3/21/2019 Empathetic Design - Google Docs

Empathetic Design

Stefan Langebeeke

Abstract:

Many different attributes and tools can make a design a “good” one. Questions about

site and how the construction sits within a landscape or the inspiration of the project taking form

into the design are a couple of the consistent attributes that make a project successful, but as

designers of the built environment, the ones responsible for shaping the spaces that we as

humans inhabit, the most important tool in our arsenal is . In this thesis, I will be using

my D7 block project design, that was done in collaboration with Christina Magrini, to show why

empathy holds so much power in the design world and why it can turn our designs from “good”

designs to designs that impact the world and the experiences we have within it positively. I will

discuss how the introduction of an International Market in the Upper East Side of New York City

will promote ideas of inclusion and mental health through design, concept, and the addition of

natural elements. These elements are discussed to bring light to how empathetic design can

impact the body and mind of the occupant and allow our designs to heal a world overwhelmed

in the built environment.

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Empathy is defined by Merriam-Webster as “t he action of understanding, being aware of,

being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the , thoughts, and experience of

another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully

communicated in an objectively explicit manner.”1 This paper seeks to shed light on the notion

that empathy is a design tool, and a powerful one at that. Using empathy as the basis of design

pushes the construction beyond just an inhabitable space and towards something that connects

with the inhabitants , making the overall experience of the space so much greater than

just creating an interesting, maybe even thought-provoking construction. Although empathy is a

trait that is universally known, sometimes experiencing it and using it as a means of

understanding people can be a challenge. I believe that emotional connection and

understanding is exactly what the next generation of designers will need to change the built

environment into something that will unite people of all genders, cultures, and orientations

through the simple interaction with and within a space.

In order to use empathy as a design tool, one must first build an understanding of people

in general. I believe the best way to learn about this Earth and the people in it, one must travel

and immerse themselves in the endless cultures that inhabit it; open the mind and allow those

cultures to inform and strengthen one's own thoughts and values. From personal experience, I

have been to 25 different countries in my 23 years of life; i have experienced first-hand what it is

like to dine in Australia, to see how the Mexican people interact with other people, and what the

Italian people value in their everyday lives. Learning how other people live, what their daily lives

are like, how they communicate, how that recluse themselves; these are all questions that

directly relate to the way people use spaces in different ways and should inform the design

process of those spaces.

1 " Empathy." Merriam-Webster. Accessed March 19, 2019. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/empathy.

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These were questions that I personally investigated while working, in collaboration with

Christina Magrini, on our D7 block project in New York City. The prompt for this project was to

design an extension to the existing Frick Collection in the Upper East Side of the city, while also

introducing a new construction or of constructions to the rest of the block. While analyzing

the surrounding area, we noticed that within a quarter mile radius of the Frick Collection, there

were a total of 7 Consulates and even more a couple blocks further in every direction.

On top of that, according to the Statistical Atlas2, the percentage of people who were actually

born in the United States is less than 23.2%, meaning that most of the population of the Upper

East Side were born abroad. Now deducing that those statistics make the Upper East Side very

cultural charged, as well as the Frick Collection also having an international quality to it with its

taste in international art along with our to activate the museum and draw in a wider

2 " National Origin in Upper East Side, New York, New York (Neighborhood)." The Demographic Statistical Atlas of the United States - Statistical Atlas. Accessed March 19, 2019. https://statisticalatlas.com/neighborhood/New-York/New-York/Upper-East-Side/National-Origin.

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demographic, we saw it fit to introduce an international market to the remainder of the block.

To fully design something that, in theory, is about the celebration of all cultures, an

analysis of the surrounding Consulates and how their countries practice etiquette as well as

their social interactions was done to fully understand what brings comfort to them; this analysis

helped us determine that the spaces within had to be designed in a way that offers a variety of

ways one could experience the same activity. We took the we gathered and found

consistencies between various countries and their respective cultural lifestyles and simplified it

to a broad study of public and private spaces with both having a variation of interactive and

non-interactive spaces as well as formal and informal spaces. An example of this would be,

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within the Austrian culture, family plays a huge role and so eating together at the table is

something that is very important to their culture. The Austrians are also a very formal people,

meaning that they require a private space for themselves, where they can express themselves

in a much more informal way. In contrast, the Australians are also very close to their families,

however, they approach their interactions in a much more informal and public manner, meaning

they feel comfortable in a much more public dining experience. Two different cultures, similar

values in how they perceive family and the way they like to dine together, but two completely

different approaches to how they wish to dine spatially. The value in understanding this

information programatically is now we can start defining spaces that allow these various cultures

to participate together in the celebration of the world, whether it’s through food, textiles, or art,

while still that they themselves are welcome to be who they are and practice life the way

they see fit. Another important element that is now brought to the table is the dialogue that these

different cultures have between these different spaces. Knowing there is a place for them within

the construction, those who are more drawn to the private/informal spaces may be more willing

to step out of their comfort zones and experience the more public/informal spaces. When this

happens, the of the construction truly shines through. The experience of the place

becomes more than just the one person or the one culture; the walls are broken down so to

speak and the occupant becomes a citizen of the world rather than just a citizen of their

respective culture. That is where the empathy in the design process becomes a charged

empathetic experience; a suggestive experience that does not need to be “fully communicated”

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but is rather understood at a subconscious level and ultimately seeks to bring people together.

While designing with an understanding of people through their respective cultures is an

important basis for the design process, it is not the only way to connect a space emotionally to

people in general. We as humans are fortunate to say that not one of us are the same; we each

are uniquely designed ourselves and therefore we each have personalities, preferences, and

other qualities that are specific to us. With that said, the human brain reacts similarly and

consistently to certain situations and settings. According to David G. Pearson and Tony Craig in

their article “The great outdoors? Exploring the mental health benefits of natural environments”,

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the effect of green space on the human brain results in lower stress levels. They go on to

introduce the Attentional Restoration Theory which basically informs us that urban settings

require our brains to constantly be reacting and therefore cause a constant overstimulation

within our brains; this causes the fatigue that we have all experienced all too often. In contrast,

natural environments or settings demand a “bigger picture” type of attention, meaning the

events placed before an individual are experienced in totality while simultaneously causing the

brain to release a sense of due to the more restorative type of attention required.3 With

that said, there are many natural attributes that can be brought into the design process that will

draw positive cognitive attention and have a sense of healing for all involved; the presence of

green space allowing for a sense of mental healing, the sound of water eliciting feelings of

, and the effect sunlight has on our body and mind to name a few. When this concept

is added to the program of a design, there is undoubtedly an underlying understanding by the

designer that stress does happen, but there is a sense of healing in good design; this becomes

another form of empathetic design.

With the understanding of the effects of nature on the body and spirit, we can now

understand the importance of restorative spaces in the urban fabric of New York City. Within the

proposed block, this same concept of introducing green space and water allowed us to take a

3 P earson, David G., and Tony Craig. "The Great Outdoors? Exploring the Mental Health Benefits of Natural Environments." F rontiers in 5 (2014). doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01178.

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program that was ABOUT people and also turn it into a space that is now FOR people.

The difference between those two programs is simply: one deals with the celebration of the

world and the different cultures that represent it, while the other deals with the notion that as

humans, no matter where we are from, require exposure to certain situations in order to heal,

destress, and restore our mental health. The combination of these two programs, in my opinion,

creates the ultimate celebration of life and depicts what the effects of empathetic design can

have when finding the balance of what people need to what people want.

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In closing, the power that empathetic design has on people can range from a

subconscious level to a very powerful and overwhelming sense of . There is a sense of

beauty in the emotional connection of a person to place and how that emotional connection is

completely unique to that individual, yet it can be a connection that is immediately shared

among a group of people. Ultimately, our role as designers is to revolutionize the built

environment and find ways to design in a sustainable fashion so that our constructions can last

for generations and impact those generations in a positive way. There is no better way to do so

than to draw on the emotion of people and design with honesty and . There are

sustainable qualities in empathy, both in life and in the built environment. People in general take

care of the things they care about and so we as designers need to care about the people we

design for and the places we design in.

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