Architecture and Environmental Psychology

Architecture and the Environment Paper

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Architecture and the Environment Paper

Majority of architectural settings are designed with the view to evoke emotional response from both its inhabitants and visitors. However, a setting does not always have an effect on everyone who experiences it. There are various places of worship, such as the great cathedral of Europe, that create an impact of awe or inspire a sense of reverence for most visitors, both the religious ones and the casual ones (Altman, 1975). This paper looks at a variety of neuroscience material on emotions and behaviour, aimed at helping people understand their responses to various architectural places.

It is believed that artificial structures have an effect on the behaviour of human beings; and this has necessitated numerous studies on the psychology of architecture. This belief raises a few questions including: whether human beings are able to distinguish patterns in synthetic forms; whether human beings can identify proportions or subtleties of patterns in structural design; and if they can, does it explain why people tend to be emotional towards spiritual art works (Altman, 1975)? Roth (1993) states that the biology of human beings allows them to identify the various designs and structures, whether consciously or unconsciously and this has a great impact on our living conditions, in terms of where we choose to work, play or settle down.

The study of human behaviour and architecture or physical structures involves many diverse fields including aesthetics, philosophy, architecture, environment, social and mathematics, among others (Roth, 1993).

Human beings and their physical environments experience intricate behavioural and physical effects due to a variety of factors including texture, beauty and shades of light and colour. One of the most significant elements in structure design and architecture is light. This is because the manipulation of...