A conceptual framework linking indoor environment and stress is provided. The framework suggests that, in many cases, indoor environments may set forth a process leading to stress by affecting individual and/or workplace needs. The framework also suggests that because any direct causal relation between indoor environment and stress may be difficult to establish, researchers should focus more on the evidence that links indoor environment to individual and/or workplace needs. This review focuses primarily on the evidence that relates indoor environment to individual and/or workplace needs in health care and office settings. It shows a growing body of literature addressing these relationships in both settings. However, because the available evidence is uneven, there is a great need for the sharing of knowledge among researchers of these settings. In this regard, differences in organizational factors, user and workplace needs, and physical settings are some issues that need to be carefully considered.
Based on spatial analysis, network analysis, self-assessment questionnaires, field discussions and accounting documents, the authors discuss how workplace design and spatial layout support productivity in a communication design organization. The authors suggest that the impact of design goes beyond supporting more intense patterns of interaction and smoother flows of information. Workplace design and layout provide an intelligible framework within which collective knowledge is continuously explored, represented, interpreted, and transformed in relation to ongoing projects. Thus, the structure of space supports an organizational culture with cognitive functions.
This paper reports a study that uses space syntax theories and techniques to develop a model explaining how spatial layouts, through their effects on movement and visible co-presence, may affect face-to-face interaction in offices. While several previous space syntax studies have shown that spatial layouts have significant effects on movement and face-to-face interaction in offices, none has investigated the relations among movement, visible co-presence, and face-to-face interaction in offices with significantly different layouts. Based on statistical analyses of the spatial and behavioral data collected at four moderately large offices, this study shows that spatial layouts have consistent effects on movement, but inconsistent effects on visible copresence and face-to-face interaction; that visible co-presence, not movement, is an important predictor of face-to-face interaction; that movement has negligible effects on the relationship between visible co-presence and face-to-face interaction; and that functional programs have little or no effect on the culture of face-to-face interaction in these offices. Limitations of the research design for workplace study and implications of the research findings for workplace design and management are discussed.
2 Structured AbstractPurpose of review: This article reviews the recent research literature reporting the effects of hospital design on patient safety.Recent Findings: Features of hospital design that are linked to patient safety in the literature include noise, air quality, lighting condition, patient room design, unit layout, and several other interior design features. Some of these features act as latent conditions for adverse events and impacts safety outcomes directly and indirectly by impacting staff working conditions. Others act as barriers to adverse events by providing hospital staff opportunities for preventing accidents before they occur.Summary: While the evidence linking hospital design to patient safety is growing, much is left to be done in this area of research. Nevertheless, the evidence reported in the literature may already be sufficient to have a positive impact on hospital design.
This prospective research study was conducted at a government office, which moved from an open plan office with somewhat enclosed workspaces to another open plan office with open workspaces. The study at the old office was conducted almost one year before the move, and the study at the new office was conducted more than one year after the move. The purpose of this study was threefold: (1) to measure and evaluate changes in patterns of accessibility and visibility due to changes in office layout, (2) to understand the effects of layout changes on observed behaviors, and (3) to determine the effects of layout changes on environmental perception. The study included the analysis of visibility and accessibility of each layout using space syntax techniques, field observations of behaviors, and questionnaire surveys of employees' perception of privacy, job satisfaction and commitment to organization. During field observations, movement, visible copresence (i.e., the number of people visible from a space) and face-toface interaction were observed along a predefined route in each office. Thirty-five people responded to the questionnaire survey at the old office. Out of 35, only 29 were available for survey at the new office. Based on the questionnaire survey data, three multi-item scales were constructed to measure perceived privacy, job satisfaction and commitment to organization. Results indicate better visibility and accessibility, increased face-to-face interactions, and improved perceived privacy at the new office. Results also show consistent effects of space on movement, and significant positive correlations between perceived privacy, job satisfaction and commitment to organization at these locations despite significant design differences. Implications of the research results and limitations of the research design are discussed.
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