in the past year.
For further details and a self-assessment survey, visit
the Institute of Stress Web site.
Hurtful design: an early diagnosis
As evidence continues to pour in regarding environmental stressors, a
new question emerges that could concern architects: “Does building
design cause stress for its users?” Although studies have yet to
confront this question in a big way, some connections can be explored
now.
Wayfinding: Building designs can
confuse users. A circuitous network of pathways, complicated arrangement
of space, or mysterious use of forms can thwart a person’s effective understanding
and navigation of his or her daily routine. Frustration can build when
meaningful movement is not possible. In a study of pedestrian movement
in large, multilevel developments in London, higher concentrations of
visitors followed the simpler, more discernible routes. And a study of
New Jersey train commuters showed that stress levels are directly related
to predictability of travel.
Flexibility: People are naturally
adaptable, but being in an inflexible and unforgiving physical environment
causes stress. This can occur anywhere in the physical hierarchy—in
the interiors, the building, or the neighborhood. Architects may be tempted
to see their products as something static and benign. Too often, though,
there is churn within the building, and this is something that should
be taken into account during planning and design.
Flexibility comes from choice. A study of purchasing choices at grocery
stores verified the importance of choices for engagement and satisfaction.
Shoppers were more likely to sample products, make a decision, make a
purchase, and be satisfied with that purchase if they could choose from
a moderate number of selections. The study confirmed the public’s aversion
to either too many or too few choices.
Personalization: Large, monumental
buildings can be sterile, with no sense of welcome or human scale. People
need to feel like they belong, and a neutral environment can send a message
of rejection. The “Dilbert” comic strip has become the modern
icon of this condition. A study in Kentucky showed much higher employee
satisfaction when people are allowed to individualize their work stations.
Empowerment: In Healthy
Work, Robert Karasek and Tores Theorell point to international
studies showing that stress stemming from a lack of control results in
cardiovascular disease. Unfortunately, in the practice of architecture,
the end users generally have little to no control over either the design
process or the end product. Decision-making is done by the planner, the
client/executive, or some combination. Either way, the user must make
the “space-tool” work, even if it is mismatched to the work
with which he or she is most familiar. According to the model presented
by Theorell, the greater the disconnect, the greater the stress.
Medicine for offices (and other buildings)
Some researchers have found that elements in our external environment
can moderate the effects of stress. One stress study selected two groups
of Wall Street stockbrokers who were on medication for high blood pressure.
One group received a dog or cat as a pet, while the control group had
no pets. The group with the pets had only half the blood pressure increase
of the control group (see reference 3).
Another study looked at the relation between music and anxiety before,
during, and after cataract surgery. One group heard music of their own
selection in the operating room; the second group had no music. The group
with music had significantly lower responses of surgical anxiety, as measured
by blood pressure and heart rate. Not only did this confirm the benefits
of an environmental intervention, but it also demonstrated the benefits
of self-determination (see reference 4).
Take one a day
The negative and potentially unhealthy conditions noted in the diagnoses
section also have their antidotes. The following guidelines point the
way toward a stress-free building:
- Clarity. Make wayfinding as
simple as possible. This becomes critical the more complex the building’s
function. Offer signs and design cues to assist. Observe and get feedback
on what actually works.
- Flexibility. Create dynamic
layouts that can easily be changed. There is a natural tendency in architectural
design to define uses. However, most major architectural elements are
difficult and expensive to move. Today’s office must be able to redefine
itself almost yearly. Fixed elements on the perimeter of the envelope
with internal elements made of lightweight, portable, or disposable
materials will facilitate future adaptation.
- Personalization. Find ways
to let people reflect their personalities and interests within a facility.
People of many ages, nationalities, and work styles occupy today’s workplace.
An architect cannot possibly invent a one-size-fits-all solution that
comfortably accepts such complex diversity. The designer’s new challenge
becomes how to plan for and permit the expression of individuality.
- Inclusiveness. Architects must
reinvent their processes in a way that shares decision making and design
control with the users. Let’s pretend: Your next project will
be a joint venture, and your partner will be the workers themselves.
How can you best develop a strong relationship that captures their expertise
and yours? Empowerment is a word and concept that is not easily manifested,
especially within architecture. Urban planning offers the best example
of incorporating public participation in the creative process.
There is still much to learn about the subject of stress. Even the scant
information currently available, however, indicates that architecture
plays a role in generating stress. As architects, we can ensure that buildings
become the solution, not the problem.
Copyright 2003 The American Institute of Architects.
All rights reserved. Home Page
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This article
is excerpted from the AIA Corporate Architect’s newsletter.
To read it in entirety, visit
AIA.org.
Author’s references
1. Visit the American Institute
of Stress for more information on stress and the workplace.
2. Visit the
Stress Medicine AB, Sweden, site to learn more about measurement
and treatment of stress.
3. Karasek, Robert, and Tores Theorell, Healthy
Work: Stress, Productivity and the Reconstruction of Working Life.
Basic Books, New York City (1990). See also Selye, Hans, Stress
Without Distress. Signet, New York City (1974).
4. Chang, Dong Kuk, “Spatial Choice and Preference in Multi-Level
Movement Networks,” Environment
and Behavior. (September 2002).
5. Evans, Wener, and Phillips, “The Morning Rush Hour: Predictability
and Commuter Stress,” Environment
and Behavior (July 2002).
6. Iyengar, Sheena S., and Mark Lepper, “When Choice Is Demotivating:
Can One Desire Too Much of a Good Thing?” Journal
of Personality and Social Psychology, 76:349–366 (2000).
7. Wells, Meredeth, “Office Clutter or Meaningful Personal
Displays: The Role of Office Personalization in Employee and Organizational
Well-Being,” Journal
of Environmental Psychology, 20:239–255 (2000).
8. Allen, Karen M., Joseph L. Izzo Jr., and Barbara E. Shykoff.
Paper presented at the American Heart Association Conference, November
1999, Atlanta (1999).
9. Allen, Karen M., Lawrence H. Golden, Joseph L. Izzo Jr., Marilou
I. Ching, Alan Forrest, Charles R. Niles, Philip R. Niswander, and
Jared C. Barlow, “Normalization of hypertensive responses
during ambulatory surgical stress by perioperative music.”
Psychosomatic Medicine,
63:487–492 (2001).
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