Theory of Architecture I: Environment Behavior Studies

Designing for people is based upon an understanding of the relationship between a person and his, or her, environment; the ambient, the built, the natural and the social environment that surrounds a person. This course introduces to the students the nature of this interaction, the theories that explain it, and its relevance to the design of the built environment, with application in architectural and urban design scales. The course draws upon social psychology, anthropology and environmental psychology to provide students with the major theoretical concepts and models that mediate the relationship between a person and the physical environment that surrounds him or her. The course introduces innovative concepts to describe the built environment such as Activity Settings and Potential Functional Opportunities. It sets the framework for students to conceptualize the built form in all design studios; it is the lens through which the student will see the relation between designed space and what it may become as a ‘place’ when it is used. Students would better predict people’s behavior and use of spaces, patterns of mobility and propensity to participate in the upkeep and maintenance of the public realm and apply these theories later in other courses to design settings at architectural and urban scales. Through field research, the students will be trained on physical survey, behavioral mapping, annotated photographic documentation, conducting interviews and spatial analysis of space use and appropriation. This course is a foundation for them to better predict user behavior in their future designs.