Responsive
Environments
Responsive environments
The design of the environment can greatly affect
the choices people make at different levels. It
affects where people can go, the range of uses
available, the understanding of these choices,
the degree to which people can use different
spaces of choice, and so on. Thus, the design of
environments where people go, work, and
interact with each other must be responsive.
Responsive environments
Places that provide their users with an
essentiallydemocraticsetting, enriching their
opportunities by maximizing the degree
ofchoiceavailable to them.
The concept of responsive environments focuses
on what features make an environment
responsive to the needs of its users .
Ian Bentley and his colleagues have
developed a set of guidelines which they
claim make an environment responsive to the
needs of its users. They do this using the
following concepts:
Permeability
Variety
Legibility
Robustness
Visual appropriateness
Richness
Personalization
permea
Permeability
the property of how easy it is to move
through an environment and depends
heavily upon the paths and objects placed
within the space
relates to the way that a design affects
where people can go and cannot go within
a city district
The urban designer must always consider
permeability first because it involves pedestrian
and vehicle circulation within the city district as a
whole. The greater the number of alternative
routes through an environment, the greater
people's freedom of movement and, therefore,
Places must be accessible to people to offer them
choice.
Public and private access must be complimentary.
Physical and visual permeability depends on how the
network of public space divides the environment into
blocks.
There is a decline in public permeability because of
current design trends:
scale of development;
hierarchal layout; and
segregation.
Examples
Qualities of
Variety;
legibility;
Robustness;
Responsive Permeability;
Environments appropriateness; Richness; Personalisation
Visual
Qualities of
Variety;
legibility;
Robustness;
Responsive Permeability;
Environments appropriateness; Richness; Personalisation
Provision of paths/streets and its
effective layout promote good
Visual
Qualities of
Variety;
legibility;
Robustness;
Responsive Permeability;
Environments appropriateness; Richness; Personalisation
Visual
Qualities of
Variety;
legibility;
Robustness;
Responsive Permeability;
Environments appropriateness; Richness; Personalisation
This type of building
design does not allow
much permeability in
which case accessibility
is not easy and so may
cause the people to feel
lazy or not encourage
Visual
Variety
Variety
refers to the range of uses that a place
provides (e.g. housing, shopping,
employment, recreation, and so forth)
refers to the range of activities, people
and building forms which can be found
in a space
The varied nature of people, forms and activities will
create a range of meanings and in turn the meanings
may influence the variety of options available. Easily
accessible places are of little use if their choice of
experiences is limited.
The aim is to maximize the variety of uses for
a given project by, first, demonstrating how
one can assess the level of demands for
various uses and, then, determining the widest
mix of uses feasible economically and func
Variety offers users a choice of
experiences.
Variety of experience implies places
with varied forms, uses, and
meanings.
Unfortunately, developers and
planners are more concerned with
economic performance and easier
management than with variety.
Variety depends on 3 main factors:
range of activities- demand;
possibility of supplying
affordable space;
extent to which design
encourages positive
interactions.
it also depends on feasibility: economic,
political, and functional
Examples
Qualities of
Variety;
legibility;
Responsive Permeability;
Environments appropriateness; Richness; Personalisation
Robustness;
Visual
Mixed-use buildings and blocks are a
good example of places that offer
Qualities of
Variety;
legibility;
Responsive Permeability;
Environments appropriateness; Richness; Personalisation
Business and commercial centres
also offer a choice of uses and
Robustness;
Visual
Qualities of
Variety;
legibility;
Responsive Permeability;
Environments appropriateness; Richness; Personalisation
Robustness;
Visual
The Avenue des Champs-Elysees, one of the most
famous streets in the world is a place where many
things come together. Retail stores and shops, dining
and drinking establishments, offices, residential and
hotel buildings, etc., line the 1.9 km-long avenue. The
Qualities of
Variety;
legibility;
Responsive Permeability;
Environments appropriateness; Richness; Personalisation
Robustness;
Visual
The Bonifacio High Street in Taguig offer a variety of
experiences to the people from shopping, dinking
and dining, recreation, living, business, and others.
Qualities of
Variety;
legibility;
Responsive Permeability;
Environments appropriateness; Richness; Personalisation
Malls are one of the most common
public spaces that offer a variety of
uses and activities to people. Malls
also help establish adjacent spaces
and buildings outside it that further
adds to the variety of uses the area
Robustness;
Visual
Legibilit
Legibility
is how easy it is for a person to construct
a mental map of their environment and
depends to a large extent to the form of
the environment and the activities people
undertake
relates to the ease with which people can
understand the spatial layout of a place
The designer should determine and en
hance the perceptual clarity of the
paths, landmarks, boundaries, and so
forth that have emerged through the
consideration of permeability and
Degree of choice depends on how legible
it is; how layout is understood
Legibility is important at two levels;
physical form and activity patterns
Legibility In the old days- important
buildings stood out
legibility of form and use is reduced In
the modern environment
Separating pedestrians from vehicles
also reduces legibility
Legibility is strengthened by Lynchs
physical elements of the city
Examples
Qualities of
Variety;
legibility;
Robustness;
Responsive Permeability;
Environments appropriateness; Richness; Personalisation
Visual
The layout of the city can be easily
understood and important buildings
stand out and serves as a landmark.
Barcelona, Spain.
Qualities of
Variety;
legibility;
Robustness;
Responsive Permeability;
Environments appropriateness; Richness; Personalisation
In the older days, important public buildings
were more legible than private buildings.
Visual
Qualities of
Variety;
legibility;
Robustness;
Responsive Permeability;
Environments appropriateness; Richness; Personalisation
Visual
Nodes also help
establish a good
Qualities of
Variety;
legibility;
Robustness;
Responsive Permeability;
Environments appropriateness; Richness; Personalisation
The use of cul de sacs to define edges also
help with the legibility of places.
Visual
Qualities of
Variety;
legibility;
Robustness;
Responsive Permeability;
Environments appropriateness; Richness; Personalisation
Landmarks, one of the most easily
remembered features of a place help a
lot for the easy familiarization of the
road configuration and layout.
Visual
obustness
Robustness
describes buildings and outdoor
spaces - the design of which does
not limit users to a single fixed use
but, rather, supports many different
purposes and activities
Environments which can be used for
many different purposes
To design for robustness is to
make spatial and constructional
organization suitable for the
widest possible range of likely
activities and future uses, both in
the short and long term
explores how a single space can be put to
multiple uses
There must be a distinction between large
scale and small scale robustness.
There are 3 key factors that support long
term robustness:
building depth;
access; and
building height.
The design of small scale robustness
depends on extra factors:
hard and soft areas
active and passive areas
Examples
Qualities of
Variety;
legibility;
Responsive Permeability;
Environments appropriateness; Richness; Personalisation
Robustness;
Visual
Bedford Square, London. Used to be
mostly residential apartments and now
also contain offices and embassies. It
also used to house a School. An example
of large scale robustness.
Qualities of
Variety;
legibility;
Responsive Permeability;
Environments appropriateness; Richness; Personalisation
Robustness;
Function room, an example of small scale
robustness. It can serve for a variety of purposes,
e.g. venues for talking engagements and seminars,
wedding receptions, culminating programs, parties,
Visual
Qualities of
Variety;
legibility;
Responsive Permeability;
Environments appropriateness; Richness; Personalisation
Robustness;
Visual
Studio type apartment
Qualities of
Variety;
legibility;
Responsive Permeability;
Environments appropriateness; Richness; Personalisation
Robustness can be achieved by
making ground floor areas abutting
public outdoor space occupied by
Robustness;
Visual
Qualities of
Variety;
legibility;
Responsive Permeability;
Environments appropriateness; Richness; Personalisation
Robustness;
Visual
In busy vehicular streets, robustness can be
achieved by allowing a zone for amenities
such as street trees, seating, bus shelters,
telephone kiosks and cycle racks between the
Qualities of
Variety;
legibility;
Responsive Permeability;
Environments appropriateness; Richness; Personalisation
Robustness;
Visual
Large public open spaces like town squares can
be robust. Plaza Mayor, Madrid, Spain.
al appropriaten
Visual Appropriateness
the way in which the design physically
canmake peopleaware of the choices the
place provides
how the provision of cues can support
variety, robustness and legibility
Acity hallshould look likea governmental
building or that a row of walk-up
flatsshould look likehomes.
Decisions already made determine the
general appearance of the schemenext focus is on details
visual appropriateness focuses on
details
Visual appropriateness is concerned
with designing the external image of a
place
Regardless of what designers want, people
interpret places as having meanings.
A vocabulary of visual cues must be found
to communicate levels of choice.
Interpretations can reinforce
responsiveness by:
supporting the places legibility
supporting the places variety
supporting the places robustness
It is vital if people are to correctly
interpret how to make appropriate use
of an environment.
Poor visual appropriateness are when
buildings are identical in colour and
appearance making it difficult to
differentiate them.
Examples
Qualities of
Variety;
legibility;
Robustness;
Responsive Permeability;
Environments appropriateness; Richness; Personalisation
Visual
Hospitals. Picture to the left looks more like an
office building while the picture to right looks
Qualities of
Variety;
legibility;
Robustness;
Responsive Permeability;
Environments appropriateness; Richness; Personalisation
UNO-City Church by
architect Heinz Tesar,
Vienna
Visual
Churches. Old churches are easily recognizable because
of its distinguished physical characteristics. Modern
churches are hardly recognizable because of its design
Qualities of
Variety;
legibility;
Robustness;
Responsive Permeability;
Environments appropriateness; Richness; Personalisation
Government buildings, for the power it hold,
should look dignified and authoritative. The
building on top looks more dignified and
authoritative than that of the picture at the
bottom.
Visual
Qualities of
Variety;
legibility;
Robustness;
Responsive Permeability;
Environments appropriateness; Richness; Personalisation
Condominium
building
Visual
Office building
The two buildings with different types of occupancy almost look the
same. The popularly followed modern look of buildings makes it hard
Qualities of
Variety;
legibility;
Robustness;
Responsive Permeability;
Environments appropriateness; Richness; Personalisation
Condominium
building
Visual
Office building
Between the two images, it is more obvious that the
image on the right are residential homes than that of
richness
Richness
relates to the range of sensory
experiences available, for example sight,
smell, touch and sound
Is the variety of sense experiences that
users can enjoy
concerned with how the experience can
have an effect on the emotional state of
those visiting the place
Decisions about appearances already
discussed still leave room for manoeuvring
the most detailed level of design.
There are two ways for users to choose from
different sense of experiences:
o Focusing their attention on different
sources of sense of experience on different
occasions
o Moving away from one source to another
The sense of motion - gained through
movement
sense of smell - can not be directed
sense of hearing user has limited control
sense of touch voluntary and involuntary
sense of sight most dominant in terms of
information input and is the easiest to control.
The basis of visual richness depends on the
presence of visual contrasts .
Examples
Qualities of
Variety;
legibility;
Robustness;
Responsive Permeability;
Environments appropriateness; Richness; Personalisation
Visual
Sense of smell
A large herb garden. The beds are filled with highly scented plants,
whose aroma is concentrated within the wind-free space. In urban
places, the potential of cafes, bakeries and the like open to the
Qualities of
Variety;
legibility;
Robustness;
Responsive Permeability;
Environments appropriateness; Richness; Personalisation
Visual
Sense of motion
The Centre Pompidou, by Piano and Rogers, uses
escalators to provide a variety of movement
sensations; experienced in relationship both to close-
Qualities of
Variety;
legibility;
Robustness;
Responsive Permeability;
Environments appropriateness; Richness; Personalisation
Portland Square, by Lawrence Halprin,
uses water to provide a rich range of
Visual
Qualities of
Variety;
legibility;
Robustness;
Responsive Permeability;
Environments appropriateness; Richness; Personalisation
Visual
The picture to the left offers visual richness than
the picture to the left which looks monotonous due
to its uniform design and character.
Qualities of
Variety;
legibility;
Robustness;
Responsive Permeability;
Environments appropriateness; Richness; Personalisation
Beautiful landscapes
around/before
buildings provides
visual contrast through
the placement of
softscapes
before/around large
Visual
Qualities of
Variety;
legibility;
Robustness;
Responsive Permeability;
Environments appropriateness; Richness; Personalisation
Visual
Visual contrasts which creates richness can be achieve
differences of colour or tone on a two-dimensional surf
Qualities of
Variety;
legibility;
Robustness;
Responsive Permeability;
Environments appropriateness; Richness; Personalisation
Visual
Personalizati
Personalization
ability we are given to customise an
environment on a large or small
scale
refers to designs that encourage
people to put their own mark on the
places where they live and work
Personalization allows people to
achieve an environment that bears
the stamp of their own tastes and
values.
Allows people to achieve an environment that
bears the stamp of their own tastes and
values.
Personalization makes a persons pattern of
activities more clear.
Small scale personalisation can include
moving a chair in a room, large scale
personalisation being the ability to change
the appearance of a building.
Users personalize in two ways;
to improve practical facilities
to change the image of a place
Users personalize as an affirmation of their
own tastes and values and because they
perceive existing image as inappropriate.
Personalization comes in two levels;
private
public
Personalization is affected by three key
factors;
tenure
building type
technology.
Examples
Qualities of
Variety;
legibility;
Robustness;
Responsive Permeability;
Environments appropriateness; Richness; Personalisation
This row of houses lacks
personalization that may cause
confusion to the people due to lack of
Visual
Qualities of
Variety;
legibility;
Robustness;
Responsive Permeability;
Environments appropriateness; Richness; Personalisation
Visual
The image to the right implies that the owner of the house love
plants and has a plentiful time for them, likes traditional and
homey designs and loves nature. While the image to the left
implies that the owner of the building works in the office, is busy,
Qualities of
Variety;
legibility;
Robustness;
Responsive Permeability;
Environments appropriateness; Richness; Personalisation
Visual
These residential buildings, having
similar forms would have been
hard to tell one from the other had
they not been given different
distinctive designs that helped
Qualities of
Variety;
legibility;
Robustness;
Responsive Permeability;
Environments appropriateness; Richness; Personalisation
Simply putting up signs and
logos in the buildings facade
is a form of personalization
that can emanate
its unique characteristic and
values. It becomes easily
Visual
Qualities of
Variety;
legibility;
Robustness;
Responsive Permeability;
Environments appropriateness; Richness; Personalisation
An example of a large scale
personalization in a public
level. The buildings
appearance becomes the
identity of the town.
Santorini, Greece
Visual
Summary :
permeability- designing the overall layout of routes
and development blocks
variety- locating uses on the site
legibility- designing the massing of the buildings and
the enclosure of the public space
robustness- designing the spatial and constructional
arrangement of individual buildings and outdoor
spaces.
visual appropriateness- designing the external image
richness- developing the design for sensory choice
personalization- making the design encourage the
people to put their own mark on the places where
they live and work
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AGUMAN, DEL PILAR, DURAN, ESPIA, GATELA
F.C.A.D.
