Environmental determinism and human behavior in architecture

Architecture and People (Tiesdel and Oc)

Architecture can be assessed aesthetically alone, as with a photograph, or experientially and as environments. This chapter is concerned with the latter.

while architecture can impact and improve social behavior, there are exceptions to that, it does not always work

Determinism: Environment determines behavior (is a crude belief, narrow minded) -- also takes away attention from real problems that the architecture was intended to solve but doesn't (like poverty)

Non-Determinism: also limited

Ideally, accept both; there is a mutual relationship between behavior and environment; environment is not the only determinant of behavior but it can be one factor

Amos Rappaport -- expanded view: determinancy is a "generic term for the continuum begtween determinancy and non-determinancy"

Continuum: One end is Physical environment determines human behavior=====Other end is Possibiliism (physical environment offers opportunities for people to make choices). IN between these two is Probabilism (physical environment not determining but makes some choices more probable than others)

Importance of territoriality (need for identity) -- opposed to anonymity, privacy

Identity = need for identification with specific territory or group of people, often a defensible nature; need to create, express belonging to some collective identity; duality with anonymity)

Intersection between public and private domains -- eg. The Le Corbusier modernist development at Pessac shows need for personalization even while creating collective identity

Security -- perceived need for sanctuary; mutual protection, defensible space

Too much privacy can lead to loneliness, isolation; so privacy can mean controlling environment to avoid unwanted interaction

Architects- professional manipulator of the environment

Deal with contradictions of aesthetics and the practical needs of user