Changing the Architectural Profession - Evidence-Based Design, the New Role of the User and a Process-Based Approach

The construction industry is characterised by ever-changing projects that constantly involve new clients, teams and people. This results in the need to build up new sets of relationships each time. Within these relationships the perspective of the users of space is mostly neglected, partly due to the ephemeral nature of the industry, but partly also because of the character and culture of the architectural profession. In contrast, this paper argues that the architectural profession needs to make a double turn: firstly, the needs and wishes of the user need to be in the centre of the architectural business. Secondly, the whole industry may change from a project-centred one into a process-based one where the process of finding out what the client needs, of engaging the users, proposing a design solution, managing the project, and evaluating its use and appropriation in the end in order to learn from it, is nearly as important as aesthetics, form and function. This involves a lot more intelligence and research about cultures and characteristics of the client, may it be a private person, a city council or a corporation, hence architectural and organisational research may play a new role in the architectural professional culture

Evidence-based design: theoretical and practical reflections of an emerging approach in office architecture

Evidence-based design is a practice that has emerged only relatively recently, inspired by a growing popularity of evidence-based approaches in other professions such as medicine. It has received greatest attention in design for the health sector, but has received less in office architecture, although this would seem not only to be beneficial for clients, but increasingly important in a changing business environment. This paper outlines the history and origins of evidence-based practice, its influence in the health sector, as well as some of the reasons why it has been found more difficult to apply in office architecture. Based on these theoretical reflections, data and experiences from several research case studies in diverse workplace environments are presented following a three part argument: firstly we show how organisational behaviours may change as a result of an organisation moving into a new building; secondly we argue that not all effects of space on organisations are consistent. Examples of both consistent and inconsistent results are presented, giving possible reasons for differences in outcomes. Thirdly, practical implications of evidence-based design are made and difficulties for evidence-based practice, for example the problem of investment of time, are reflected on. The paper concludes that organisations may be distinguished according to both their spatial and transpatial structure (referring to a concept initially introduced by Hillier and Hanson in their study of societies). This means that evidence-based design in office architecture needs to recognise that it deals with a multiplicity of possible organisational forms, with specific clients requiring case-dependent research and evidence gathering. In this evidence-based design practice differs markedly from evidence-based medicine. Finally, we suggest a framework for systematic review inclusion criteria in the development of Evidence-Based Design as a field of practice. We argue that it is only through the development of an approach tailored to the specific nature of design practice and organisational function that research evidence can properly be brought to bear

Effective workplaces – bridging the gap between architectural research and design practice.

Architectural researchers and design practitioners mostly segregate in distinct communities with hardly any overlap, collaboration or exchange of ideas. This gap between research and practice leads to a wide-spread ignorance and inability to make practical use of evidence produced by research, resulting too often in poor designs and a self-absorbed research that cannot make a difference to peoples’ everyday lives and spatial experience. In order to bridge the gap between architectural research and design practice, UCL’s Bartlett School of Graduate Studies and Spacelab Ltd. have commited themselves to a Knowledge Transfer Partnership on Effective Workplaces. Ideas and concepts on how to change architectural business to combine research and practice will be presented as well as the first analytical results from this newly started venture

Comparative studies of offices pre and post — how changing spatial configurations affect organisational behaviours

Understanding the way in which design interventions in an office affect everyday users, and thus shape organisational behaviour, should be high on the agenda for architects, designers and consultants alike. Surprisingly, this seems rarely to be the case. Here we aim to help close this gap by studying a variety of organisations in depth both before and after an office move from the point of view of design practice. This paper thus aims at understanding how a newly designed office is seen, used and filled with life by staff, so that planners can continuously and systematically reflect on and learn from experience, and create effective and well-used workplaces for the future. The research and reflective practice presented in this paper resulted from a collaboration on 'Effective Workplaces' between The Bartlett School of Graduate Studies at University College London and Spacelab architects. Insights from in-depth case studies conducted over the last four years on various corporate clients in the media sector in the UK will be drawn upon. The studies each compared an organisation before and after it moved into a Spacelab-designed office. Two different lines of argument will be presented: firstly, results of the pre-post comparison of organisations before and after moving into a newly designed space suggest that physical space influences the way in which organisations communicate, interact, and perform in many ways. Secondly, the practical side of evidence-based design will be discussed. It can be seen that designers would do things differently if they had had the specific evidence prior to the design process. At the same time, difficulties arise in conducting 'evidence-based' practice, for example the problem of time in a business environment where designers are often asked to deliver solutions within days or weeks, whereas gaining a good understanding of a complex organisation may take months. These issues will be reflected on. General conclusions on the use and usefulness of Space Syntax in an architectural practice will be drawn

What Scope is There for Adopting Evidence-Informed Teaching in Software Engineering?

Context: In teaching about software engineering we currently make little use of any empirical knowledge. Aim: To examine the outcomes available from the use of Evidence-Based Software Engineering (EBSE) practices, so as to identify where these can provide support for, and inform, teaching activities. Method: We have examined all known secondary studies published up to the end of 2009, together with those published in major journals to mid-2011, and identified where these provide practical results that are relevant to student needs. Results: Starting with 145 candidate systematic literature reviews (SLRs), we were able to identify and classify potentially useful teaching material from 43 of them. Conclusions: EBSE can potentially lend authority to our teaching, although the coverage of key topics is uneven. Additionally, mapping studies can provide support for research-led teaching

Comprehensive review of several surfactants in marine environments: fate and ecotoxicity

Surfactants are a commercially important group of chemicals widely used on a global scale. Despite high removal efficiencies during wastewater treatment, their high consumption volumes mean that a certain fraction will always enter aquatic ecosystems, with marine environments being the ultimate sites of deposition. Consequently, surfactants have been detected within marine waters and sediments. However, aquatic environmental studies have mostly focused on the freshwater environment, and marine studies are considerably underrepresented by comparison. The present review aims to provide a summary of current marine environmental fate (monitoring, biodegradation, and bioconcentration) and effects data of 5 key surfactant groups: linear alkylbenzene sulfonates, alcohol ethoxysulfates, alkyl sulfates, alcohol ethoxylates, and ditallow dimethyl ammonium chloride. Monitoring data are currently limited, especially for alcohol ethoxysulfates and alkyl sulfates. Biodegradation was shown to be considerably slower under marine conditions, whereas ecotoxicity studies suggest that marine species are approximately equally as sensitive to these surfactants as freshwater species. Marine bioconcentration studies are almost nonexistent. Current gaps within the literature are presented, thereby highlighting research areas where additional marine studies should focus

Pre and Post Occupancy Evaluations in Workplace Environments

Understanding the way in which design interventions in an office affect everyday users, and thus shape organisational behaviour, should be high on the agenda for architects, designers and consultants alike. Surprisingly, this seems rarely to be the case. Here we aim to help close this gap by studying a variety of organisations in depth both before and after an office move from the point of view of design practice. This paper thus aims at understanding how a newly designed office is seen, used and filled with life by staff, so that planners can continuously and systematically reflect on and learn from experience, and create effective and well-used workplaces for the future. The research and reflective practice presented in this paper resulted from a collaboration on 'Effective Workplaces' between The Bartlett School of Graduate Studies at University College London and Spacelab architects. Insights from in-depth case studies conducted over the last four years on various corporate clients in the media sector in the UK will be drawn upon. The studies each compared an organisation before and after it moved into a Spacelab-designed office. Two different lines of argument will be presented: firstly, results of the pre-post comparison of organisations before and after moving into a newly designed space suggest that physical space influences the way in which organisations communicate, interact, and perform in many ways. Secondly, the practical side of evidence-based design will be discussed. It can be seen that designers would do things differently if they had had the specific evidence prior to the design process. At the same time, difficulties arise in conducting 'evidence-based' practice, for example the problem of time in a business environment where designers are often asked to deliver solutions within days or weeks, whereas gaining a good understanding of a complex organisation may take months. These issues will be reflected on. General conclusions on the use and usefulness of Space Syntax in an architectural practice will be drawn

The Generative Office Building

The Space Syntax concept of the generative and conservative building describes the effect of spatial configuration on knowledge creation: a building that acts generatively allows new relationships, new ideas, new products and new knowledge to emerge by maximising random encounters between people. In contrast, a building that acts conservatively preserves and mirrors existing relationships, existing ideas and existing knowledge by reinforcing a specific interface between people. A key criterion for the generativity of a building was proposed to be an integrative layout. However, evidence of patterns of encounter, movement flows and organisational behaviour suggests that not every building with high levels of integration is automatically generative of new knowledge. What is more, looking at a spatial layout it is difficult to judge whether the level of integration is rather high or low given size and structure of the space (e.g. number of floors, size of floor plate). Therefore the question of what constitutes a generative office building remains unanswered. Using a large sample of 62 different organisations and their office spaces, this paper therefore aims to create a better understanding of what renders an office building generative or conservative, by expanding on the original theory of generativity and including a more detailed articulation of the spatial qualities that are influential. For the analysis, results of a VGA of each of the office buildings in the sample are compared, investigating not only overall levels of integration, but also the distribution of integration and the relationship between integration levels and structural features. This allows the construction of a benchmark of possible ranges of integration for office buildings. It is further investigated which of the buildings are deemed generative by the inhabitants and how this relates to various spatial characteristics. The paper finally proposes a variety of different factors that may have a bearing on the generativity of an office building. This list of factors combines suggestions from the original theory of generative and conservative buildings with additional syntactical, spatial and organisational aspects of space usage. The paper concludes that the generativity of an office space depends on several factors and features, including but not limited to integration and syntactical measures that can be analysed on the basis of a floor plan. Implications for theory and workplace consultancy practice are discussed and reflected on

A school-based physical activity promotion intervention in children: rationale and study protocol for the PREVIENE Project

The lack of physical activity and increasing time spent in sedentary behaviours during childhood place importance on developing low cost, easy-toimplement school-based interventions to increase physical activity among children. The PREVIENE Project will evaluate the effectiveness of five innovative, simple, and feasible interventions (active commuting to/from school, active Physical Education lessons, active school recess, sleep health promotion, and an integrated program incorporating all 4 interventions) to improve physical activity, fitness, anthropometry, sleep health, academic achievement, and health-related quality of life in primary school children. The PREVIENE Project will provide the information about the effectiveness and implementation of different school-based interventions for physical activity promotion in primary school children.The PREVIENE Project was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (DEP2015-63988-R, MINECO-FEDER). MAG is supported by grants from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitivenes