SPACE PLANNING AND BEHAVIOUR

SPACE PLANNING AND BEHAVIOUR   ---from the series Behaviour in Spaces 

Space planning determines the placement of various items of furniture. The placement decisions follow two important strategies:

1     Functional positioning and circulation integrating various architectural features. 
2     Provisioning for personal spaces and for Inter-personal relationships or group dynamics. 

It is this later aspect that can destroy all the good intentions of the former. Space planning and behaviour as political etiquette is a time-tested mannerism formalised in government protocol manuals. It shows how two equal or unequal status heads of state or such entourages must meet. It indicates the nature of seats, intervening pieces of furniture, the backdrop for the meet, and enrichments that are appropriate, and ones that must be avoided. 

• The chairs for personal meeting of two important (equal status) personalities (e.g. Presidents of two nations) are upright single seat units (placed parallel but very slightly askew @140°). But we still find dignitaries taking on micro postures by moving towards or leaning on one hand-rest, sitting cross way (diagonally), leaning forward or backward. The reasons are: one is trying to enlarge or reduce the distance, take postures that imply affability, propriety, esteem, etc. However, the sitting arrangement between two unequal, like a president and a prime minister (or a prime minister and a foreign minister) have two unequal (size, form, style) types of seats. The person with higher status sits in a single seat unit, whereas the other party is made to sit at a right angle, and on a wider seat (double or triple seat sofa or even stiffer - upright seat). The furniture arrangement, the angle and the distance between them are regulated by set of rules or ‘protocol’. In spite of the strict protocols people through micro posturing do subconsciously express their real attitude. The body language is just one facet of behaviour that reveals the nature of the encounter.

At domestic level traditions and taboos are followed for placing the items of furniture. Commercial spaces and hospitality spaces reflect a mix of local mentality, good practices, and new trends elsewhere. Traditions emerge after years of usage and portray the geographical, historical, cultural, religious and technological preferences. The trends show universal preferences emerging from cross reactions of many art forms. The furniture and its placement offer several postural and interaction possibilities, affecting the personal relationship as well as group behaviour dynamics. 

• Living rooms of economic housing schemes are 3000-4000 mm wide. The eye contact or person to person distance for such sofas across the room is 2400-3400 mm, just adequate for social or non intimate chat. However, for a living room width of 5000 mm, the interaction distance becomes (for sofa across the room) 4400 mm. This is not conducive to social interaction, unless one can makes own-self herd by talking loudly, or seating forward -at the edge of the sofa. In large rooms chatting is more common with persons sitting on the side seat.

Intimacy and privacy These are important aspects of space planning in hospitality spaces and personal cabins. Visitors need these in appropriate mix, but staff also needs to maintain a non intimate posture and distance. 

• In such places receptionists are always in standing position -as if ready to serve. The backdrop is nearly 1500-2000mm away -meaning they are on their own, confident, and cannot depend on back support. Coffee house and pub tables are small, so that people sitting across maintain intimate distance of 600 mm or less. Banquet tables are 1200 mm to allow talking across the table, but a wider table 1500 mm or more discourages the personal interactions and makes the occasion more formal. Important personalities use office tables of 900 mm or more depth to create a person to person (face to face or eye contact) distance of 1600 mm, which makes the interaction formal and non-committal.

Recognition: Recognition of personal attributes in a space planning layout automatically resolves many issues of intra-personal relationships. Every individual needs to play a role, wether it a small domestic, or a public space, but in a required setting. The set is made of architectonic elements, space occupying entities and environmental conditions. Recognition is also important for expression and communication. The deficiencies of personality are made up by the surroundings. Some of the tricks, people consciously or otherwise use to draw recognition are: Standing against a wall but little away from it, occupying a single seat rather then share one, positioning against a bland background then a clustered or busy face, sitting in a tall, upright and an uncomfortable chair opposed to an easy and low height seat. 

Security: A person feels secure if protected from at least one side and can control the distance for group behaviour dynamics. A person must get the benefit of natural attributes of the personality such as age, sex and social stature. A person may not feel confident and so secure if under a continuous gaze or surveillance. Feeling of security is more enhanced in known spaces or spaces with a familiar set-up. Large spaces with adequate points of anchors or interventions make a person feel secure. People feel secure with exits points like a door, stairs, passages, aisles near them. A view of outside from an opening adds to security. Presence of handling, holding or barricading devices adds to security, even if one may not intention or need for using it. 

Ownership or Sense of Belonging: The control mainly derives from the right to conceive, execute, alter, explore and exploit a space. For this one may not legally own or be a tenant of the space. Members of a family or a group get a sense of belonging. People with same ethnicity or cultural orientation feel ‘at-home’ in spaces that have a familiar set-up. Spaces with standard internal features provide the equality. Similarly a sense of belonging may occur where external configurations are similar, as in public housing schemes.