| EPSRC Reference: |
GR/S08749/01 |
| Title: |
Configuration and Design in Caring Environments |
| Principal Investigator: |
Hanson, Professor J |
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| Department: |
Bartlett Sch of Graduate Studies |
| Organisation: |
UCL |
| Scheme: |
Standard Research (Pre-FEC) |
| Starts: |
08 September 2002 |
Ends: |
07 September 2003 |
Value (£): |
49,667
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| EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
| Building Ops & Management |
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
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The proposal is that UCL carries out a configurational 'space syntax' analysis of the 38 residential settings in Sheffield's database of care homes to identify those aspects of the whole building layout - particularly the layout of the shared amenities such as residents' lounges, dining rooms, laundries and the like, and the circulation areas, entrance and lobbies - that influence funtional efficiency and ease of navigation and wayfinding, and also the perceived quality of life of the staff and residents alike. It has long been recognised that a key factor in whether or not a building designed for co-residents is perceived to be successful or otherwise is the way the public areas relate to individual's rooms. Yet, whilst'rules of thumb' exist to guide this aspect of design, these have not been validated through evidence-based research. One problem that has prevented evaluation is the difficulty, in describing and comparing whole building layouts in ways that are rigorous, objective and meaningful. The 'space syntax' configurational method has resolved this difficulty and the method has been validated by over twenty year of applied research and design, including current EPSRC Platform funding, Configuration, Attraction Emergence; effects of space pattern on emergent behaviour grant value 468107.00, June 2000-2003. Thanks to the work already carrid out by the Sheffield team in mapping and evaluating their sample of care homes against a design checklist, supplemented by user-centred studies of satisfaction with the building, the opportunity now exists for UCL to build on Sheffield's findings by researching the effects of whole building layout on building function and quality of life.
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Key Findings |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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