Design Considerations for Underground Buildings

EARTH SHELTER & ARCHITECTURE _ Figure 1. The Nathan Marsh Pusey Library at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, exemplifies an unobtrusive design approach in an historical setting. (Photo courtesy of Hugh Stubbins and Associates, architects) Design Considerations for Underground Buildings John Carmody Ray Sterling University of Minnesota his article discusses some design chological, and physiological require• !ems inherent in underground build• concerns unique to under• ments must be resolved in an ing design are identified. These in• Tground buildings or deserving aesthetically successful manner in an clude the functional concerns of of special attention when applied to a underground structure. building recognition and orientation as below-grade design. As with any build• The article is divided into two major well as psychological and physiological ing, a wide range of functional, psy- parts. In the first part some key prob- problems associated mainly with win• dowless environmen ts. Also discussed John Carmody is an architect and Associate This article is ·a revised version of material in this part is the impact of building Program Director of the Underground Space first published in Underground Building De• use on these problems. The second part Center at the University of Minnesota, Twin sign (New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, of the article presents typical design Cities. Dr. Raymond Sterling is Director of 1983, All Rights Reserved) and is reprinted responses to these problems and fo• the Center. here with permission. cuses on the exterior image of an un- 352 Underground Space, Vol. 8, pp. 352-362, 1 984. 0362-0565/84 $3.00 + .00 Printed in the U.S.A. A ll ri ghts reserved. Copyright © Pergamon Press Ltd. derground building, entrance design , and entry. signed to create forms on the site that providing light and view, and interior For example, in a built- up area, a will draw attention because they are at• design. structure located under a plaza that is tractive and provide a contrast with completely surrounded by buildings will more conventional buildings. Key Problems in Underground likely be easy to describe and locate, Building Design since the adjacent buildings define the Negative Psychological Effects Building Recognition and Image location clearly. On a more open site Underground build i ngs display a As in conventional buildings, the ex• with fewer clear boundaries, however, wide spectrum of physical character• terior form and character of under• the space above and around the un• istics and functional uses. In addition, ground structures are critical to their derground structure must be carefully the physiological and psychological re• image and their acceptance by the pub• designed to reflect a sense of place and sponses of individuals to the environ• lic. But, unlike with conventional struc• indicate clearly the entrance to the ment can be radically different. The tures, some potentially negative psy• building. combination of these factors makes chological reactions to subsurface space Exterior space around conventional generalizations about underground must be considered in exterior design, buildings, when properly designed, can buildings in relation to psychological and practical problems of recognition provide orientation, define circulation effects oflimited applicability. It is pos• and spatial orientation must be ad • to the entrance of the building, and sible, however, to list criteria and con• dressed. serve to discourage vandalism and siderations that are potentially appli• Underground structures offer op• crime. This is also the case with un• cable to an underground building and portunities to create exterior forms that derground buildings. For a completely to discuss how these factors have been are difficult, if not impossible, to attain underground building, these aims are assessed by various investigators of the in conventional buildings. For exam• usually best accomplished by the use of psychological and physiological re• ple, although above-grade structures grade changes, paving patterns, trees, sponses to artificial environments. can be designed to be sympathetic with shrubs, and variations in ground cover, One major concern related to un• and reflective of natural forms, they along with retaining walls and other derground buildings is sensory depri• have a physical presence on the land• building elements. vation. Individuals are stimulated by, scape that creates a clear distinction be• Just as it is on the exterior, orien• and many bodily functions are affected tween the man-made and natural en• tation may be impaired inside a mostly by, interaction with the surrounding vironments. Placing a building partially windowless building. Visual cues nor• environment. In addition to physiolog• or completely below the surface can mally provided by exterior views and ical effects (discussed below), psycho• obscure the mass and the edges of the an awareness of the overall size and logical problems can arise from the re• building, enabling almost complete in• shape of the building may not be pres• duction of external stimuli to an tegration of built and natural forms. ent. This disorientation may not only individual (Paulus 1976). This reduc• Not only can this create a more natural present problems in circulating con• tion of stimuli would occur most sig• image, but it also can provide oppor• veniently within the building; it may nificantly in small, enclosed spaces with tunities to place relatively large struc• also contribute to uneasiness and rein• little interpersonal contact and no con• tures in sensitiv.e settings without de• force other negative associations with tact with the external environment. It stroying the scale, the open space, or being underground. should be noted, however, that a re• the character of the area. An important facet of the practical duction of external stimuli is not always Underground buildings can be de• problem of building recognition on the negative; it can provide a more pro• signed in a wide range· of forms, in exterior is the more subjective, aes• ductive work environment and reduce which the degree of visibility and the thetic concern of conveying an image stress in otherwise chaotic surround• character of the building vary greatly. with the building's appearance. Al• ings. Although creating an unobtrusive, even though entry, lighting, and interior de• Another area of psychological re• imperceptible, structure has its advan• sign contribute to the image that a search which pertains to underground tages (for buildings such as interpre• building projects, the exterior form is building design is a person's sense of tive centers, for example), this ap• one of the most important elements. interaction with his environment. It proach may be inappropriate or Because the exterior profile of an un• has been theorized that the three pri• undesirable for buildings such as those derground building is certain to be mary emotional responses to the en• which depend on public recognition for smaller and generally less obtrusive than vironment are pleasure, arousal, a nd their business. a comparably -sized above-ground dominance (Mehrabian and Russell One important area of concern re• structure, a less visible and less mon• 1974). Pleasure is self-explanator y . lated to the exterior design of an un• umental image will be projected. For Arousal refers to the presence or ab• derground building is the need for a some functions- auditoriums, sence of stimuli discussed above, and clear understanding of the building size, librar• ies, museums, parking dominance relates to feelings of con• location, and entry. Most conventional garages, and factories- this may be trol or influence over the environmen t. buildings have definite edges, a per• an advantage, since a minimal A lowered arousal level is to be a n• ceivable mass, and a clea r entry, so that presence on the site is often desirable. ticipated in enclosed spaces, but the ef• they can be easily recognized as an ob• Other functions, how• ever, may fect on feelings of dominance is not as ject and described as a specific place. require visibility to the public or may clear. It has been suggested that, be• An underground building may not need to serve as a symbol. cause of the practical and environme n• provide these visual clues, especially if Although there are instances where tal advantages of an undergroun d it is completely below grade with little an underground design is simply not building, users may feel they are "bemg exposure to the surface. This means an effective means of achieving a highly exposed to successful attempts to cop that the exterior form and character of visible or monumental form , a positive with the demands of the environme n t a subsurface structure must take into image can still be created in most cases (Paulus 1976). It has been found by account the special problems of ori• without relying on a large building mass. others, however, that practical featu res entation and recognition of building Partial exposure of the building, berms, of a building are not important c nte na and extensive landscaping can be de- Volume 8, Number 5-6, 1984 UNDERGROUND SPACE 353 in evaluating user response to working in the space (Hollon and Kendall 1980). Nevertheless, for an individual choosing to build a certain type of un• derground structure , say a n earth• sheltered house, for energy conserva• tion and environmental reasons, these criteria are often very importa nt and would be expected to create positive feelings about the environment. A poor response to the environment of an un• derground building has been lin ked to anxiety, tension, depression, and other mental health problems, although other studies have indicated no measurable differences in achievement , health problems, or absenteeism (Collins 1975, Hollister 1968, Lutz 1976). Only a few studies have directly ad• d ressed the case of below-grade spaces for working or living environments, and often conflicting data have been gath• ered. Assessments of the distinct phys• ical characteristics of an undergrou nd space are extremely difficult to sepa• rate from other general physical char• acteristics of the space and the inter• personal environment.

Load more