The airport in Jackson Hole, Wyoming is a place that works for a very simple reason: it connects with nature. Here, while waiting for your flight you get a magnificent view of snow capped mountains, vegetation, and the big sky of the American west.
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The small gallery at the Art Institute of Chicago with Chagall’s America Windows is a place that works, mostly, despite the fact that the flow of the space is interrupted by columns. Interestingly, these obstructions—the columns—may even enhance the experience of viewing the windows. To see the windows’ details clearly it’s necessary to get close to them.

The stained glass windows, being the brightest elements in the darkish space, draw you to them. And the light they emit keeps the relatively low ceiling of the room from becoming oppressive. The bluish color palette of the windows is generally relaxing. That said, the room could be enhanced to improve the viewing experience.

I would like to see an unobstructed view, from a distance, so that I might compare the two experiences—the long view with being up close. And it would be great to see all surfaces in the area being dark, to enhance the magical feeling of gliding into a cave with its inspiring light apertures.

Sally Augustin, PhD, is a principal at Design with Science . She is also the editor of Research Design Connections and the author of Place Advantage: Applied Psychology for Interior Architecture (Wiley, 2009). She can be reached at sallyaugustin@designwithscience.com

Series Posts: Places that Work

Recently while visiting The Shops at the North Bridge mall in Chicago, I came across a kind gesture: an amenity for people’s canine companions. This pet comfort station provides water and treats and clean-up bags for the responsible parties traveling with their pets. If you visit The Shops’ website before planning a trip there, you’ll find mention of the pet comfort station. In fact, it looks like people at the mall know this stop well and bring their dogs with them regularly.

These days people seem so attached to their pets that they’re taking them on many different leisure jaunts. This makes good sense, according to researchers. You want a happy pet. After all studies have shown that there are positive psychological repercussions of pet ownership and being near small, cuddly animals. Happy pets have happy owners whose purse strings may be just a bit looser. Make no mistake about it, the mall managers know such amenities work in their favor and, of course, yours and your pet’s.

Thomas Edison’s and Henry Ford’s winter estates are places that work because they recognize and respect the natural environments in which they are located.  Most of the rooms in the original buildings are entered directly from outside and there are few interior corridors. Daylight comes in through these doors which also invite errant breezes that circulate the air inside; the generously proportioned windows work the same way.

From inside, the windows reveal views of lush gardens and a river that forms one border of the property. The daylight and views combine to make this a place where the legendary inventor-tycoons could restock their mental and physical energies and boost their spirits after months of hard work in northern climates.

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Prestigious hotels often feature formal common spaces with high ceilings, stylishly uncomfortable furniture, and a stuffy staff. So I was delighted to experience the unexpected recently, when I happened on the library at the Four Seasons in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

This is a place where you feel comfortable sitting with a small group of your friends.  A wall of windows brings the ski slopes inside. The view helps you restock the mental energy you’ve depleted while concentrating on such things as knowledge work. The views and daylight boost your mood and help you acclimate your circadian rhythms after a long flight.

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The Baha’i House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois stops you in your tracks. And this makes it a place that works. Its curving form and decorated surfaces force you to notice it. And since most visitors are not familiar with the Baha’i faith, the building can initiate discussions of meanings and practices. My fellow Northwestern graduates and today’s students are known to trek up to see “the temple in Wilmette”.

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‘Tis visiting season. People are traveling to see friends and family members while the weather is generally pleasant. Humans are territorial animals, however, which is one of the reasons that those visits are seldom tension-free. We feel most comfortable when we have a clearly defined physical territory, and houseguests who leave their own territories at home, can disrupt those of their hosts.

In South-Eastern Ohio, Greg Campbell and Jean Marie Cackowski-Campbell have designed and built a freestanding tower on their property for guests. It’s a place that works because it acknowledges that sometimes continual togetherness can be too much.

The tower is set across the deck from the main house and has a total of 521 square feet of living space, spread across 3 octagonal floors – octagons were selected to optimize the useable area on each floor. Read more…

Individuals send messages about themselves that they feel are important and set a mood through the way they personalize their homes – they make certain sorts of experiences more likely than others. Organizations also convey information and produce psychological effects through the design of public environments. HOK’s New York office is a place that works because it effectively uses its design, and particularly its art collection, to encourage desired conversations.

Photo: Eric Laignel

The art pieces and photographs used throughout the HOK office represent applied branding, while the views of exemplary architecture framed by the classic modernist windows in the space are integral to the office’s design. All three elements matter and have a significant influence on visitor experience, but the art and photos are the focus of this discussion.

During an interview, Rick Focke, the Director of Interior Design at HOK and lead designer for the New York office, explained in detail how the office’s designers used 8 to 9 pieces of purchased art and a collection of photographs and models from client projects, to put viewers in the mood for productive, thoughtful conversation. The art intrigues viewers and leads them to wonder what is being expressed in the piece, as HOK wants to inspire visitors of its offices to be inquisitive, alert, and questioning. Read more…

The Urban Garden Room at One Bryant Park (Bank of America Tower by Cook + Fox Architects) in New York City is a place that works – and not simply because of its greenery and daylight. These elements appeal to our senses and emotions in a deep, primal way. Extensive writings on psychological value of being in spaces with green plants and daylight document our needs, as do my previous posts. I bring it up, again, because in a high tech world we need these connections the earth more than ever.

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The Seattle Central Library works so well because of something obvious: its architects carefully considered the role of a public library during its projected lifetime and designed it accordingly.

When Rem Koolhaas, Joshua Prince-Ramus of OMA/LMN, and their teams set to work they went into a detailed analysis of what it would take to enrich citizens’ lives and how the job of the building would evolve with the institution it housed. They assessed how technologies and the social and cultural roles of the library would change, for example, at a time when libraries need to house new media, rather than just paper technology.

Opened in 2004, the library’s functionality has been constantly given positive reviews for the past 7 years. Read more…