“Why did you put the window there?”
I could remember after I finished rendering a drawing, I got to realize that I had no good answer. I have decided to place it there because while I was drawing the plan, it looked so suitable on it that way. I keep on asking myself that question.
And answering this week first question, if I ever had enough time to go in for just one course purely because I need to understand something much more better than what I already know now, it would definitely be environmental psychology, especially how the building around you and I, and the spaces we step in affect the way we humans think, feel and behave because every building can do that. As an architect, I have learned how to draw and come up with functional spaces in a way that will be useful for the owners or occupants, but over time, I have become more curious to what happens to those people that go into that space after I have designed it.
Even though I might say it's an ordinary place. A classroom or hall with no adequate ventilation and makes all the people inside restless. A very narrow corridor or passage can turn people off and make them feel restless even though they might not be able to explain what is going on within them. A small environment where the family comes out to enjoy their evening time can sometimes feel hot or warmer than an environment or house where everyone stays in separate rooms.
I once visited someone's house where it all looked so beautiful inside; the sitting area was well equipped and big, but almost everything was staying outside because, first, the TV plasma was not properly installed and far from our seats; the windows were fixed windows that only threw lighting to some specific direction; and when the sun is out, the whole space becomes hot. Even the compound has no tree or anything that can ease up the environment. And during evening time, that family usually sits outside under a small zinc shade. And I always think about that moment, about what I saw.
With the help of this course, I'll be able to properly understand those things instead of just assuming and working on my instinct. And in my architectural work, that drawing would be extremely helpful and useful, especially when I'm designing building plans with their site plans, public spaces, schools for ordinary people. And it will help to understand not just how building looks, but also how it affects the occupant.
And this course will also be helpful beyond my architectural work; it will also aid my writing. Because sometimes, a building, street, or room tells us something about people even right before anything comes out of their mouths. And this is what interests me at the moment. Through architecture, I have studied and learned how to make use of space. But I still want to learn how to listen to those spaces.
Thank you for reading.
Images created by Gemini AI
